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| 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 | ||||
| Died | 14 May 1943(1943-05-14) (aged 50) Groß Glienicke Lake,Berlin,Nazi Germany | ||||
| Burial | Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden | ||||
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| House | Wettin(Albertine line) | ||||
| Father | Frederick Augustus III of Saxony | ||||
| Mother | Archduchess Louise of Austria | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony[1] orGeorge (15 January 1893 – 14 May 1943) was the lastCrown Prince of Saxony and the heir toFrederick Augustus III, the finalKing of Saxony, at the time of the monarchy’s abolition on 13 November 1918.[2]
He later became aRoman Catholicpriest and aJesuit. He drowned while swimming in theGroß Glienicke Lake inBerlin. The last entry in his diary was a quotation from theGospel of John interpreted as "I go to the Father" or "I go to my Father." His brotherErnst Heinrich suspected that Georg committed suicide, but the official autopsy rejected this theory.
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 III and his wife,Luise, née Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany. His siblings were the PrincesFriedrich Christian andErnst Heinrich and the PrincessesMargarete,Maria Alix andAnna Monika
After his parents lived separately 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 laterecumenical attitude. Georg became Saxony'scrown prince at 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.
After completing his studies in 1912, Georg joined the 1st Royal Saxon Leib-Grenadier Regiment No. 100. His friend and fellow officerLudwig Renn also served in that regiment; at the time, Ludwig still used his birth nameArnold Friedrich Vieth von Golßenau.
Georg held the rank ofCaptain when 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 II granted him theIron Cross first 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. Henry for his services in this staff.[4]
On 30 November 1917, he was promoted tomajor and made commander of the 5th Royal Saxon Infantry Regiment "Crown Prince" No. 104. He commanded this regiment on both theEastern and theWestern Front. He held this command until 22 May 1918.
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]
When Germany lost the war, the monarchies in Germany collapsed. Georg's fatherabdicated on 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 aCatholic priest 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 Vicar for Saxony and Lusatia, and ArchbishopAdolf Bertram ofBreslau initially held that Georg should continue to hold political responsibility for Saxony. Nevertheless, Georg entered theFranciscan Order.[5]
Finding the Franciscan life too intellectually limiting, Georg soon applied to transfer to theJesuits instead.[5] In the winter semester 1919/20, he studiedphilosophy at 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 studyingtheology at theUniversity of Freiburg. He joined the KDSt.V.Hohenstaufen and 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 inTrzebnica on 15 July 1924 by Bishop Christian Schreiber ofMeissen. The next day, he celebrated his firstmass at his family's royal palace ofSibyllenort (now inSzczodre, Poland). His uncleMaximilian, also a priest, gave thehomily during 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 Canisianum inInnsbruck. 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 College with the CatholicGymnasium at Lietzensee. After taking his final vows in Berlin in 1936, he gave lectures and thespiritual exercises all over Germany. In his lectures, he promotedecumenism and in particular theUna Sancta movement. Among his friends were spiritual leaders of differentreligions.
Georg opposed Nazism from the beginning. During one of his many lectures, he said in Meissen in 1929, referring to the increasingantisemitic agitation 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 Party and 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 protectingJews from theNazi regime[8] in notable contrast to his pro-Nazi brothers-in-law,Prince Frederich of Hohenzollern andPrince 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 theGestapo because 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 Hassell and GeneralPaul von Hase. It is not clear whether he actually participated in the resistance.
Georg died on 14 May 1943, apparently while swimming in theGroß Glienicke Lake in Berlin, Germany.[9]
His diary was found on the lakeshore with a finalLatin entry,Vado ad patrem,[5] a phrase frequently used byJesus in theGospel of John, meaning "I go to the Father" or "I go to my Father."[10] His body was recovered several weeks later. Some, including his brotherErnst Heinrich, expressed doubts that his death had been accidental. However, the autopsy concluded that he had died after suffering a heart attack.[5]
He was buried on 16 June 1943 in theCatholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony, today the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, inDresden. His grave was later damaged during the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945, and again during the floods of August 2002.
Kingdom of Saxony:[11]
Baden:[11]
Kingdom of Bavaria:Knight of St. Hubert,1913[13]
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of theSaxe-Ernestine House Order[11]
Kingdom of Prussia:
Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of thePrincely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class[11]
Mecklenburg:Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore[11]
Oldenburg: Grand Cross of theOrder of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Collar[11]
Principality of Reuss-Gera: Cross of Honour, 1st Class[11]
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach:Grand Cross of the White Falcon[11]
Württemberg:Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown,1906[14]
Austria-Hungary:[15]
Kingdom of Bulgaria: Knight of theOrder of Saints Cyril and Methodius[16]
Kingdom of Greece:Grand Cross of the Redeemer[11] | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(November 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Ancestors of Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony |
|---|
Prinz Georg, 15. Januar 1893–1943, type-written memoirs(in German)
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