Carl von Essen (nobleman)

Carl Reinhold Graf von Essen (born June 14, 1868 in Stockholm ; † May 2, 1949 there ) was a Swedish nobleman.

Carl von Essen was a descendant of the Governor General of Swedish Pomerania , Hans Henrik von Essen . At the Swedish court he served as chamberlain to the crown prince.

Von Essen was very committed to strengthening relations between Sweden and Germany, especially in the Pomeranian region and especially Stralsund . Thanks to his efforts, the local history museum in Stralsund received a Swedish-Pomeranian section in which the city of Stralsund has been part of the Kingdom of Sweden for almost 200 years. Thanks to his connections to the Swedish nobility, he helped the exhibition to 342 exhibits by the time it opened in 1928.

In recognition of his efforts, he was made an honorary citizen by the city of Stralsund on July 24, 1928.

He also campaigned for the economic development of Stralsund. He was a proponent of building a fixed Strelasund crossing between Stralsund and the island of Rügen in order to strengthen economic ties with Sweden. In 1932 he noted in his notes about a conversation with the General Director of the Swedish State Railways: "There is interest in the Rügen dam, but the current political situation in Germany is forcing Sweden to postpone the plan."

Von Essen himself made himself available as a contact person for the National Socialists on Sweden. From 1937 he was actively involved in the preparation of joint youth camps in Stralsund. The "Stralsunder Tageblatt" wrote about Carl von Essen on June 14, 1938: "In the study, next to the Count's workplace, there is a picture of our Führer and Reich Chancellor. Graf Essen, a Swede by birth but a German friend with all his heart, tells us literally: Just write it. I admire this man Hitler and the development that the Reich went through under him. "

He owned an estate in Falkenhagen near Reinberg , where he often spent the summer months. On his 70th birthday in Stralsund, Krauthofstrasse was renamed Carl-von-Essen-Strasse .

Carl Reinhold Graf von Essen died in his hometown Stockholm in 1949.

Literature / sources

• Antje Rudolph: German-Swedish Relations in the Third Reich , Master's thesis, 2004.