| Wilhelm | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Crown Prince Crown Prince of Prussia | |||||
 Crown Prince Wilhelm in 1913 | |||||
| Head of the House of Hohenzollern Prince of Prussia | |||||
| Tenure | 4 June 1941 – 20 July 1951 | ||||
| Predecessor | Wilhelm II | ||||
| Successor | Louis Ferdinand | ||||
| Born | (1882-05-06)6 May 1882 Marmorpalais,Potsdam, Germany | ||||
| Died | 20 July 1951(1951-07-20) (aged 69) Hechingen, West Germany | ||||
| Burial | 26 July 1951 Hohenzollern Castle, Germany | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Hohenzollern | ||||
| Father | Wilhelm II, German Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein | ||||
| Religion | Lutheranism (Prussian United) | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Prussian Royalty |
| House of Hohenzollern |
|---|
 |
| Wilhelm II |
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951), was the eldest child of the lastGerman emperor,Wilhelm II, and his consortAugusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. As Emperor Wilhelm's heir, he was the lastGerman Crown Prince andCrown Prince of Prussia, until theabolition of the monarchy.
Wilhelm became crown prince at the age of six in 1888, when his grandfatherFrederick III died and his father became emperor. He was crown prince for 30 years untilhis father's abdication and the fall of the empire on 9 November 1918. DuringWorld War I, he commanded the5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of theArmy Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war. After his return to Germany in 1923, he fought theWeimar Republic and campaigned for the reintroduction of themonarchy in Germany. After his plans to becomePresident had been blocked by his father, Wilhelm supportedAdolf Hitler's rise to power, but when Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled. Wilhelm became head of theHouse of Hohenzollern on 4 June 1941 following the death of his father and held the position until his own death on 20 July 1951.
Wilhelm was born on 6 May 1882 as the eldest son of the then PrinceWilhelm of Prussia, and his first wife, PrincessAugusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born in theMarmorpalais ofPotsdam in theProvince of Brandenburg, where his parents resided until his father acceded to the throne. When he was born, his great-grandfatherWilhelm I was theGerman Emperor and his grandfather Crown PrinceFrederick was theheir apparent, making Wilhelm third in line to the throne.
His birth sparked an argument between his parents and his grandmother Crown PrincessVictoria. Before Wilhelm was born, his grandmother had expected to be asked to help find a nurse, but since her son did everything he could to snub her, the future Wilhelm II asked his auntPrincess Helena to help instead. His mother was hurt and his grandmother,Queen Victoria, who was the younger Wilhelm's great-grandmother, was furious.[1]
Prince Wilhelm would have five younger brothers –Prince Eitel Friedrich,Prince Adalbert,Prince August Wilhelm,Prince Oskar andPrince Joachim – and one younger sister:Princess Viktoria Luise. He spent his childhood with his siblings at Marmorpalais and after his father's accession to the throne at theNew Palace, also in Potsdam.
In 1888, theYear of the Three Emperors when his great-grandfather and grandfather both died, his father became German Emperor, and six-year-old Wilhelm became the heir apparent to the German and Prussian thrones with the title ofcrown prince. He spent his school days with his brothers at thePrinzenhaus inPlön in his mother's ancestralSchleswig-Holstein.
Wilhelm was a supporter ofassociation football, then a relatively new sport in the country, donating a cup to theGerman Football Association in 1908 and thereby initiating theKronprinzenpokal (now Länderpokal), the oldest cup competition in German football.[2] The German clubBFC Preussen was also originally named BFC Friedrich Wilhelm in his honour.
In 1914, the kaiser ordered the construction of SchlossCecilienhof in Potsdam for Prince Wilhelm and his family which angered him. The Schloss was loosely inspired byBidston Court inBirkenhead, England, resembling a Tudor manor.[3] Completed in 1917, it became the main residence for the Crown Prince for a time.
Wilhelm had been active in pushing German expansion, and sought a leading role on the outbreak of war. Despite being only thirty-two and having never commanded a unit larger than a regiment, the German crown prince was named commander of the5th Army in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak ofWorld War I. However, under the well-established Prussian/German General Staff model then in use, inexperienced nobles who were afforded commands of large army formations were always provided with (and expected to defer to the advice of) experiencedchiefs of staff to assist them in their duties. As emperor, Wilhelm's father instructed the crown prince to defer to the advice of his experienced chief of staffKonstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf.[4]
In October 1914 Wilhelm gave his first interview to a foreign correspondent and the first statement to the press made by a German noble since the outbreak of war.[5][6] He denied promoting military solutions to diplomatic problems, and said this in English:
Undoubtedly this is the most stupid, senseless and unnecessary war of modern times. It is a war not wanted by Germany, I can assure you, but it was forced on us, and the fact that we were so effectually prepared to defend ourselves is now being used as an argument to convince the world that we desired conflict.
From August 1915 onwards, Wilhelm was given the additional role as commander of theArmy Group German Crown Prince. In 1916 his troops began theVerdun offensive, a year-long effort to destroy the French armies that would end in failure. He personally ordered a naval gun to fire the first shot on 21 February 1916, starting the deadly battle.[7] However, even these sorts of duties were essentially ceremonial with the actual planning of operations involving units under the Crown Prince's formal command being carried out by staff officers. Wilhelm relinquished command of the 5th Army in November of that year, but remained commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the rest of the war.
After the outbreak of theGerman Revolution in 1918, both Emperor Wilhelm II and the crown prince signed the document of abdication. On 13 November, the former crown prince fled Germany, crossed into theNetherlands atOudvroenhoven[8] and was later interned on the island ofWieringen (now part of the mainland), nearDen Helder. In the autumn of 1921,Gustav Stresemann visited Wilhelm, and the former crown prince voiced an interest in returning to Germany, even as a private citizen. After Stresemann became chancellor in August 1923, Wilhelm was allowed to return after giving assurances that he would not engage in politics. He chose 9 November 1923 for this, which infuriated his father, who had not been informed about the plans of his son and who feltthe historic date to be inappropriate.[9]: 11–12
In June 1926, areferendum onexpropriating the former ruling Princes of Germany without compensation failed and as a consequence, the financial situation of the Hohenzollern family improved considerably. A settlement between the state and the family made Cecilienhof property of the state but granted a right of residence to Wilhelm and his wifeCecilie. This was limited in duration to three generations.[9]: 9–12
Wilhelm broke the promise he had made to Stresemann to stay out of politics.Adolf Hitler visited Wilhelm at Cecilienhof three times, in 1926, in 1933 (on the "Day of Potsdam") and in 1935. Wilhelm joinedDer Stahlhelm, which merged in 1931 into theHarzburg Front, a right-wing organisation of those opposed to the democratic republic.[9]: 13
The former crown prince was reportedly interested in the idea of running forPresident as the right-wing candidate againstPaul von Hindenburg in 1932, until his father (who privately supported Hindenburg) forbade him from acting on the idea. After this, Wilhelm supported Hitler's rise to power.[9]: 13
After the murder of his friendKurt von Schleicher, the former Chancellor, in theNight of the Long Knives, Wilhelm withdrew from all political activities.
When Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled. Upon his father's death in 1941, Wilhelm succeeded him as head of theHouse of Hohenzollern, the former German imperial dynasty. He was approached by those in the military and the diplomatic service who wanted to replace Hitler, but Wilhelm turned them down. After the ill-fatedassassination attempt on 20 July 1944, Hitler nevertheless had Wilhelm placed under supervision by theGestapo and had his home at Cecilienhof watched.[9]: 11–15
In January 1945, Wilhelm left Potsdam forOberstdorf for a treatment of his gall and liver problems. His wife Cecilie fled in early February 1945 as theRed Army drew closer to Berlin, but they had been living apart for a long time. At theend of World War II in Europe, Wilhelm's home, Cecilienhof, was seized by the Soviets.[9]: 15–16 The palace was subsequently used by the Allied Powers as the venue for thePotsdam Conference.[9]: 16
At the end of the war, Wilhelm was captured by French Moroccan troops inBaad, Austria, and was interned as a (World War I) war criminal. Transferred toHechingen, Germany, he lived for a short time inHohenzollern Castle under house arrest before moving to a small five-room house at Fürstenstraße 16 in Hechingen. He died there on 20 July 1951, of aheart attack. It was exactly seven years after the20 July plot. Three days later, his opponent in theBattle of Verdun, MarshalPhilippe Pétain, died in prison in France.[10]
Wilhelm and his wife are buried at Hohenzollern Castle.[11][12]
Wilhelm married his third cousin,Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (20 September 1886 – 6 May 1954) inBerlin on 6 June 1905. After their marriage, the couple lived at theCrown Prince's Palace in Berlin during the winter and at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam, later atCecilienhof in Potsdam. Cecilie was the daughter ofFrederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897) and his wife,Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860–1922). Their eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for theGerman Army inFrance in 1940.
Their children were:
Wilhelm's reputation as a military commander was satirised byNeil Munro in his Erchie MacPherson story, "Bad News", first published in theGlasgow Evening News on 8 January 1917.[13]
Copyright 1914, United Press ... 20 November
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince Born: 6 May 1882 Died: 20 July 1951 | ||
| Titles in pretence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byas FormerGerman Emperor andKing of Prussia | — TITULAR — Head of theGerman andPrussian royal families 4 June 1941 – 20 July 1951 Reason for succession failure: German Revolution | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by Formed fromVII Army Inspectorate (VII. Armee-Inspektion) | Commander,5th Army 2 August 1914 – 30 November 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New Creation | Commander,Army Group German Crown Prince 1 August 1915 – 10 November 1918 | Succeeded by |
|  | |
See alsoHouse of Hohenzollern | ||
