LISTEN - "He's A Nazi." "No, SHE IS!", 1940-41 Divorce Case Starring CT Town Art Lady, Emily Hall Tremaine, Fighting The New Ideology

November 14, 2025

*Special (Santa Barbara, Sept. 6.) (7 September 1940). No. 4 calls sugar heir a Nazi, sues [with reused photo of Emily Spreckels, later Emily Hall Tremaine].* Daily News (New York), p. 4.

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Breaking up can be hard to do, but sometimes it's the best thing ever.

The latter was surely the case when the CT town art lady of Meriden and Madison, Emily Hall Tremaine (previously Spreckels and previously Von Romberg) (1908-87), filed for divorce in early September 1940. This was against her second husband of one year, Adolph B. Spreckels, Jr., when she lived in California before World War II.

The European War had already begun a year earlier. The new ideology, Nazism, was still receiving support in pockets of the high-end social set, and influential business, and creeping more into American society.

Emily and her pals were fighting back.

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At the time, Emily was a social celebrity, and some call her the "Original It Girl". She was often in the press for this and that. Her second husband was a sugar heir and also often in the press, but centered on his three, previous nasty divorces.

What resulted with the media coverage-compiling couple is something to see. The divorce was reported nationally for months, often with re-used photos from earlier media coverage cycles. Below are a few samples.

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U.P. (Santa Barbara). (September 7, 1940). Mrs. Spreckels *[later Emily Hall Tremaine]* *in divorce suit says mate pro-Nazi *(cropped)*. Los Angeles Times, p. 1, cols. 2-3.*

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*(September 7, 1940). Sugar scion sweet on Nazis, says wife bitterly (cropped). The News (Los Angeles), p. 5.*

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United Press (Santa Barbara, Calif., Sept. 7). (September 7, 1940). Wife sues Spreckels; sympathetic to Nazi cause, is her charge [regarding divorce action by Emily Spreckels (later Emily Hall Tremaine). The Evening News (Harrisburg, PA), p. 1, col. 3.

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Probably CP photo agency. (September 10, 1940). Hurls charge [with re-used photo of Emily Spreckels, later Emily Hall Tremaine, wearing $500k-$1m in diamonds at a New York costume party] (cropped). Red Bluff Daily News (Red Bluff, CA), p. 1, col. 6.

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In Emily's initial court filing, she alleged extreme spousal violence. She also alleged that Adolph was a Nazi supporter. (You can view the detailed court record, including Emily's once-though secret deposition here.)

Three months after Emily's filing, he declared, "I'm not the Nazi, SHE IS", which produced another media coverage cycle.

AP (Santa Barbara, Calif., Dec. 9). (December 10, 1940). Photo/caption: Charged with Naziism [with cropped photo of Emily Spreckels, who later became Emily Hall Tremaine, wearing diamonds] (cropped). Altoona Tribune (Altoona, PA), p. 1, col. 6.

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*(December 22, 1940). Who’s pro-Nazi? Spreckels, 4th hurl swastikas at each other (cropped).* Daily News (New York), p. 3.

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*U. P. (Santa Barbara, Dec. 19). (20 December 1940). "He’s a Nazi and I’m not", counters Mrs. Spreckels [regarding divorce action by Emily Spreckels (later Emily Hall Tremaine)] (cropped).* Daily News *(Los Angeles), p. 23.*

See more media coverage clippings on the crazy divorce case here.

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The case was dismissed in April 1941. Emily never lived with Spreckels again. Two months later, Emily appeared in the media again, around the curious Santa Barbara Museum of Art opening, under a Nazi cloud.

Was Emily Hall Tremaine pro-Nazi, a US patriot-spy, or both? That is the key question. After the divorce, Emily was reported to be publicly and socially with US Naval Intelligence legend Ellis M. Zacharias, who was leading all sorts of intelligence operations with civilians. Emily's brother-in-law worked directly for Zacharias for a bit, and Emily's sister was rather friendly with Ellis's wife Claire, who was also a social contact of Emily's.

Adolph wouldn't allow Emily to divorce him until 1945 near the timing of the Yalta Conference towards the end of WWII. It's thought this had something to do with spousal privilege.

The entire case involving Emily and Adolph needs more declassified intelligence research in US, UK and Nazi German archives.

See more:

> Emily Hall Tremaine Fights Back (1933-45): Nazis In California (Connecticut Centinal)

> See the coverage on Emily Hall Tremaine, CT's rock n roll art lady, at the Connecticut Centinal

> See "PLEASE Enable The Mandatory Declassification Review Of The San Francisco District Naval Intelligence Files For History, And For Emily Hall Tremaine" (Connecticut Centinal)

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R. J. Preece

R. J. Preece is an investigative journalist focused on unearthing the hidden history of US pro-Nazi supporters in business and the social / cultural set (1929-45), including some curiously celebrated by the Left after WWII. See artdesigncafe.com.