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Tell Me Why

STUDIO 330

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor

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What can you tell me about the
Mitfords, that famous (or infa-
mous) collection of British women
whose family included Nazi sympa-
thizers, communists, royalty, and, if
I'm not mistaken, a daughter who
married someone Jewish?
The Mitford Sisters, as they came
to be known (the family also
included one brother, Tom, who was
killed during World War II), were the
six daughters of David Redesdale and

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The Mi t ford family in 1922, above,
and 1934, right

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his wife, Sydney, members of
Britain's upper class. Their extended
family included Winston Churchill.
The sisters included Nancy
(1904-1973), Pamela (1907-1994),
Diana (1910-2004), Unity (1914-
1948), Jessica (1917-1996) and
Deborah (b. 1920).
All of the sisters were bright, attrac-
tive, creative, witty (especially Nancy,
who wrote a number of books) and
quite memorable; though the ones you
likely are most curious about are Diana,
Unity and Jessica.
Diana was thought to be the loveliest
of the sisters. She was married twice,
and her second husband was Sir
Oswald Mosley. Mosley was the head of
Britain's fascist party.
While Mosley was no Hitler, he did
make a number of anti-Semitic state-
ments, and his wife came to admire
Hitler. Diana made frequent visits to
meet with Hitler during his reign of
power and remains to this day his
defender.
In a 1989 British documentary, she
described Hider as "extraordinarily fas-

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cinating and clever." She loved his eyes,
she said.
Hider's most ardent supporter among
the Mitfords, however, was Unity.
Unity spent many months in Germany,
making frequent appearances at restau-
rants Hitler was known to favor, until
at last one day he asked to meet her.
They soon became close friends and
confidants; indeed, most say Unity pos-
itively worshiped Hitler.
She wrote letters in support of his
anti-Semitic policies and was never
without her pin, signed by Hitler and
bearing a picture of a swastika. Unity
remained convinced that Hitler
would never attack England
and, when he did, she
attempted suicide.
She survived, but suffered
greatly both physically and men-
tally afterward. She eventually
died after the suicide bullet
wound became infected.

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Unity's most beloved sister was
Jessica, known as Decca (the Mitford
family was famous for nicknames).
Decca was a dedicated communist
throughout much of her life. Her first
husband was Esmond Romilly, a charis-
matic, charming gentleman and a fel-
low communist who fairly loathed his
wife's family, labeling them all Nazis.
He and Decca settled in the United
States. When Hitler began bombing
England, Romilly joined the Canadian
forces and was killed in battle. Decca
subsequently married Robert Treuhaft,
an attorney, who was Jewish.
Though Decca found great fame as
an author (especially for her ground
breaking The American Way of Death,
which detailed the funeral home busi-
ness in this country) and happiness
with Treuhaft, she suffered much