Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
German Cross in Gold, War Merit Cross 2nd Class With Swords. |
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| Prince Josias | |
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| Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont | |
Waldeck and Pyrmont | |
| Father | Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont |
| Mother | Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe |
Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (
prisoners of war held at Buchenwald concentration camp
, but was released after serving about three years in prison.
Early years
He was born in
First World War, where he suffered serious injuries.[1] At the end of the war, his family lost their Principality as Waldeck and Pyrmont became a Free State in the new Weimar Republic
.
SS career
After the war, Waldeck-Pyrmont studied agriculture. On 1 November 1929, he joined
SS on 2 March 1930. He was immediately appointed adjutant to Sepp Dietrich, before becoming Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's Adjutant and staff chief in September 1930.[1]
Waldeck-Pyrmont was elected as the
Higher SS and Police Leader for Weimar. In this position he had supervisory authority over Buchenwald concentration camp.[2]
Buchenwald had first caught the attention of Waldeck in 1941 when, glancing over the camp's death list, he came across the name of
Majdanek concentration camp in Poland, but his wife, Ilse, was still living at the Commandant's house in Buchenwald. Waldeck ordered a full-scale investigation of the camp by Georg Konrad Morgen, an SS major who was a judge in a German court. Throughout the investigation, more of Koch's orders to kill prisoners at the camp were revealed, as well as evidence of embezzlement of property stolen from prisoners.[3] It was also discovered that the prisoner who was "shot while trying to escape" had been told to get water from a well some distance from the camp, then was shot from behind; he had also helped treat Koch for syphilis. A charge of incitement to murder was lodged against Koch by Waldeck-Pyrmont and Morgen, to which later was added a charge of embezzlement. Other camp officials were also charged, including Ilse Koch. The trial resulted in a death sentence for the Commandant, who was executed by firing squad on 5 April 1945.[3]
Morgen was convinced that Ilse Koch was guilty of sadistic crimes, but could not prove the charges against her; she was detained by German authorities until early 1945.
German-occupied France.[4] One of his first acts in his new role was ordering French hostages to be placed on German troop trains, to discourage sabotage attempts on them.[5] He was made a general in the Waffen-SS in July 1944.[2]
Arrest and later life
Buchenwald Trial
Waldeck-Pyrmont was arrested on 13 April 1945, and sentenced to life imprisonment by an American court at
Minister President of Hesse in July 1953, which resulted in a significant reduction of the fine imposed on him.[8]
Head of the House of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Waldeck-Pyrmont became head of the House of
Waldeck and Pyrmont upon the death of his father, on 26 May 1946, while under arrest. He died at his primary estate, Schloss Schaumburg, in 1967, and was succeeded as head of the house by his only son Prince Wittekind.[8]
Family
Waldeck-Pyrmont married Duchess Altburg of Oldenburg (1903–2001), a daughter of the former Grand Duke of Oldenburg, Friedrich August II, on 25 August 1922 at Rastede. They had five children:
- Princess Margarethe of Waldeck and Pyrmont (22 May 1923 – 21 August 2003); her son Eberhard would marry Alexandra Reuss, granddaughter of Princess Marie Adelheid of Lippe
- Princess Alexandra of Waldeck and Pyrmont (25 September 1924 – 4 September 2009)
- Princess Ingrid of Waldeck and Pyrmont (b. 2 September 1931)
- Prince Wittekind of Waldeck and Pyrmont (b. 9 March 1936)
- Princess Guda of Waldeck and Pyrmont (b. 22 August 1939), married Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Wied (her second cousin twice-removed), grandson of William Frederick, Prince of Wied.
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont |
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See also
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-415-26038-8.
- ^ a b Petropoulos 2006, p. 262
- ^ a b c Hackett 1997, p. 341
- ^ "Nazi prince sent to subdue French". The New York Times. 25 April 1942. p. 3.
- Time Magazine. 4 May 1942. Archived from the originalon 14 October 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ "Schutzstaffel: The SS". Germania International. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
- ^ Stein 2004, p. 255
- ^ a b Petropoulos 2006, p. 266
Sources
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josias Prinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.
- ISBN 0-19-516133-5.
- Hackett, David A. (1997). The Buchenwald Report. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3363-6.
- Stein, Harry (2004). Buchenwald concentration camp 1937–1945. Wallstein Verlag. ISBN 3-89244-695-4.
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