By: Fern Sidman

When pro‑Hamas activists announced that Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn would join the next flotilla attempting to breach Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza, the news reverberated well beyond activist circles. According to a report that appeared on Tuesday in The Jerusalem Post, Engelhorn is a descendant of the German industrial dynasty behind BASF and its wartime merger with IG Farben—the company responsible for producing Zyklon B, the gas used in Nazi death camps to murder millions of Jews.

The symbolism is stark and jarring: a descendant of a family enriched by complicity in genocide now aligning herself with groups that accuse Israel—the Jewish state born from the ashes of the Holocaust—of perpetrating “genocide” in Gaza.

Engelhorn’s family fortune traces back to BASF, founded in the 19th century and later absorbed into the conglomerate IG Farben in the 1920s. As The Jerusalem Post report recounted, IG Farben became the chemical behemoth of the Nazi era, producing not only fuels and rubber for the German war machine but also Zyklon B, the cyanide‑based pesticide repurposed for industrialized murder in Auschwitz and other extermination camps.

After World War II, IG Farben executives were tried at Nuremberg for war crimes, though many received relatively light sentences. The company was dissolved, and its assets—BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst—were reconstituted as independent firms. The Engelhorn family remained prominent, and by the mid‑1990s sold its stake for an estimated $4.2 billion.

Marlene Engelhorn herself inherited roughly $27.1 million in 2021, following the death of her grandmother, Traudl Engelhorn‑Vechiatto.

Unlike many heirs of Nazi‑linked fortunes who have sought quiet philanthropy or restitution efforts, Engelhorn has placed herself at the center of political controversy.

On one hand, she has advocated for wealth redistribution. As The Jerusalem Post report highlighted, Engelhorn called on Austria to tax her inheritance at 90%, despite the country lacking an inheritance tax. When officials refused, she co‑founded Tax Me Now, a coalition of wealthy heirs pressing for higher taxes on themselves. She has worked with other activist heirs like Abigail Disney and Valerie Rockefeller, who campaign for progressive economic reforms.

On the other hand, Engelhorn’s activism has taken a sharply anti‑Israel turn. On social media and in public appearances, she has accused Israel of “genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation.”

A video posted last week by Global Movement to Gaza Austria showed Engelhorn declaring:

“We continue to fight to break this illegal siege and bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. The flotilla is sailing soon, and I will be aboard to stand on the right side of history.”

The flotilla movement is not new. Since the late 2000s, pro‑Hamas, pro-terror advocates have organized voyages to Gaza in an attempt to challenge Israel’s naval blockade, imposed to prevent arms shipments to Hamas.

The most infamous incident occurred in 2010, when the Mavi Marmara, part of a Turkish‑led flotilla, was intercepted by the Israeli Navy. A violent clash left nine activists dead and sparked an international uproar.

Since then, flotillas have continued sporadically, though most are intercepted peacefully. According to the report at The Jerusalem Post, Israel insists that humanitarian supplies enter Gaza daily via land crossings under security inspection, and flotillas are more about political theater than aid delivery.

The latest flotilla, the Handala, was intercepted on July 26 in international waters before reaching Israel’s coast. Passengers included Jewish American activist Bob Suberi, who claimed: “We achieved our goal. We tried to break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza. It was well publicized and directed international attention to the continuing siege and the genocide by starvation.”

Engelhorn’s participation in the next flotilla ensures heightened publicity—and heightened controversy.

Jewish communities worldwide have reacted with disbelief at the news. As The Jerusalem Post report pointed out, for survivors and descendants of Holocaust victims, Engelhorn’s rhetoric is not merely misguided—it is deeply offensive.

The historical irony is painful: the descendant of a family that profited from Holocaust atrocities now publicly accusing the Jewish state of the very crime—genocide—that her forebears abetted.

“This is not just political activism; it is historical amnesia weaponized,” one Israeli commentator told The Jerusalem Post. “To have a Zyklon B heiress calling Israel genocidal is grotesque.”

Engelhorn is not alone in leveraging inherited wealth for political causes. Across Europe and the United States, heirs of industrial fortunes have embraced activist platforms, often with controversial overtones.

Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy Disney, has denounced her family’s company over labor practices and aligned herself with progressive causes, including some critics of Israeli policy.

Valerie Rockefeller, of the Rockefeller dynasty, has championed environmental causes while also backing progressive Middle East advocacy.

In Germany, several heirs of Nazi‑linked fortunes have funded Holocaust education initiatives, but others have steered their wealth into broader left‑wing movements that sometimes adopt harshly critical positions toward Israel.

As The Jerusalem Post report observed, Engelhorn’s case stands out because of her family’s direct historical connection to Holocaust profiteering. Unlike others who distance themselves from that legacy, she has chosen to wield her name in alignment with Israel’s harshest critics.

Engelhorn’s activism must also be understood in the context of European politics. In Austria, where she resides, far‑left groups have grown increasingly vocal in anti‑Israel rhetoric since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

The Jerusalem Post has reported on rallies in Vienna where chants of “From the river to the sea” and accusations of “genocide” against Israel have become common. These protests often attract younger activists, many disconnected from the historical realities of the Holocaust yet quick to adopt narratives framing Israel as an aggressor.

Engelhorn, as a wealthy Austrian with name recognition, provides these movements with a powerful symbol: a descendant of Nazi‑era wealth now supposedly “atoning” by standing against Israel.

The flotilla campaigns are marketed as humanitarian efforts, but Israeli officials stress their political nature. By attempting to breach the blockade, flotillas challenge Israel’s security strategy directly.

As The Jerusalem Post report stressed, the blockade is not arbitrary—it was established to stop arms shipments to Hamas, which has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians and continues to hold hostages abducted on October 7, 2023.

For Israel, intercepting flotillas is a matter of national security. For activists, including Engelhorn, it is a stage to project accusations of “genocide” and “apartheid” against Israel.

Engelhorn’s story also raises deeper ethical questions about inheritance and responsibility. Should heirs of families enriched by Nazi crimes bear a special obligation to support Jewish causes, Holocaust remembrance, or Israel?

Some have chosen that path. In Germany, the Quandt family, heirs to the BMW fortune, have funded Holocaust research after revelations of their family’s Nazi ties. Others, like the heirs of the Krupp industrial empire, have issued apologies and funded memorials.

Engelhorn, by contrast, has charted a different course: using her fortune not to reconcile with history but to accuse Israel—the refuge of Holocaust survivors—of crimes her own family profited from in the past.

As The Jerusalem Post put it, “Engelhorn’s activism is not only political—it is a direct inversion of historical accountability.”

The flotilla Engelhorn plans to join has not yet set sail, but its voyage will almost certainly be intercepted by the Israeli Navy, as all prior flotillas have been. Whether the outcome is peaceful or confrontational, Engelhorn’s presence guarantees international headlines.

For activists, her name lends weight. For critics, it adds insult to injury. For Israelis, it is a reminder that old wounds—those of the Holocaust and of contemporary antisemitism—remain open and raw.

The real stakes go beyond one heiress or one flotilla. The controversy reflects the enduring battle over narrative: whether Israel’s defensive measures will be seen as security imperatives or, as critics allege, as crimes against humanity.

In that battle, voices like Engelhorn’s matter, not because of their truth, but because of their symbolism. A descendant of Zyklon B profits accusing Jews of genocide is a headline tailor‑made to inflame passions and deepen divides.

Marlene Engelhorn’s decision to sail with a pro‑Hamas flotilla highlights the complex intersection of inherited wealth, historical memory, and contemporary politics. Her family’s connection to IG Farben and Zyklon B makes her activism especially charged, ensuring that her actions will be viewed through the lens of history as well as current events.

For Israel and its supporters, as documented in The Jerusalem Post report, the flotilla is less about aid and more about propaganda. For Engelhorn and her allies, it is framed as moral duty.

But to Holocaust survivors, their descendants, and Jewish communities worldwide, the irony is devastating: that a family whose fortune was built on complicity in genocide now funds activism accusing Israel of that very crime.