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Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony

Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony[1]orGeorge(15 January 1893 – 14 May 1943) the lastCrown Princeof Saxony, was the heir to theKing of Saxony,Frederick Augustus III,[citation needed]at the time of the monarchy's abolition on 13 November 1918.[2] He later became aRoman Catholicpriestand aJesuit.

Georg
Crown Prince of Saxony
Crown Prince George of Saxony in 1911
Born(1893-01-15)15 January 1893
Dresden,Kingdom of Saxony,German Empire
Died14 May 1943(1943-05-14)(aged 50)
Groß Glienicke Lake,Berlin,Nazi Germany
Burial
Katholische Hofkirche,Dresden
Names
German:Friedrich August Georg Ferdinand Albert Karl Anton Paul Marcellus
English:Frederick Augustus George Ferdinand Albert Charles Anthony Paul Marcellus
HouseWettin
FatherFrederick Augustus III of Saxony
MotherArchduchess Louise of Austria
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Early life and education

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Georg was born on 15 January 1893 inDresden,capital ofKingdom of Saxony.[citation needed] He was the son of Prince Frederick Augustus, the later KingFrederick Augustus IIIand his wife,Luise,née Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany. His siblings were the PrincesFriedrich ChristianandErnst Heinrichand the PrincessesMargarete,Maria AlixandAnna Monika

After his parents divorced in 1903, his father took sole parental responsibility for the children. He emphasised the Christian faith and a Catholic lifestyle. The children were educated by private tutors in a prince's school established by their father at the Saxon court. Most of the teachers wereProtestants;this contributed to his laterecumenicalattitude. Georg became Saxony'scrown princeat age eleven, when his father acceded to the throne in 1904.

After graduating from high school in 1912, Georg studied political sciences for three months at theUniversity of Breslau.He then began to study economics. During this time, he joined theKDSt.V. Winfridia.

First World War

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Crown Prince Georg in 1916, byRobert Sterl

After completing his studies in 1912, Georg joined the 1st Royal Saxon Leib-Grenadier Regiment No. 100. His friend and fellow officerLudwig Rennalso served in that regiment; at the time, Ludwig still used his birth nameArnold Friedrich Vieth von Golßenau.

Georg held the rank ofCaptainwhen he was sent to the front at the start ofWorld War I.He suffered a serious leg injury during the first months of the war.[3]In 1915, KaiserWilhelm IIgranted him theIron Crossfirst class "in recognition of the services he rendered in the recent battles.".[3]

On 27 July 1916, he was added to the staff ofArmy Group Gallwitz.On 30 August 1916, he received theMilitary Order of St. Henryfor his services in this staff.[4]

On 30 November 1917, he was promoted tomajorand made commander of the 5th Royal Saxon Infantry Regiment "Crown Prince" No. 104. He commanded this regiment on both theEasternand theWestern Front.He held this command until 22 May 1918.

Engaged to be married

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In the spring of 1918, newspapers announced the prince's engagement to Duchess Marie Amelia, daughter ofAlbrecht, Duke of Württemberg,the heir to the throne of theKingdom of Württemberg.[1]The end of the Saxon monarchy and the prince's desire to become a priest apparently led to the end of the engagement. The duchess died unmarried in 1923.[citation needed]

Abolition of monarchy and Jesuit priest

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The Crown Prince's standard. Georg was Saxony's last crown prince

When Germany lost the war, the monarchies in Germany collapsed. Georg's fatherabdicatedon 13 November 1918. This marked a fundamental turning point in his career planning. In 1919, he decided to renounce his rights on the Saxon throne, and become aCatholicpriest instead. This decision was very controversial among people who hoped that the monarchy might one day be restored, and also met with significant concerns from the side of the Catholic Church. For example, Franz Löbman, theApostolic Vicarfor Saxony and Lusatia, and ArchbishopAdolf BertramofBreslauinitially held that Georg should continue to hold political responsibility for Saxony. Nevertheless, Georg entered theFranciscanOrder.[5]

Finding the Franciscan life too intellectually limiting, Georg soon applied to transfer to theJesuitsinstead.[5]In the winter semester 1919/20, he studiedphilosophyat theUniversity of Tübingen.During this period, he joined theA.V.Guestfalia Tübingen.In the next semester, he studied at theUniversity of Breslau.

In the winter semester 1920/21, he began studyingtheologyat theUniversity of Freiburg.He joined the KDSt.V.Hohenstaufenand Saxo-Thuringia. He completed this study in 1923. In the same year, he formally renounced his rights to the Saxon throne and became aJesuit.[6]

He was ordained a priest inTrzebnicaon 15 July 1924 by Bishop Christian Schreiber ofMeissen.The next day, he celebrated his firstmassat the royal palace inSzczodre(German:Sibyllenort.His uncleMaximilian,also a priest, gave thehomilyduring this service. Thereafter, the young prince was generally known asPater Georg(Father George) and used the last namevon Sachsen.[2][7]After his ordination, George worked as an auxiliary priest in his nativeDiocese of Meissen.

He then continued his studies at the JesuitCollegium CanisianuminInnsbruck.In the fall of 1925, he joined the Upper German province of theSociety of Jesus,however, in 1927, he switched to the East German province, which included his native Saxony. From 1928 to 1930, he studied at a Jesuit college inValkenburg.

From 1933, he did pastoral work inBerlin.He helped build up the Jesuit residenceCanisius Collegewith the CatholicGymnasiumat Lietzensee.After taking his final vows in Berlin in 1936, he gave lectures and thespiritual exercisesall over Germany. In his lectures, he promotedecumenismand in particular theUna Sanctamovement. Among his friends were spiritual leaders of differentreligions.

Opponent of Nazism

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Georg opposed Nazism from the beginning. During one of his many lectures, he said in Meissen in 1929, referring to the increasingantisemiticagitation by some right-wing parties: "Love is the order of the day in the relationship between Catholics and Protestant, and also to our Jewish fellow citizens". He found it unbearable that theNazi Partyand after 1933 the state vilified and sought to destroy core values that were important to him personally — monarchical and dynastic Saxon traditions and fundamental values of Western Christianity. He felt that his family honor was offended and his work as a pastor was significantly impeded.

He worked in Berlin where he was credited with protectingJewsfrom theNaziregime[8]in notable contrast to his pro-Nazi brothers-in-law,Prince Frederich of HohenzollernandPrince Franz Joseph of Hohenzollern-Emden.

As critic of the regime and a member of the former Saxon royal family, but in particular as a Catholic priest and a member of the Jesuit order, he was seen as highly suspect by the Nazi regime. He was shadowed by theGestapobecause he helped Jews leaving the country and he helped opposition politicians hiding from the regime. Sometimes, he had to go into hiding himself, and the police searched his home several times. He knew some of the people who later attempted the failed20 July plot,in particularUlrich von Hasselland GeneralPaul von Hase.It is not clear whether he actually participated in the resistance.

Death

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The former prince died on 14 May 1943 apparently while swimming in theGroß Glienicke Lakein Berlin, Germany.[9]Georg's diary was found on the lakeshore with a finalLatinentry readingVado ad patrem,[5]which is the Latin version of a phraseJesusfrequently spoke to his disciples in theGospel of Johnand means "I go to the Father" or "I go to my Father."[10]His body was found several weeks after his death. Some people, including his brotherErnst Heinrichexpressed doubts that his death had been an accident. Nevertheless, the autopsy determined that he died after suffering a heart attack.[5]

He was buried in theCatholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony,today known as the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, inDresdenon 16 June 1943. His grave was damaged during the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945 and later by the floods of August 2002.

Honours

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Ancestry

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Works

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Prinz Georg, 15. Januar 1893–1943,type-written memoirs(in German)

References

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  1. ^ab"PRINCE OF SAXONY TO WED; Heir to Throne Engaged to Duchess Maria Amelie"(PDF).The New York Times.2 June 1918. p. 18.Retrieved2008-10-26.
  2. ^ab"GERMAN PRINCES TAKE TO ALL SORTS OF JOBS; One Is a Jesuit, Another a Playwright, a Third Works for Ford and a Fourth for Hitler".The New York Times.10 January 1932. pp. E4.Retrieved2008-10-26.
  3. ^ab"Kaiser Honors Prince, Confers Highest Iron Cross on George of Saxony"(PDF).The New York Times.1915-11-02. p. 2.Retrieved2010-03-14.
  4. ^Der Königlich Sächsische Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden 1736–1918, Ein Ehrenblatt der Sächsischen Armee,Wilhelm und Bertha von Baensch-Stiftung, Dresden, 1937, p.558
  5. ^abcdDippel, John V.H> (1992-02-28).Two Against Hitler: Stealing The Nazis' Best-Kept Secrets.New York: Praeger Publishers. p. 42.ISBN978-0-275-93745-4.
  6. ^http://www.mazdakan.net/Prince%20George%20of%20Saxony%20(1893-1943).htm[dead link‍]
  7. ^German Jesuit CalendarArchived2016-03-06 at theWayback MachineGeorge of Saxony.Retrieved on 9 November 2008
  8. ^Diocese of Dresden-MeissenArchived2015-09-23 at theWayback Machine(in German)retrieved on 9 November 2008
  9. ^To, Telephone (18 May 1943)."LIST SAXON PRINCE DEAD; Berne Hears George Drowned – Body Not Recovered".The New York Times.p. 9.Retrieved2008-10-26.
  10. ^"Latin Vulgate Bible with Douay-Rheims and King James Version Side-by-Side+Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ".
  11. ^abcdefghijRangliste de Königlich Preußischen Armee(in German), Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, 1914, p.161– via hathitrust.org
  12. ^Sachsen (1908). "Königlich Orden".Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1908.Dresden: Heinrich. p.3– via hathitrust.org.
  13. ^"Königliche Orden",Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern(in German), Munich: Druck and Verlag, 1914, p.10– via hathitrust.org
  14. ^"Königliche Orden",Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg,Stuttgart: Landesamt, 1907, p.31
  15. ^"Ritter-Orden",Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie,1918, pp.51,56,retrieved8 September2020
  16. ^Justus Perthes,Almanach de Gotha 1923(1923)pp. 108-109
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