Carl Alexander Duke of Württemberg
Carl Alexander Duke of Württemberg (Father Odo OSB) (born March 12, 1896 in Stuttgart ; † December 27, 1964 in Altshausen ) was a member of the House of Württemberg and a Benedictine monk . During and after the time of National Socialism, he was involved in helping refugees , Jews and prisoners of war and was expelled for this by the Nazi rulers of the former German Reich .
Life
Carl Alexander was the youngest of three sons of Duke Albrecht of Württemberg and his wife, Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria . He was homeschooled and graduated from high school in 1914.
During World War I he fought on the Western Front and in Italy . After the November Revolution in 1918, he retired from active military service as a captain. A few months later he joined the Archabbey of St. Martin, Beuron , as a choir postulator , and in 1920 was accepted into the novitiate as "Frater Odo". He made his profession in February 1921 and was ordained a priest in 1926. In the summer of 1930 Father Odo was in the not far from Schloss Altshausen distant Abbey of St. Martin, Weingarten sent, where he held several offices not only in the monastery, but very strongly committed as a young missionary in the Catholic youth work. As a result, but also by the clerical-conservative Catholicism of his family, he came into opposition to National Socialism from the start and was interrogated several times by the Secret State Police as early as 1933 .
First he left Württemberg and in 1934 joined the not long before founded Baden Abbey of St. Bartholomew in Neuburg , which was, however, in a crisis. In 1936, the National Socialist government citizensized Father Odo from the German Reich. He found refuge in monasteries in Switzerland and Italy. In Switzerland he founded the International Catholic Refugee Aid and traveled all over Europe.
Emigration to the United States
When the Swiss government declared in 1940 that it could no longer guarantee the safety of the Benedictine father, he decided to emigrate to the United States . He had to destroy all of his personal papers, so that his activities in refugee aid can hardly be traced in detail today. From 1941 Father Odo lived in Washington, DC and continued to expand his international refugee aid. He also helped persecuted Jews to emigrate from the German Reich and the occupied territories. Since 1943 he has also been involved in the pastoral care of German prisoners of war in the American camps.
The historian and archivist of the House of Württemberg, Eberhard Fritz , has suggested that Count Claus von Stauffenberg may also have been motivated to resist Adolf Hitler through his connections with the House of Württemberg . Since he knew Father Odo personally, he knew of his resolute resistance to National Socialism. Comparative research shows time and again that such strong impulses continue to have an effect, even if they are temporarily buried.
After the end of the Second World War, Father Odo founded the "Central European Rehabilitation Association, Inc." (CERA) with the aim of sending food, clothes, medicines and other necessary items to war-torn Central Europe. He raised significant donations for it. After the dissolution of the CERA, which had fulfilled its purpose, the priest returned to Germany in 1949 and again entered the abbey of St. Bartholomew, Neuburg. Due to a heart condition, he had to end his life in the monastery in 1952 and return to his family's castle in Altshausen. There he spent the last years of his life and was one of the re-founders of the Citizens Guard on Horseback Yellow Hussars from 1748 in the town of Altshausen.
After his death, Father Odo was buried in accordance with his last will in the cemetery of St. Martin Abbey, Weingarten .
See also
literature
- Eberhard Fritz: The House of Württemberg and National Socialism. Motives of resistance against Hitler and his movement . In: Christopher Dowe (ed.): Nobility and National Socialism in the German Southwest (Stuttgart Symposium, Volume 11). Stuttgart 2007. pp. 132-162.
- Eberhard Fritz: Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and the dukes of Württemberg. Reflections on the motives for the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944. In: Zeitschrift für Hohenzollerische Geschichte 47, 48/2012. Pp. 225-261.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eberhard Fritz: The House of Württemberg and National Socialism (see under literature)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Württemberg, Carl Alexander Duke of |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Father Odo (religious name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German nobleman, Benedictine monk |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 12, 1896 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stuttgart |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 27, 1964 |
| Place of death | Altshausen |