Adolf of Bentheim-Tecklenburg

Adolf Moritz Casimir Karl Adalbert Hugo Arthur, 5th Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg (born June 29, 1889 in Rheda , † January 4, 1967 in Cologne ) was the fifth Prince 1909-1967 head of the House of Bentheim-Tecklenburg .

family

He was the son of the ruling Prince Gustav zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg (1849-1909) and his wife Thekla von Rothenberg (1862-1941).

On July 26, 1922, Adolf zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg married Princess Amélie von Schönburg - Droyßig (1902–1995), daughter of Prince Heinrich von Schönburg-Droy says and Princess Olga zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg . The couple had four children, Moritz-Casimir, Nicolaus , Gustava and Heinrich Karl. The family lived at Rheda Castle until 1946 and then at Haus Bosfeld near Rheda .

Heir and head of the dynasty Bentheim-Tecklenburg was his eldest son Moritz-Casimir (1923-2014).

Life

Adolf first attended the humanistic high school in Gütersloh and joined the Potsdam Leib-Garde-Husaren-Regiment in 1909 . In April 1910 he received his lieutenant's license and in 1913 was commanded as an attaché to the embassy in London .

During the First World War he was taken prisoner in November 1914, but escaped three years later. He was subsequently a member of the Stahlhelm , the Reichskraftfahrerstaffel and the German Aristocratic Association . In 1932 he became its chairman (Adelsmarschall) and announced at the Adelstag:

“We are at a turning point. With elementary violence, the Nordic soul in our people wrestles with the alien powers that western, non-German democracy has given us. Once again the signs of flames blaze, and the light of freedom breaks from the north ... Recognize your nature, German nobility, recognize the hour of your people to which you belong; it's forging time. "

- Adolf zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg :

On June 22, 1933, he was received by Hitler , whom he promised to remedy the aristocracy's lack of enthusiasm for National Socialism. In response to criticism from the NSDAP of the aristocratic association, he highlighted Hitler's long-term struggle of the Adelsblatt against alien influences, Judaism, Westernism and Americanism . This was followed by the exclusion of all members who could not provide evidence of non-Jewish ancestors until at least 1750.

On the instructions of the occupation troops, Adolf Fürst zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg had to leave Rheda Castle with his relatives in 1946 and move to Haus Bosfeld . In order to cover the high costs of maintaining and restoring the Rhedaer Schloss, a large part of its upper and outer bailey buildings remained rented even after the evacuation order was lifted. In the 1960s, Prince Adolf took care of the restoration of the church building from 1119 - scientifically accompanied by the art historians and preservationists Karl Eugen Mummenhoff and Hans Thümmler . In 1954 he founded the COR Sitzmöbel company together with the furniture manufacturer Helmut Lübke in Rheda . For years he was President of the Association of German Class Lords and Chairman of the Association of the Westphalian Aristocratic Archives , which he co-founded.

Adolf Fürst zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg died in a car accident in 1967.

Fonts (selection)

• Adolf zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg: Nice old Rheda . Memories. Self-published, 1975.

Movie

• Dynasties in NRW - The princes of Bentheim-Tecklenburg . WDR - report by Jobst Knigge (45 min.), Broadcast January 3, 2010.

literature

• Georg H. Kleine: Nobility Association and National Socialism. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte. Volume 26, Issue 1, 1978, pp. 100-143.
• Carl Heiner Beusch: Westphalian noblemen. The princes of Bentheim-Tecklenburg in the 19th century . (PDF file). In: Westphalian magazine . 145, 1995, pp. 257-329.
• Hartmut Platte: Rheda, Hohenlimburg, Tecklenburg. Past and present of the princes of Bentheim-Tecklenburg. German Princely Houses, No. 2. Werl 2000.
• Stephan Malinowski : From King to Leader. German nobility and National Socialism . Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-596-16365-6 , p. 356.

Web links

• Princely House of Bentheim-Tecklenburg → History
• Stammliste Haus Bentheim: Excerpt from Paul Theroff's Online Gotha (English)
• The history of the Princely House of Bentheim-Tecklenburg (without mentioning Adolf's activities as an aristocratic marshal) ( Memento from October 16, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
• Document requests from the Princely Archive Rheda / Digital Westphalian Document Database (DWUD)

References and comments

1. ↑ Princess Amélie received the Federal Cross of Merit and the DRK Badge of Honor for her commitment to the German Red Cross .
2. ^ Genealogical manual of the nobility , Fürstl. Houses. Volume XIX, 2011.
3. ↑ Georg H. Kleine: Nobility Association and National Socialism. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte. 26th year, issue 1, 1978, p. 116.
4. ↑ Georg H. Kleine: Nobility Association and National Socialism. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte. Volume 26, Issue 1, 1978, p. 117. (ifz-muenchen.de)
5. ↑ TIME Magazine. December 4, 1933. (content.time.com)
6. ↑ Hans-Joachim Böckenholt: Castle and Lordship of Rheda . Rhode Druck und Verlag, Harsewinkel-Marienfeld 1979, ISBN 3-921961-02-8 , p. 41.
7. ↑ My memorial - celebrities remember. Maximilian Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg and the castle chapel in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. Monumente Magazin, 30th year - No. 4, August 2020, p. 74.
8. ↑ United Westphalian Aristocratic Archives
9. ^ Dynasties in North Rhine-Westphalia - The princes of Bentheim-Tecklenburg . Tagesschau24 , accessed December 3, 2019.

predecessor	Office	successor
Gustav	Head of the House of Bentheim-Tecklenburg 1909–1967	Moritz-Casimir