Wilhelm Friedrich Franz Joseph Christian Olaf of Prussia ( German: Wilhelm Friedrich Franz Joseph Christian Olaf von Preußen ; July 4, 1906 , Marble Palace , Potsdam - May 26, 1940 , Nivelles ) - the eldest son of Prince William of Prussia , Crown Prince of Germany Empire and Prussia, and his wife Cecilia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . Senior grandson of the last German emperor Wilhelm II .
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Content
Biography
On his tenth birthday, in accordance with tradition, William was enrolled in the rank of lieutenant in the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment and was awarded the Order of the Black Eagle from his grandfather-emperor. After the abdication of William II and the refusal of his rights to the throne, William lived in Potsdam and, together with his brother Louis Ferdinand, studied at a city gymnasium. Since 1925, Wilhelm studied law at the Königsberg , Munich and Bonn universities .
On June 3, 1933, Wilhelm entered into an organic marriage with Dorothea von Salviati (1907–1972), in connection with which he renounced his firstborn rights to the throne. Since 1935, William lived with his wife and two daughters, Felicita and Krista, in the Kline Obisch Palace near Glogau in Silesia.
Monarchistically conservative opposition circles to the Nazi regime pinned their hopes on William. After the outbreak of World War II, Wilhelm, in the rank of senior reserve lieutenant, took part in hostilities as part of the Wehrmacht infantry division on the Western Front . In the battles of Valenciennes on May 23, 1940, the prince was seriously wounded and died three days later in a field hospital in the Belgian Nivelles .
The funeral service was held on May 29, 1940 in the Potsdam Friedenskirche in the Sanssouci park. Fifty thousand people gathered to take Prince William on their last journey to the burial place in the Ancient Temple , which became the largest unorganized mass gathering of people during Hitler's rule , which subsequently issued an order forbidding members of German dominant houses to participate in hostilities at the front, and since 1943 years and serve in the Wehrmacht.
Descendants
- Felicitis Cecilia Alexandrina Elena Dorothea of Prussia (1934-2009)
- Krista Frideric Alexandrina Victoria of Prussia (born 1936), married to Peter Libes (1926-1967)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 German National Library , Berlin State Library , Bavarian State Library , etc. Record # 1050543548 // General regulatory control (GND) - 2012—2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Find a Grave - 1995. - ed. size: 165000000
- ↑ 1 2 The Peerage