A question about Tony Fokker

[rainbase]

I'm reading Fokker's book, Flying Dutchman. Fokker claims that British Intelligence had attempted to lure him over over to the Allied side with a 2,000,000 pound offer (which he didn't know about until after the war). Has anyone seen a second source on this? Is Fokker right about it or simply inflating himself in his story? Thanks.

[Varese2002]

The Germans were early in the war already concerned that the head of the firm which was rapidly climbing to an important factory for the German war machine was leaded by a foreigner. Anthony Fokker was of Dutch nationality then. So pressure was on Fokker to change his nationality to German, which he did. His new German passport came in as a birthday present on April 6, 1915.

Of course it was not convenient after the armistice to be of German nationality and return as a foreigner to Holland. What happened was one of those forms of politics where Fokker again obtained the Dutch nationality on March 25, 1919. As often with Fokker he was able to let people at high places move in his preferred direction.

Given the German nationality it is unlikely that any offer could have come from the UK. Needless to say that there is no hard evidence (that is a copy of an official UK written proposal to Fokker). To say it politely, the autobiography needs to be taken with a pinch of salt and could best be read to get some idea about the opinions of Fokker himself. Historically it is a dubious source.

Kees

[John McKenzie]

Hi , Whether or not there ever was a written offer to Fokker from the UK governement " WE " will never know from the UK national archives ....Like so many things in this countrys history , and especially in relatively recent years or so ,up to the present day ; its details , will have been deemed to have "... not been in the public interest " to know ....... "Limited "details are unlikely to be released from secret clasification for another 200 years or so !
JM