Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2018) |
Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia | |
---|---|
Born | Potsdam, Prussia, German Empire | 29 January 1887
Died | 25 March 1949 Stuttgart, Württemberg-Baden, Allied-occupied Germany | (aged 62)
Burial | |
Spouse | |
Wilhelm II, German Emperor | |
Mother | Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein |
Prussian Royalty |
House of Hohenzollern |
---|
Wilhelm II |
Prince August Wilhelm Heinrich Günther Viktor of Prussia (29 January 1887 – 25 March 1949), nicknamed "Auwi", was the fourth son of German Emperor Wilhelm II by his first wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was a vocal supporter of Nazism and of Adolf Hitler.
Early life
He was born in the
Prince August Wilhelm married his cousin
In the
Weimar Republic
Initially, many Allied and German leaders favored transitioning Germany to a constitutional monarchy with August Wilhelm as either Emperor or regent for one of Crown Prince Wilhelm's children, although this possibility was quickly precluded when Philipp Scheidemann was forced by the pressures of the German Revolution to declare a republic.[1] Winston Churchill, who at the time served as Secretary of State for War in the Lloyd George War Cabinet, blamed the failure to retain the monarchy for the political instability that plagued the Weimar Republic.[2]
After the end of the war, the couple separated and formally divorced in March 1920. August Wilhelm was awarded custody of their son. After his divorce and the marriage of his friend von Mackensen to Winifred von Neurath, the daughter of Konstantin von Neurath, August Wilhelm lived a reclusive life in his villa in Potsdam. He took drawing lessons with Arthur Kampf, and the sale of his pictures secured him an additional source of income.
Involvement with National Socialism
August Wilhelm joined the
As a representative of the erstwhile Hohenzollern dynasty, August Wilhelm was deliberately used by the party to gain votes in elections: he was elected as its lead candidate for the Landtag of Prussia in April 1932, and retained his seat until the Landtag's dissolution in October 1933. At the same time, he was appointed an election speaker alongside Hitler, whom he accompanied on flights across Germany. Through his appearances at the party's mass rallies, he addressed himself to sections of the population that were lukewarm towards National Socialism and convinced them "that Hitler was not a threat, but a benefactor of the German people and the German Empire".[citation needed]
At the
One high-profile visit[when?] took August Wilhelm to the Passau Hall of the Nibelungs (Nibelungenhalle).[4]
On 30 June 1939 he was made an SA-Obergruppenführer, the second-highest rank in the SA, but he made derogatory remarks about Joseph Goebbels in private, and so was denounced in 1942. From then on, he was completely sidelined and was banned from making public speeches.
In early February 1945, in the company of the former Crown Princess Cecilie, August Wilhelm fled the approaching Red Army by going from Potsdam to Kronberg to take refuge with his aunt Princess Margaret of Prussia, a sister of his father.
Post-war life
At the end of the
Immediately after his release, new proceedings were instituted against August Wilhelm. A court in
With his wife, Princess Alexandra of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince August Wilhelm had one son:
- Prince Alexander Ferdinand Albrecht Achilles Wilhelm Joseph Viktor Carl Feodor of Prussia (26 December 1912 – 12 June 1985), who married Armgard Weygand on 19 December 1938. They had one son, Prince Stephan Alexander Dieter Friedrich of Prussia (1939–1993); he had one daughter, Princess Stephanie Victoria-Louise of Prussia (born 1966).
Regimental commissions until First World War
- 1. Garderegiment zu Fuß (1st Regiment of Foot Guards), Potsdam: Leutnant à la suite, from January 29, 1897; Oberleutnant, before 1908.
- à la suite, Grenadierregiment Konig Friedrich Wilhelm I. (2. Ostpreussisches) Nr. 3
- à la suite, 2. Gardegrenadierlandwehrregiment (2nd Reserve Regiment of Grenadier Guards) [6][citation needed]
Chivalric orders
- Kingdom of Prussia:
- Knight of the Black Eagle, 27 January 1897;[7] with Collar, 1904
- Knight of the Royal Crown Order, 1st Class, 27 January 1897[7]
- Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 27 January 1897[7]
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, with Crown, 29 January 1897
- Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 15 June 1912[8]
- Grand Duchy of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 27 January 1909[9]
- Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
- Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown
- Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
- Ottoman Empire: Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class with Star in Diamonds[10]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
References
- OCLC 907190709.
- OCLC 3025315.
- ISBN 978-3-770-05271-4.
- ^ Anna Rosmus Hitler's Nibelungen, Samples Grafenau 2015, pp. 113ff
- ^ "Der Nazi-Prinz". Einestages.
- ^ Schench, G. Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das Jahr 1908. Berlin, Prussia, 1907.
- ^ a b c "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), Berlin: 5, 80, 129, 1895
- ISBN 978-87-7674-434-2.
- ^ "Ludewigs-orden", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 6 – via hathitrust.org
- ^ Schench, G. Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das Jahr 1908. Berlin, Prussia, 1907.
External links
- Newspaper clippings about Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
- Information about Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia in the Reichstag database