The Royal Court
2011-08-17

A report on Walter Sommerlath is published

In order to clarify Sommerlath family circumstances that had previously been uncertain, The Queen has studied letters, notes and other documents in the Sommerlath family´s private possession. The Queen has also searched for information in German and Brazilian archives, in order to obtain a complete picture of her family´s history.

Former military archivist and Director General of the Swedish National Archives Erik Norberg has evaluated and supplemented The Queen´s information through his own research.

Norberg´s research confirms The Queen´s documentation, which shows that the Jewish factory owner Efim Wechsler was able to leave Germany immediately before the Second World War with the help of The Queen´s father, Walter Sommerlath. Wechsler received a coffee plantation and three plots of land in Brazil as payment for his factory in Berlin. The plantation and the plots had previously been owned by The Queen´s mother.

Erik Norberg´s report has now been published on the Royal Court´s website.

Please download the report here:

A report (eng) PDF
Eine untersuchung (de) PDF
Uma pesquisa (pt) PDF

Erik Norbergs cv (eng) PDF
Erik Norbergs lebenslauf (de) PDF
Erik Norbergs cv (pt) PDF

Erik Norberg, born in 1942, holds a PhD from Stockholm University and completed his thesis on Sweden during the Second World War. A military archivist, he was Director of the Swedish Military Archives from 1982 until 1991, and Director General of the Swedish National Archives from 1991 until 2003. He has carried out many UN assignments for UNIDO and UNESCO, as well as international archiving commissions. He was President of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 2002 until 2006, and has been secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities since 2008. He has published works on modern political and military history, and on archival science. Norberg also holds a number of honorary positions, including Lord in Waiting.