Prince Philipp of Hesse

Prince and Landgrave Philipp of Hesse (6 November 1896 - 25 October 1980) was head of the Electoral House of Hesse from 1940 to 1980. He joined the German National Socialist movement (commonly abbreviated to the Nazism) in 1930 and when they gained power with the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933 he became Governor of Hesse-Nassau. He served as governor from 1933 to 1944.

Early life and marriage

Philipp was born at Schloss Rumpenheim, near Offenbach, the third son of Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse and of his wife Princess Margaret of Prussia (sister of the German Emperor Wilhelm II). Philipp had a younger twin brother Wolfgang, as well as two older brothers, and two other younger twin brothers.

As a child, Philipp had an English governess. In 1910 he was sent to England to attend school in Bexhill-on-Sea. After returning to Germany he attended a "Musterschule" in Frankfurt and then the "Realgymnasium" in Potsdam. He was the only one of his brothers who did not attend a military academy.

At the beginning of the First World War Philipp enlisted in the Hessian Dragoon-Regiment Nr. 24 along with his older brother Maximilian. They served first in Belgium where Maximilian was killed in October. In 1915 and 1916 Philipp served on the Eastern Front in what is now Ukraine. He held the rank of lieutenant (an extremely low rank considering his princely background), and was mostly responsible for the procurement of munitions. In 1917 he served on the Siegfried Line, before returning to Ukraine where he experienced active combat and was wounded.

In 1916 Philipp's oldest brother Friedrich Wilhelm died, and Philipp became second in line to succeed his uncle as Head of the Electoral House of Hesse. In October 1918 Philipp's father was elected king of Finland. It was intended that Philipp would eventually succeed his father as Head of the House of Hesse, while his (younger) twin brother Wolfgang would be heir to the Finnish throne. The plans for a Finnish monarchy, however, soon came to an abrupt end with the defeat of Germany; Finland became a republic in July 1919.

After the war Philipp enlisted in the "Übergangsheer" (the Transitional Army) which was successful in defending against Communist and socialist action. From 1920 to 1922 he attended the Technical University in Darmstadt where he studied art history and architecture. He made several visits to Greece where his aunt Princess Sophie of Prussia was the wife of King Constantine I. In 1922 he left university without completing a degree, and took a job at the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in Berlin. The following year he moved to Rome where he used his aristocratic connections to establish himself as a successful interior designer.

According to biographer Jonathan Petropolous, Philipp was probably bisexual,cite web |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=accwj4EskF_8&refer=muse |title='Royals and the Reich' Reveals Fateful History of Nazi Princes |first=Manuela |last=Hoelterhoff |work=Bloomberg.com |date=2007-01-08 |accessdate=2007-08-12] . Following a relationship with the poet Siegfried Sassoon, he married Princess Mafalda of Savoy, daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy on 23 September 1925 at the Castello di Racconigi near Turin. The couple had four children:

* Prince Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (born 1926)
* Prince Heinrich Wilhelm Konstantin Viktor Franz (30 October 1927 in Rome, Italy - 1999)
* Prince Otto Adolf (3 June 1937 Rome, Italy - 1998)
* Princess Elisabeth Margarethe (born 8 October 1940 in Rome, Italy)

The family lived mostly at Villa Polissena, part of Villa Savoia, the king of Italy's estate on the outskirts of Rome. But they also travelled frequently to Germany.

Involvement with the German National Socialist movement

While in Italy, Philipp became impressed by Fascism. On his return to Germany, in October 1930 he joined the German NSDAP party (National Socialist Democratic Workers Party, commonly abbreviated to the Nazi Party or referred to as National Socialism). In 1932 he joined the (Stormtroopers (SA, commonly referred to as the Brown Shirts), and the following year his younger brother Christoph joined the Schutzstaffel (SS). Later his two other brothers also joined the SA. Through his party membership, Philipp became a particularly close friend of Hermann Göring, the future head of the German airforce (Luftwaffe.

Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as the German Chancellor on 30 January 1933 Philipp was appointed "Oberpräsident" (Governor) of Hesse-Nassau in June 1933 . With the electoral success of Hitler's political party, he also became a member of the Reichstag and of the Prussian Staatsrat. Philipp was an important role in the consolidation of National Socialist rule in Germany. He introduced other aristocrats to NSDAP officials, and, as son-in-law of the king of Italy, was a frequent go-between for Hitler and Mussolini. He also acted as an art agent for Hitler in Italy.

As Governor of Hesse-Kassel, Philipp was complicit in the T-4 Euthanasia Program. In February 1941 Philipp signed the contract placing the sanitarium of Hadamar at the disposal of the Reich Interior Ministry. Over 10,000 mentally ill people were killed there. In 1946 Philipp was charged with murder, but the charges were later dropped.

As the war progressed the attitude of the National Socialist authorities towards members of the German princely houses changed. While at first they had been happy to use the historic family names to bolster popular support, they now decided to distance themselves even from those princes who had supported them.

In late April 1943 Philipp was ordered to report to Hitler's headquarters, where he stayed for most of the next four months. In May 1943 Hitler issued the "Decree Concerning Internationally Connected Men" declaring that princes could not hold positions in the party, state, or armed forces. The arrest of Mussolini by Philipp's father-in-law King Victor Emanuel in July 1943 made Phillip's position even more difficult. Hitler believed that Philipp and his family were complicit in Mussolini's downfall.

On September 8, 1943 Philipp was arrested. He was stripped of his membership of the party and dismissed from the Luftwaffe. On January 25, 1944, his political disgrace became public when he was dismissed from his office as Governor of Hesse-Nassau.

In September 1943 Philipp was sent to Flossenbürg concentration camp. He was placed in solitary confinement and was not permitted any contact with the outside world. He was, however, granted certain privileges: wearing civilian clothes and eating the same food as the guards.

Philipp's wife Mafalda was arrested and placed under military custody in Rome. She was sent Munich and Berlin for questioning and eventually to Buchenwald concentration camp where she was housed next to an armaments factory. In August 1944 the factory was bombed by the Allies. Mafalda was seriously injured and died several days later following an operation by camp medical staff.

As the Allies advanced into Germany, in April 1945 Philipp was transferred to the Dachau concentration camp. After only ten days, however, he was transferred again. On May 4, 1945, American troops took over the camp where he was incarcerated at Villabassa in the Italian Dolomites.

After the war

On account of his former position as Governor of Hesse-Nassau, Philipp was held by the Allies first on the island of Capri and then at a series of other detention centres.

In 1940 Philipp had succeeded his father as Head of the Electoral House of Hesse. In 1968, upon the death of his distant agnatic relative, Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine, Philipp succeeded to the total headship of the entire House of Hesse, including grand ducal Hesse (Hesse and by Rhine/Hesse-Darmstadt). Ludwig had nominally adopted Philipp's son Moritz, who at that time inherited the Hesse and by Rhine properties, including remarkable cultural collections.

Philipp died in Rome, Italy in 1980.

References

* Jonathan Petropoulos, "Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany" (Oxford University Press, 2006).