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What evidence supports or refutes claims that George Soros collaborated with Nazis during WWII?
Executive summary
Available reporting and multiple fact‑checks find no credible evidence that George Soros was a Nazi, an SS officer, or a willing collaborator who turned in Jews; he was a Hungarian Jewish child (born 1930) who survived the 1944–45 Nazi occupation by hiding under false identity documents and by being sheltered with an official’s household [1] [2] [3]. Claims tying Soros to Auschwitz photos or to active Nazi service have been debunked by Reuters, Snopes, PolitiFact, Newsweek and others [2] [1] [4] [5].
1. The core historical facts: age, identity and survival
George Soros was born in 1930 in Budapest and was 13–14 during the Nazi occupation of Hungary (1944–45); by the time Nazi Germany fell he was still a child and left Hungary for Britain in 1947 [1] [3]. Contemporary reporting and Soros’s own accounts say his family secured false identity papers and that he stayed with an official from the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture who posed him as his Christian godson to hide him [2] [3].
2. What the accusation alleges — and why it spread
The accusation asserts Soros “collaborated” with Nazis by helping inventory Jewish property or by turning Jews over to authorities; versions go as far as claiming he was an SS officer. Those assertions have been repeatedly circulated by political commentators, conspiracy outlets and social media, and some historians link the myth’s origins to conspiracist publications from the 1990s [6] [7].
3. What independent fact‑checks and major outlets say
Major fact‑checking organizations and newsrooms have examined the specific claims and found them false or misleading. Snopes explains Soros was a child and that claims he was an SS officer are impossible given his age [1]. Reuters debunked viral photos and explains that interpreting Soros’s survival story as “collaboration” is “false, malicious and deeply misleading” [2] [8]. PolitiFact and Newsweek likewise conclude there is no evidence he actively aided Nazi persecution and explain the historical context of his hiding [4] [5].
4. The contested 60 Minutes interview and sources of misunderstanding
A 1998 60 Minutes interview in which Soros described hiding during the occupation has been repeatedly misquoted or taken out of context to suggest pride in collaborating; critics have cited phrases about a “happiest” time in the sense of personal freedom rather than moral approval of persecution. Reporting notes that some commentators have twisted those recollections to allege complicity, but Newsweek and other outlets examined the full context and Soros’s biography and found no evidence he aided expropriation [5] [7].
5. Misidentified photographs and forensic errors
A recurring tactic in the conspiracy is to post wartime photos that supposedly show a young Soros in Nazi uniform. Reuters investigated a widely circulated photo and found it actually showed Oskar Gröning, an Auschwitz bookkeeper, not Soros; media and Soros spokespeople said such photo‑claims are false and misleading [2]. Fact‑checkers emphasize Soros’s documented age and family circumstances make SS membership or service impossible [8] [1].
6. Why the false claim persists — politics, antisemitism, and agenda
Reporting and researchers trace the myth to anti‑Soros political campaigns and conspiracist narratives that predate the internet; scholars and outlets note the trope frequently appears alongside antisemitic or anti‑philanthropy themes and is used to discredit Soros’s civic funding [6] [7]. Some right‑wing commentators and fringe media have amplified the allegations despite repeated debunking, which suggests political motive rather than new historical evidence [6].
7. Limits of the available reporting and where questions remain
Available sources uniformly debunk the core allegation of Nazi collaboration, but they also rely on Soros’s own memoirs, public statements, and archival reporting about Hungary’s chaotic wartime conditions. Reporting does show he accompanied an official who was inventorying the possessions of a Jewish estate while he posed as a Christian godson; fact‑checkers say that circumstance has been distorted into claims of active collaboration — a distortion, not documented evidence of intent or Nazi membership [2] [5].
8. Practical takeaway for readers confronted with the claim
If you see posts alleging Soros was a Nazi or SS member, trusted fact‑checks and mainstream reporting show those claims are false or misleading: they misidentify photos, ignore Soros’s age, and conflate survival tactics with willing collaboration [1] [8] [2]. The narrative’s persistence appears driven by political agendas and conspiracy networks rather than new archival proof [6] [7].