Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia
Encyclopedia
Prince August Wilhelm Heinrich Günther Viktor of Prussia (29 January 1887 in Potsdam
, Germany
– 25 March 1949 in Stuttgart
, Germany
), called "Auwi", was the fourth son of Kaiser
Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
.
, also in Potsdam, and his school days at the Prinzenhaus in Plön. Later, he studied at the universities of Bonn
, Berlin
and Strasbourg
. He received his doctorate in political science in 1907 "in an exceedingly dubious manner", as one author describes it.
Prince August Wilhelm married his cousin Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
(21 April 1887 Germany
– 15 April 1957 France
) on 22 October 1908 at the Berliner Stadtschloss. The couple had planned to take up residence in Schönhausen Palace
in Berlin, but changed their mind when August Wilhelm's father decided to leave his son the Villa Liegnitz in the Sanssouci Park
. On 26 December 1912 their only child, Prince Alexander Ferdinand of Prussia
(died 12 June 1985), was born. Their Potsdam residence developed into a meeting place for artists and scholars.
During the First World War, August Wilhelm was made district administrator (Landrat) of the district of Ruppin; his office and residence was now Schloss Rheinsberg. His personal adjutant Hans Georg von Mackensen, with whom he had been close friends since his youth, played an important role in his life. These "pronounced homophilic tendencies" contributed to the failure of his marriage to Princess Alexandra Victoria. They never undertook a formal divorce due to the opposition of August Wilhelm's father, Kaiser Wilhelm II.
August Wilhelm joined the nationalist veteran's group "Stahlhelm
". In the following years he had increasing contact with the National Socialists. Finally, to the discomfort of his family and against his father's will, he joined the "dangerous, revolutionary" NSDAP on 1 April 1930, whereupon he received the low membership number 24, for symbolic reasons. In November 1931, he was accepted into the SA with the rank of "Standartenführer". Due to his ingratiation with the National Socialists and his adoration of Adolf Hitler, August Wilhelm was often the subject of mockery by the left-wing press ("Braunhemdchen Auwi", i.e. "Auwi the Little Brown Shirt), politicians ("Hanswurst" i.e. "Hans the Brown Sausage" by André François-Poncet), and from National Socialists themselves (Goebbels called him a "good-natured but slightly gormless boy").
As a representative of the erstwhile Prussian royal dynasty and German imperial dynasty, August Wilhelm was deliberately used by the National Socialists to gain votes in elections, for example as the lead candidate of the NSDAP for election to the Prussian Landtag in April 1932 or as an election speaker alongside Hitler, whom he accompanied on flights across Germany at the same time. Through his appearances at mass rallies of the National Socialists 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".
. However, after the establishment of a dictatorship, the National Socialists no longer needed the former prince, who himself had secretly hoped "that Hitler would one day hoist him or his son Alexander up to the vacant throne of the Kaiser". Thus in spring 1934 he was denied direct access to Hitler and by the summer after the Röhm affair, he found himself in the wilderness politically. This did not, however, reduce his adoration of Hitler. On 31 June 1939 he was made an Obergruppenführer, the second highest rank in the SA, but after making derogatory remarks about Joseph Goebbels in private, he was denounced in 1942. From then on, he was completely sidelined and was also banned from making public speeches.
At the beginning of February 1945, in the company of the former Crown Princess Cecilie, August Wilhelm fled the approaching Red Army, going from Potsdam to Kronberg to take refuge with his aunt Princess Margaret of Prussia
, a sister of his father.
Immediately after his release, however, new proceedings were instituted against him. There was an arrest warrant against him from a court in Potsdam in the Soviet zone. He was never arrested, as soon after he became seriously ill and died at a hospital in Stuttgart
at the age of 63. August Wilhelm was buried in Langenburg in the cemetery of the princes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. During his lifetime, he had produced a son:
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
– 25 March 1949 in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
), called "Auwi", was the fourth son of Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein was the last German Empress and Queen of Prussia. Her full German name was Auguste Victoria Friederike Luise Feodora Jenny von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.She was the eldest daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess...
.
Early life
He was born in the Potsdamer Stadtschloss when his grandfather was still the Crown Prince of Prussia. He spent his youth with his siblings at the New PalaceNew Palace (Potsdam)
The New Palace is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci royal park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under Frederick the Great and was completed in 1769...
, also in Potsdam, and his school days at the Prinzenhaus in Plön. Later, he studied at the universities of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
and Strasbourg
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
. He received his doctorate in political science in 1907 "in an exceedingly dubious manner", as one author describes it.
Prince August Wilhelm married his cousin Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg was the second eldest daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.-Prince August:Alexandra Victoria's first...
(21 April 1887 Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
– 15 April 1957 France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) on 22 October 1908 at the Berliner Stadtschloss. The couple had planned to take up residence in Schönhausen Palace
Schönhausen Palace
Schönhausen Palace is a Baroque palace at Niederschönhausen, in Berlin's borough of Pankow. It is surrounded by gardens through which the Panke river runs...
in Berlin, but changed their mind when August Wilhelm's father decided to leave his son the Villa Liegnitz in the Sanssouci Park
Sanssouci Park
Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the structure. A baroque flower garden with lawns, flower beds, hedges and trees was created. In the hedge...
. On 26 December 1912 their only child, Prince Alexander Ferdinand of Prussia
Prince Alexander Ferdinand of Prussia
Prince Alexander Ferdinand of Prussia was the only son of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia and his wife Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.-Family and early life:Prince Alexander Ferdinand of Prussia was born on 26 December 1912 to Prince...
(died 12 June 1985), was born. Their Potsdam residence developed into a meeting place for artists and scholars.
During the First World War, August Wilhelm was made district administrator (Landrat) of the district of Ruppin; his office and residence was now Schloss Rheinsberg. His personal adjutant Hans Georg von Mackensen, with whom he had been close friends since his youth, played an important role in his life. These "pronounced homophilic tendencies" contributed to the failure of his marriage to Princess Alexandra Victoria. They never undertook a formal divorce due to the opposition of August Wilhelm's father, Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Weimar Republic
After the end of the war, the couple separated and formally divorced in March 1920. August Wilhem was awarded custody of their son. After his divorce and the marriage of his friend Hans Georg 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 Professor Arthur Kampf, and the sale of his pictures secured him an additional source of income.August Wilhelm joined the nationalist veteran's group "Stahlhelm
Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten
The Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten also known in short form as Der Stahlhelm was one of the many paramilitary organizations that arose after the defeat of World War I in the Weimar Republic...
". In the following years he had increasing contact with the National Socialists. Finally, to the discomfort of his family and against his father's will, he joined the "dangerous, revolutionary" NSDAP on 1 April 1930, whereupon he received the low membership number 24, for symbolic reasons. In November 1931, he was accepted into the SA with the rank of "Standartenführer". Due to his ingratiation with the National Socialists and his adoration of Adolf Hitler, August Wilhelm was often the subject of mockery by the left-wing press ("Braunhemdchen Auwi", i.e. "Auwi the Little Brown Shirt), politicians ("Hanswurst" i.e. "Hans the Brown Sausage" by André François-Poncet), and from National Socialists themselves (Goebbels called him a "good-natured but slightly gormless boy").
As a representative of the erstwhile Prussian royal dynasty and German imperial dynasty, August Wilhelm was deliberately used by the National Socialists to gain votes in elections, for example as the lead candidate of the NSDAP for election to the Prussian Landtag in April 1932 or as an election speaker alongside Hitler, whom he accompanied on flights across Germany at the same time. Through his appearances at mass rallies of the National Socialists 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".
National Socialism
In 1933 August Wilhelm was given a position within the Prussian state, and became a member of the German ReichstagReichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
. However, after the establishment of a dictatorship, the National Socialists no longer needed the former prince, who himself had secretly hoped "that Hitler would one day hoist him or his son Alexander up to the vacant throne of the Kaiser". Thus in spring 1934 he was denied direct access to Hitler and by the summer after the Röhm affair, he found himself in the wilderness politically. This did not, however, reduce his adoration of Hitler. On 31 June 1939 he was made an Obergruppenführer, the second highest rank in the SA, but after making derogatory remarks about Joseph Goebbels in private, he was denounced in 1942. From then on, he was completely sidelined and was also banned from making public speeches.
At the beginning of February 1945, in the company of the former Crown Princess Cecilie, August Wilhelm fled the approaching Red Army, going from Potsdam to Kronberg to take refuge with his aunt Princess Margaret of Prussia
Princess Margaret of Prussia
Princess Margaret of Prussia was a daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal. She married Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse. In 1926 they became Landgrave and Landgravine of Hesse...
, a sister of his father.
Post World War II
At the end of the Second World War, on 8 May 1945, August Wilhelm was arrested by United States soldiers and imprisoned on the premises of the Flak-Kaserne Ludwigsburg. "At the denazification trial [Spruchkammerverfahren] of 1948, to the question whether he meanwhile had at least repudiated National Socialism, he asked uncomprehendingly: 'I beg your pardon?'" He was thus categorized as "incriminated" by the denazification court of the internment camp of Ludwigsburg, and was sentenced to two and a half years' hard labour. Due to his confinement since 1945 in an internment camp, he was considered to have served his sentence.Immediately after his release, however, new proceedings were instituted against him. There was an arrest warrant against him from a court in Potsdam in the Soviet zone. He was never arrested, as soon after he became seriously ill and died at a hospital in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
at the age of 63. August Wilhelm was buried in Langenburg in the cemetery of the princes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. During his lifetime, he had produced a son:
- Prince Alexander Ferdinand Albrecht Achilles Wilhelm Joseph Viktor Carl Feodor of PrussiaPrince Alexander Ferdinand of PrussiaPrince Alexander Ferdinand of Prussia was the only son of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia and his wife Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.-Family and early life:Prince Alexander Ferdinand of Prussia was born on 26 December 1912 to Prince...
(26 December 1912 – 12 June 1985). He, in turn, married and had two children.
Regimental Commissions through World War One
- 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)
Chivalric Orders
- Knight, Order of the Black EagleOrder of the Black EagleThe Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg . In his Dutch exile after WWI, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family...
, January 29, 1897; collar January 29, 1904
- Knight Grand Cross (with Crown), Order of the Red EagleOrder of the Red EagleThe Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...
, January 29, 1897
- Knight First Class, Prussian Crown OrderOrder of the Crown (Prussia)The Order of the Crown was Prussia's lowest ranking order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an award equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, it could only be awarded to commissioned officers , but there was a medal associated with the order which could be earned by non-commissioned officers...
, January 29, 1897
- Grand Commander (with collar chain), Royal House Order of HohenzollernHouse Order of HohenzollernThe House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
- Honor Cross, First Class, Princely House Order of HohenzollernHouse Order of HohenzollernThe House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
- Knight, First Class (with Crown), Order of the Wendish Crown, Mecklenburg Grand Duchies
- Knight, First Class, Order of the Netherlands Lion, Netherlands
- Knight, First Class (Star with diamonds), Osminieh OrderOsminieh OrderThe Order of Osmanieh, Order of Osmanie, Order of Osmania was a military decoration of the Ottoman Empire, created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdulaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nichan Iftikhar , this became the second highest order in the Empire, ranking below the High Order of Honour...
, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)