Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony

Georg
Crown Prince of Saxony
HRH Crown Prince George of Saxony in 1911
Full name
German: Friedrich August Georg Ferdinand Albert Karl Anton Paul Marcellus
House	House of Wettin
Father	Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
Mother	Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany
Born	15 January 1893(1893-01-15) Dresden
Died	14 May 1943(1943-05-14) (aged 50) Groß-Glienicke Lake, Berlin
Burial	Katholische Hofkirche
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony,^[1] (commonly called Crown Prince George), (15 January 1893 – 14 May 1943) the last Crown Prince of Saxony, was the heir to the King of Saxony, Frederick Augustus III,^[2] at the time of the monarchy's abolition on 13 November 1918.^[3]

Life

The prince was born on 15 January 1893 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany.^[4] During the First World War he served in combat and suffered a serious leg injury during the first months of the war.^[5] In 1915, Kaiser Wilhelm II granted Georg the Iron Cross first class "in recognition of the services he rendered in the latest battles."^[5]

In the spring of 1918, newspapers announced the prince's engagement to Duchess Marie Amelia, daughter of Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, the heir to the throne of the Kingdom 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.^[6]

In 1918, shortly after his father's abdication, Georg entered the Franciscan Order.^[7] Finding the Franciscan life too intellectually limiting, Georg soon applied to transfer to the Jesuits instead.^[7] In 1923, he renounced his rights to the Saxon throne to become Father George^[3] a Jesuit priest.^[8]

After his ordination, the prince was generally known as Father Georg (Father George) and used the last name von Sachsen.^[9] He worked in Berlin where he was credited with protecting Jews from the Nazi regime^[10] in notable contrast to his pro-Nazi brothers-in-law, Prince Frederich of Hohenzollern and Prince Franz Joseph of Hohenzolllern-Emden.

The former prince died on 14 May 1943 apparently while swimming in the Groß-Glienicke lake in Berlin, Germany.^[11] Georg's diary was found on the lakeshore with a final Latin entry reading "Vado ad patrem,"^[7] which is the Latin version of a phrase Jesus frequently spoke to his disciples in the Gospel of John and means "I go to the Father" or "I go to my Father."^[12] Georg's body was found several weeks after his death and the autopsy determined that he died after suffering a heart attack.^[7]

On the day of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel's attempted assassination of Adolph Hitler using an explosive device hidden within a satchel Crown Prince George was photographed holding said satchel and standing behind Field Marshall Rommel, whom entered empty-handed, the satchel bears the inscription J A G von Sachsen and was given to Father George by his mother at a young age, the inscription is clearly visible, as Field Marshall Rommel enters the meeting and subsequent place for the assassination attempt on Hitler he is photographed carrying Father George's satchel adding speculation to Gestapo involvement in his death.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 15 January 1893 – 15 October 1904: His Royal Highness Prince Georg of Saxony, Duke of Saxony
• 15 October 1904–1923: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Saxony, Duke of Saxony
• 1923 - 14 May 1943: Pater Georg Prinz von Sachen

Ancestry

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "PRINCE OF SAXONY TO WED; Heir to Throne Engaged to Duchess Maria Amelie" (PDF). The New York Times: pp. 18. 2 June 1918. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B00E7DA163EE433A25751C0A9609C946996D6CF&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
2. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20080315223745/http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/saxony.html
3. ^ ^{a b} "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: pp. E4. 10 January 1932. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0610FD355B13738DDDA90994D9405B828FF1D3&scp=2&sq=Crown%20Prince%20Saxony%20Jesuit&st=cse. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
4. ^ http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/saxony.html
5. ^ ^{a b} "Kaiser Honors Prince, Confers Highest Iron Cross on George of Saxony" (PDF). The New York Times: pp. 2. 1915-11-02. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9901E4D8133EE733A25751C0A9679D946496D6CF. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
6. ^ http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/wurttemberg.html
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Dippel, John V.H> (1992-02-28). Two Against Hitler: Stealing The Nazis' Best-Kept Secrets. New York: Praeger Publishers. pp. 42. ISBN 978-0275937454. 
8. ^ http://www.mazdakan.net/Prince%20George%20of%20Saxony%20(1893-1943).htm
9. ^ German Jesuit Calendar George of Saxony. Retrieved on 9 November 2008
10. ^ Diocese of Dresden-Meissen(German) retrieved on 9 November 2008
11. ^ To, Telephone (18 May 1943). "LIST SAXON PRINCE DEAD; Berne Hears George Drowned -- Body Not Recovered". The New York Times: pp. 9. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20816FA3D5C167B93CAA8178ED85F478485F9&scp=7&sq=Crown%20Prince%20George%20Saxony%20death&st=cse. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
12. ^ http://www.latinvulgate.com/verse.aspx?t=1&b=4&c=14

Persondata
Name	Georg Of Saxony, Crown Prince
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 January 1893
Place of birth	Dresden
Date of death	14 May 1943
Place of death	Groß-Glienicke Lake, Berlin