COLIN Firth's hopes of Oscar glory for his portrayal of George VI are under threat from an apparent internet smear campaign alleging that the wartime monarch had Nazi sympathies. Firth, 50, was named best actor at Monday's Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles, which is usually recognised as a key indicator of likely success in the Academy Awards. His depiction of George VI's battle to overcome a stammer has won acclaim and box office success on both sides of the Atlantic for the British-made film The King's Speech. Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen Mother in The King's Speech. The film was nominated for seven Golden Globes, including best film and best supporting actress for Helena Bonham Carter, who played Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. There are fears that its success at next month's Oscars could be hampered by an email apparently being circulated to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote on the awards, accusing the film of "glossing over" history. It alleges that George VI, the father of the Queen, actively "stymied" efforts by Jews fleeing Nazi Germany to settle in British-controlled Palestine. He is said to have written to Lord Halifax, then the foreign secretary, in early 1939 speaking of "steps" being taken to prevent Jewish refugees leaving their country of origin. A significant number of members of the academy come from Jewish families that emigrated to America from Nazi-occupied Europe. The email, prompted by a blog entry on the website of New York magazine, draws from earlier reports including an article in The Guardian nine years ago that attributes the claim to archive material. Scott Feinberg, a Hollywood commentator, disclosed on his blog how he had received the anonymous message purporting to be from a member of the academy. "I'm an academy member, and there are a lot of us who won't vote for King's Speech for this reason, which was in New York magazine," it read. It went on to quote a posting in which the writer spoke of feeling "morally compelled" to highlight how the film allegedly "glosses over the Nazi-sympathising past of the tongue-tied monarch." "When it came to actively working to stymie Jews fleeing Hitler's Germany, George actually communicated quite eloquently," it said. The article drew from a letter the king is said to have written to Lord Halifax noting reports that "a number of Jewish refugees from different countries were surreptitiously getting into Palestine." He went on to say he was "glad to think that steps are being taken to prevent these people leaving their country of origin." Mr Feinberg remarked: "Is the email that I received part of some sort of co-ordinated smear campaign that is being orchestrated by someone with a vested interest in stunting the awards prospects of The King's Speech, or is it really from an academy member who would like others to take note of documented facts about the film's subject that are not reported in the film? I can't say for certain. The reputation of the former Edward VIII, George VI's brother, has been dogged by claims that he had sympathies with the Nazis as a bulwark against communism. In 1937 the Duke and Duchess of Windsor - as Edward and his wife became - toured Germany and met Hitler. Britain took in about 70,000 Jewish refugees by the eve of World War II, including 10,000 children as part of the "kindertransport" rescue efforts. While historians have suggested George VI viewed Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement favourably, fearing that war would lead to the break-up of the Empire, he is remembered as an inspirational figure during the struggle that followed. The film details how his 1939 Christmas speech rallied the nation, quoting a hitherto little-known poem which reads: "I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown'. And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.'