Were there any princes who served in German army during WW2?

Question

I reach such title and wonder where they came from. Any information and specific examples?

Answer 1

Any prince or any nobleman who served in WWII would have to be a man with that title before WWI. The reason is that only the Kaiser could ennoble a person. Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918 at the end of the war. After that, there could be no more persons ennobled. In the era of WWII, there was a Prince von Hohenlohe, but I do not know if he fought on the German side in WWII.

Answer 2

The Wehrmacht didn't allow foreigners in their ranks but the SS did. The following divisions in the Waffen-SS were in part or completely formed from people other then Germans. The list is incomplete and what should be noted is that although these are all mentioned as Divisions many of them were nothing more then strengthened brigades. 5. SS Panzer Division Wiking - Volunteer division with multiple nationalities. 7. SS Freiwilligen-Gebirgs Division - Serbian volunteers. 11. SS Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier Division - Nordic volunteers, formed from the Nordland regiment of the 5. SS Division. 13. SS Waffen-Gebirgs Division - Croatian, formed 1943. 14. SS Waffen-Grenadier Division - Ukrainian, formed in April 1943. 15. SS Waffen-Grenadier Division - Lithuanian, formed mid 1943. 19. SS Waffen-Grenadier Division - Latvian, formed in February 1944. 20. SS Waffen-Grenadier Division - Estonian, formed in late 1943 - early 1944. 21. SS Waffen-Gebirgs Division - Albanian, formed in April 1944. 23. SS Freiwilligen Panzer-Grenadier Division - Dutch volunteers, formed in December 1944.

Answer 3

As there was no Emperor anymore, I doubt there we any Princes laying an important role in Germany after the founding of the Republic and the exile of the Emperor in 1918. There was some role for the landed gentry in Prussia, the "Junkers", who played an important role in German Army and the Foreign Service.

"The Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, staged by Adolf Hitler and General Erich Ludendorff was foiled by commander von Lossow (another Junker) of the local Reichswehr, and the Bavarian Prime Minister Gustav von Kahr. Von Kahr was later murdered in the Reichsmordwoche (the Blood Purge) of 1934-06-30. This series of events, as well as a few others, led Hitler to dislike Junkers in general. However, Hitler mostly ignored the Junkers as a whole during his time in power, taking no action against them and no action in their favour.

As the war turned against Germany and Nazi atrocities were revealed, several Junkers in influential positions participated in Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg's assassination attempt of 1944-07-20. Their attempts ultimately failed due to coincidence and Allied mistrust of their motives. However the resistance of the Abwehr (Secret Military Intelligence) under Admiral Wilhelm Canaris contributed to the eventual Allied victory."

"Junker : Modern influences" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junker"

"Know Your Enemy", A. Loudon, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1942 : http://www.jstor.org/view/00027162/ap030367/03a00060/0?frame=noframe&userID=[e-mail]/01cce4405f00501bf6923&dpi=3&config=jstor

"Their eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for the German Army in France in 1940."

"Wilhelm, German Crown Prince" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Prince_Wilhelm_of_Germany

Answer 4

I don't think any served in the German army during the Second World War. If they did, they would doubtlessly be of officer rank or higher.

Answer 5

No... because for the most part in feudalism in that era, princes did not fight, for they had huge armies



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