"Prince Bernhard" dropped from culture fund's name over Nazi party membership

From today, the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund will be called the Culture Fund, the organization announced on X. The Dutch prince, who died in 2004, made headlines last month with the discovery of his original membership card for the NSDAP, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party.

“With respect and appreciation for the past, the Culture Fund will continue from today with a name that fits who we are today and with a focus on our content,” director Cathelijne Broers said in a video posted on X.

The Culture Fund supports projects in culture and nature conservation in the Netherlands.

The discovery of the physical membership card was a confirmation of previous evidence that Prince Bernhard had belonged to the Nazi Party. He canceled his membership in 1936 when he became engaged to Princess Juliana, the grandmother of King Willem-Alexander. Until his death in 2004, Prince Bernhard always denied ever belonging to the Nazi Party.

The prince’s Nazi past is in stark contrast to his reputation as a resistance hero in the Second World War. He led the resistance from London and was involved with the Culture Fund since its founding in 1940, NOS reports. Then called the Spitfire Fund, the fund was initially intended for purchasing war equipment. When the war ended, the fund’s focus shifted to culture and nature conservation.