George of Saxony (1893–1943)

George of Saxony around 1911

Georg von Sachsen SJ ( Friedrich August Georg Ferdinand Albert Carl Anton Paul Marcellus; born  January 15, 1893 in Dresden , † May 14, 1943 in Groß Glienicker See near Berlin) was the last Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saxony and an officer in the Saxon Army , most recently in the rank of lieutenant colonel .

After the collapse of the monarchy in Germany in 1918 and the abdication of the emperor and the federal princes, Georg became a Roman Catholic priest . In 1925 he entered the Society of Jesus . He campaigned for ecumenism until his death and gave numerous sermons. During the time of National Socialism , as an unpopular member of a former royal family, he devoted himself increasingly to consultancy. In addition, he was active in the Berlin Una Sancta group , an ecumenical discussion and resistance group, and known personalities from the Kreisau Circle and the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 .

In May 1943 Father Georg suffered a heart attack while swimming in the Groß Glienicker See near Berlin, of which he died at the age of 50.

Prince years

parents house

Georg (left) with his brother Christian in a photograph by August Kotzsch , around 1900

Georg was born on January 15, 1893 as the first child of Prince Friedrich August of Saxony, later King Friedrich August III. , and his wife Luise von Sachsen , born Archduchess of Austria-Tuscany, born in the Taschenbergpalais of the Dresden Residenzschloss . His full name was Friedrich August GEORG Ferdinand Albert Carl Anton Maria Paulus Marcellus . Following the court ceremony, the birth took place in the presence of the royal couple and the house minister so that the child's identity could be attested. The event - the birth of an heir to the throne - was announced with 101 cannon shots. Georg's siblings were the princes Friedrich Christian and Ernst Heinrich and the princesses Margarethe (1900–1962), Maria Alix (1901–1990) and Anna Monika (1903–1976). The day after his birth, Georg was baptized in the Silver Chapel of the Taschenbergpalais by Bishop Ludwig Wahl . The godfather was Johann Georg von Sachsen , baptismal witnesses were King Albert and his wife Carola as well as the grandparents Ferdinand IV and Maria Antonia .

Childhood and upbringing

Due to state and representation obligations, Georg's parents found little time to look after him. For this reason, he was raised by his mother's governess , the French Josefine Dallery (1852–1922). The pre-school instruction took place from 1899 by the religion teacher and court preacher Georg Kummer (1855-1918), the court chaplain Eberhard Klein (1850-1931) and other scholars. Georg's childhood, considered carefree, was soon marred by parental conflicts, which finally led to the couple separating in December 1902 and ending in divorce about a month later. Georg in particular, who was considered a shy child and had an intimate relationship with his mother, suffered greatly when his mother left the court, especially since his father banned any memory of her from the everyday life of the children and placed great emphasis on a religiously oriented upbringing. So Georg, called in the family jury , should be educated to renounce and frugality. From his grandfather he received a valuable relic of St. Aloisius , his favorite saint . He retained his fondness for the young Jesuit Aloisius throughout his life.

Crown Prince Years

Youth and education

Crown Prince Georg after joining the Saxon army, around 1905

With his father's accession to the throne in 1904, Georg became Crown Prince at the age of eleven. From this time he attended the “prince school” founded by his grandfather, which was housed in the premises of the Taschenbergpalais and was reserved for prince sons and the male descendants of higher officials. The educational goal of this institution was to convey conservative ideas. The majority of the Protestant teachers were sent on a part-time basis from Dresden grammar schools and the cadet school . Georg's class included Friedrich Krug von Nidda and von Falkenstein , Werner von Schmieden , the later doctor Helmut Schulze (1892–1917) and the son of the same name of Victor Alexander von Otto . According to the memories of a former teacher, Georg was a conscientious and conscientious child and was so mentally ahead of his classmates that his work could hardly be graded in the class without giving the appearance of preferential treatment. Even back then he is said to have internalized the maxim “to be everything to everyone”. At the same time he received a pre-military education: the later Major General Georg von O'Byrn took on the task of preparing him comprehensively for his future military career.

On his twelfth birthday, January 15, 1905, Georg joined the Saxon army while simultaneously being promoted to lieutenant and being awarded the house order of the diamond-shaped crown . There he was assigned to the 1st Company of the 1st Royal Saxon Leib Grenadier Regiment No. 100 under the command of Oskar von Ehrenthal , based on today's Stauffenbergallee in Albertstadt , where the service had to be performed in addition to fulfilling school duties . Georg's close friend was Arnold Friedrich Vieth von Golßenau . At Easter 1905 he received his first communion . His father could hardly find time for the children because of the state obligations, but from 1906 Georg found a replacement for the newly arrived Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Sicily (1874–1947), the second wife of Prince John of Saxony missing mother. The two maintained a close friendly relationship throughout their lives. The following year, in 1907, George was the Apostolic Vicar Bishop Aloys Schaefer received Confirmation .

On March 9, 1912, Georg passed the oral Abitur examination. In the holidays that followed, he traveled through Greece, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia. General Adolph von Carlowitz , who accompanied the Crown Prince, was also responsible for his military education until the outbreak of war. After his return, George took on his first royal representative duties; Among other things, he visited the municipal trade museum in Dresden and a violin factory in Markneukirchen . In September of the same year he moved into the royal villa in Strehlen and set up his own household. In Strehlen he studied political science in private lectures for three months . Meanwhile, the Cape Lord Palace , which his father had bought for him, was being converted into his new home. On October 1, 1912, he began his military service with his brother Friedrich Christian in the (body) grenadier regiment No. 100, where he was trained as a group and platoon leader. The entry of the two princes increased the regiment's prestige considerably, which led to an increased influx of officer candidates. Georg's military service was mainly filled with drill and parade marches; riding lessons, target practice and various courses were also part of it. He also took part in numerous maneuvers. On March 20, 1913, he was promoted to first lieutenant . A course of study in Leipzig and Freiburg im Breisgau planned for the period from summer 1914 onwards was thwarted by the outbreak of World War I, which he welcomed euphorically.

First World War

1914/15

Crown Prince Georg (right) visiting troops around 1916

When the war broke out, Georg became an orderly officer without command in the 3rd (Saxon) Army under Colonel General Max von Hausen on the French front. Here he experienced the battles on the Sambre and Marne behind the front . His military companion and adjutant at this time was the later Major Lionel Count Vitzthum von Eckstädt . Georg was appointed captain in October. In the same month, he developed severe knee and wrist infections, which forced him to rest in bed and to take a long cure in Wiesbaden. With the beginning of the autumn battle in Champagne in 1915, Georg was fit for duty again. His main task was now to represent his father's interests towards the higher generals, but also position inspections, troop visits to members of the Saxon regiments in the front line as well as hospital visits were among his tasks. In that year the Crown Prince came into contact with the Society of Jesus for the first time through the chaplain Johann Baptist von Dalwigk (1873–1941), a Jesuit.

1916

Crown Prince Georg around 1916

From February to April 1916 Georg served in the 5th Infantry Regiment No. 104 as a regimental adjutant. The cold and wet weather resulted in more frequent illnesses, which later caused arthritic symptoms and ultimately led to the partial stiffening of his spine. In addition, as a result of experiences at the front, Georg suffered from a slight war neurosis , which manifested itself in him as severe nervousness, restlessness and fear of death. He was able to overcome this ailment through a longer stay at a spa in the summer of 1916. After his recovery he served as an intelligence officer in the Army Group " Gallwitz " from July 28th . At the Battle of the Somme , he was the liaison officer between the Army and Corps headquarters, as well as with the Grand Headquarters . In between he visited the Saxon troops on the western front on behalf of his father. He became interested in the priesthood under the grief surrounding him.

1917

From spring 1917 Georg served in the General Staff of the 4th Army in the Army Group "Crown Prince Rupprecht" with headquarters in Cambrai . Among other things, he was entrusted with planning and preparing the construction of the Siegfried Line. On May 21, 1917 he was promoted to the youngest major in the Saxon army. In June 1917 he was appointed battalion commander of the 2nd Saxon Landwehr Regiment No. 101. He was now commanded to the Eastern Front, where the regiment became part of the 46th Landwehr Division and was in position combat in the Dubatowka area on the Wilia . Georg's dangerous position as battalion leader meant a considerable risk for the Saxon royal family. He came under fire several times during the fighting, but in his letters from the field he raved about the missions and the danger of death. In September he was assigned to the staff of the Royal Saxon Field Artillery Regiment 49 to Galicia , where he became department commander of four batteries in today's Ukrainian town of Chorostkow after brief instructions. This mission lasted only for a short time, as the royal court called him back home a month later. There he was sent on a tour of the Saxon provinces to counteract the deterioration in morale that was a consequence of the precarious food and raw material situation and the general tiredness of the war in the population. After the unsuccessful fulfillment of this order, Georg took over command of the 5th Infantry Regiment No. 104 , named after him, on December 1st , which was at rest in the Smorgon- Krewo area when he was taken over. As a result of the armistice agreements, the fighting between German and Russian units ceased only a few days after Georg took office.

1918

As the peace negotiations between the German Reich and Russia made further progress and finally led to the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty in March 1918 , Georg's regiment, which was now subordinate to the 40th Division , was transferred to the Western Front. There the division was subordinated to Army Division C , whose regiments were concentric in the Verdun and Metz area . Georg's regiment defended the St.-Mihiel-Bogen here, where he received his last promotion to lieutenant colonel on May 13th. After relocating again, the regiment fought in the Thieaucourt – Eilirey section. Due to a serious illness of his father, Georg was soon released from the front line for several months. In July he returned and took over as commander of the 245th (Saxon) Infantry Brigade with the Reims battle area . From August this brigade was in position fighting in the association of the Maasgruppe Ost northeast of Verdun and later to the east in the Chaumewald – Soumazannes area. During this period, Georg received a sharp reprimand from Colonel General Karl von Eine , because he had expressed his opinion that imperial Germany would inevitably oppose a revolution if it did not quickly and thoroughly do away with its "caste spirit and profit capitalism". However, the statement had no disciplinary consequences for him, because as early as the beginning of September 1918, Georg's father finally brought his son back to Dresden because he needed him for state business.

Revolutionary confusion

The Saxon king immediately sent his son to the Grand Headquarters in Reims. There Georg was supposed to go to General Erich Ludendorff personally and explain to him the Saxon view that an immediate agreement peace was absolutely necessary in order to avoid a revolution. Ludendorff listened to him and replied that he was very sorry that the Saxon crown prince had gone among the defeatists ; then he rose and left the room without saying goodbye. Georg then traveled back to Dresden, where his father instructed him to form a new cabinet to counter the growing influence of revolutionary forces. He initiated a dialogue between the monarch and moderate social democrats about a new Saxon State Council, which was unsuccessful.

The November Revolution spread to the entire Empire in just a few days and led to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the federal princes, which meant the collapse of German monarchism . In the course of these events, Georg's father was forced to leave the Saxon capital on the evening of November 8th. After his departure, a workers 'and soldiers' council took over the legislative and executive power in Dresden, proclaimed the deposition of the king and forced him to sign his deed of abdication on November 13th at Guteborn Castle . In it he declared his renunciation of the throne, but not that of his descendants, in order to enable George to ascend to the throne in the event that the monarchical form of government was restored. In the meantime he had found shelter with the family around Arnold Gustav Heinrich Freiherr von Vietinghoff-Riesch (1860–1942) in Neschwitz Castle , where he initially struggled with himself and the fate of his father. The request made to him to renounce his claim to the heir to the throne in order to counter a possible expulsion was rejected by Georg with the words: “I always want to be a statesman who takes his duties seriously, but who is able to hold an inner bond tied by God I do not tear! "

Change

The Rosenthal pilgrimage church , where Georg decided to become a priest

According to Georg's later account, in the seclusion of the Upper Lusatian villages, his resentment about the fall of the monarchy quickly subsided. In his daily prayers, the still-crown prince felt released from political and military obligations "becoming freer for God", as he found out in retrospect. So it came about that during a prayer in the pilgrimage church in Rosenthal he decided to forego his crown and property and instead devote the rest of his life to the service of the church. He had already taken a first step towards this on January 15, 1918 - his 25th birthday - when he had joined the Third Order of the Franciscans as a Terziarier, choosing the order name Ludwig, with which he was sent to the French King Louis IX. connected. As a child he had expressed a desire to his family to become a priest, but this was never considered in view of his future role as king. Now he was enthusiastic about it all over again.

Education

A continuation of his officer career or a position in the civil service were ruled out for Georg as a former crown prince. So he decided to study at the University of Wroclaw , where he took courses in economics , economics and social studies and, in view of his Christian ambitions, church history and apologetics . In Breslau he also became a member of the Catholic student union Winfridia . During this time he found accommodation with Count Nikolaus von Ballestrem . On February 2, 1919, he took his Franciscan religious vows in the Antonius Church in Carlowitz . Georg spent the following Lent together with his brother Friedrich Christian in Rome, where he lived with the Gray Sisters in Via dell'Olmata near Santa Maria Maggiore .

At the beginning of September 1919, Georg informed his father of his wish to become a priest, after which this period of thought asked for. On September 8th, he gave his eldest son his consent to his plans under four conditions: Georg was to remain in the family, renounce his rights as a firstborn, submit as a priest to a bishop and under no circumstances become a Jesuit . Georg agreed to the first three points, but did not want to definitely commit to the last.

Following his goal, Georg attended lectures in philosophy and canon law from the winter semester 1919/1920 at the University of Tübingen in order to acquire the necessary knowledge for future theology studies. At the same time he was a member of the Catholic student union Guestfalia . On October 22, 1919 he received the news that Pope Benedict XV. had given the blessing on his desire to become a priest. The now public announcement met with the supporters of the monarchy, but also with the Catholic Church on considerable concerns. For example, Bishop Franz Löbmann , who officiated as Apostolic Vicar of Saxony and Apostolic Prefect of Lusatia, and the Archbishop of Wroclaw, Adolf Cardinal Bertram, were initially of the opinion that Georg should continue to have political responsibility for Saxony. However, Georg considered a return of monarchical conditions to be ruled out and stuck to his decision. From October 1920 he studied theology at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau and was a member of the Catholic student association KDSt.V. Hohenstaufen. In autumn 1923 he passed the final exam. In 1932, the year his father died, the CV connection KDSt.V. Saxo-Thuringia Dresden (today Bochum) in their ranks.

Ordination

In September 1923 Georg received the tonsure from Archbishop Karl Fritz, and on September 29th he received the lower ordinations . On October 9th he entered the seminary in St. Peter in the Black Forest. There he consolidated his contacts with the Society of Jesus. Due to the inflationary crisis of the post-war period , the feeding of the priesthood was insufficient, so that the rain allowed food to be sent from home, which Georg noticed. After successfully completing the seminar, he received his subdiaconate ordination at Easter on March 15, 1924 , which was followed a week later by the diaconate ordination. On July 15, 1924, the 900th anniversary of the death of Emperor Heinrich II , Georg was ordained priest at the grave of St. Hedwig von Andechs in Trebnitz (Silesia) by Bishop Christian Schreiber von Meißen .

Priestly years

Society of Jesus

admission

Sibyllenort Castle

The following day, Father Georg celebrated his first mass in Sibyllenort Castle , where his father lived; Primary preacher was his uncle Max von Sachsen . After his ordination, Georg worked as an auxiliary priest primarily in his home diocese of Meißen and in the places Langewiese, the mother parish of Sibyllenort, Trebnitz and Breslau. Georg described this time as very happy. In mid-August 1924 he worked for the first time in the Hofkirche in Dresden. At this time he decided to become a Jesuit , contrary to his father's express wish . Bishop Schreiber, who would have liked to keep him in his diocese and who had planned for him a position as provost of the cathedral in Bautzen, was disappointed about this, but did not get in the way of Georg's decision. As Georg had promised, he instructed his father and asked his permission. At first the father refused brusquely, having voted in 1917 for the validity of paragraph 2 of the Jesuit Law , which said that the Society of Jesus was forbidden in the German Reich to establish free settlements. But finally, after a new meeting on August 28, 1924, he gave his consent on the condition that Georg renounce his future position as "head of the house". Georg accepted this. However, there was resistance to George's plans on the part of the Society of Jesus, which reacted cautiously to the request of a crown prince. After the Provincial of the Upper German Province, Augustin Bea , had convinced himself of the seriousness of the request for admission, Georg's application was treated like any other. After a positive decision, Georg went to further studies in the Jesuit Canisianum in Innsbruck from October 1924 in order to experience religious life up close. At Easter 1925 he was in Rome and asked at a private audience with Pope Pius XI. as well as the general Wladimir Ledóchowski about the admission into the Society of Jesus . He received acceptance for the Upper German Jesuit Province, to which his Saxon homeland belonged. On July 10, he was admitted to the Order, and on September 15, 1925, he entered the novitiate in Tisis .

Order study

Georg's entry into the order was controversial in his Saxon homeland. The press published reports accusing him of desertion , treason and deliberate provocation. Undeterred by this, he continued his training. So in 1927/28 he studied philosophical studies at the Berchmanskolleg in Pullach near Munich. There he made his first vow in September 1927. When the previous provinces changed in the course of a territorial reform at the end of 1927, he decided on the East German province, to which his Saxon homeland now belonged. Visits to Dresden followed in September and at Christmas 1928, where Georg - unlike a few years earlier - was enthusiastically welcomed. In the spring of 1929, also with great public interest, he held a triduum for the millennium in Meissen, where he promoted understanding between the various denominations and warned all Jewish and free-minded fellow citizens in this process with regard to increasing anti-Semitism to be included. After completing his studies, he preached from the summer of 1930 for the next two years in the Silesian Mittelsteine (County of Glatz). He held tridues, religious weeks, retreats for the various estates and lectures throughout Germany. The prince wrote the foreword to the war experiences of his confrater, Father Max Biber SJ, “Of Gas, Grenades and Soldiers” , published in 1930 .

Georg (in priestly robe) walking behind his father's coffin (photo from February 23, 1932)

On February 18, 1932, Georg traveled to the castle in Sibyllenort because of his father's stroke. When he got there, the former king had already passed away. The coffin was brought to Dresden by special train. Georg was warmly welcomed in his old homeland at the funeral ceremonies that followed in Dresden, at which around half a million people were present. He continued to reject political responsibility towards Saxony. On September 29, 1932, Georg entered the second and last major retreat in St. Andrä in Carinthia. Retreats took Georg to Vienna, Budapest and Bern.

Berlin years

Ecumenism

In 1933 Georg was transferred to Berlin, where he primarily devoted himself to pastoral care and played a key role in the establishment of the Canisius College with the Catholic grammar school at Lietzensee . According to mainly theological writings, Georg was hostile to National Socialism . In addition, he allegedly refused to make any kind of concessions to the regime. He was particularly offended by the fact that the National Socialists tried to destroy values ​​that were particularly important to him - the monarchical tradition in Saxony and the Christian-Occidental outlook. As a result, he saw himself offended in his family honor and considerably hindered in his work as a pastor. Because of the increasing anti-Semitic and anti-Christian currents in the country, he briefly thought of emigration, but then decided against it for humanitarian reasons. For the other side, Georg was suspicious as a member of a royal family that had been forced to abdicate, as a Catholic priest and as a member of the Jesuit order, which created tension. First Georg's path took him to Budapest in the spring of 1933, and later to Vienna and Geneva. Around the same time, the first signs of the onset of arthritis in his back became noticeable. In the autumn of the same year he gave lectures in Sweden. In the next few years Georg carried out another extensive retreat and lecturing activity all over Germany. In doing so, he increasingly campaigned for ecumenism . He also started various Bible study groups. Georg was able to take advantage of his talent for languages ​​on his other international trips. In addition to his mother tongue, he was fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, English, Polish and Czech, which allowed him to give his sermons mostly in the language of the host country. On February 2, 1936, he took his last vow and in the summer of the same year he embarked on a month-long journey to the Orient, which took him to Jerusalem, Haifa, Beirut, Alexandria, Cairo and Galilee, where he gave further retreats with the Trebnitz Borromean Sisters . In Rome he was allowed to go to the Pope again. All in all, however, Georg had settled in Berlin by the late 1930s. He devoted himself mainly to the care of the Catholic women's associations, was active in the mother's pastoral care and took care of the spiritual care of the lay brothers in the Canisius College. It is said that he read mass for Polish forced laborers in their mother tongue. When the Second World War broke out, Georg wanted to become a field chaplain, but his back problems, which were now accompanied by painful inflammations, had progressed so far that he was no longer able to do so. His varied tasks, but also the increasing air raids on Berlin from 1940 onwards, led to gradual exhaustion and worsened his ailments. So he often had to look for relaxation, mostly with his aunt Maria Immacolata in Freiburg. He also maintained a friendly relationship with the writer Reinhold Schneider , who lived in the neighborhood and who remembered him in later years with a sonnet.

Una Sancta Circle

Father Georg worked in the Berlin Una-Sancta district from 1936 . This circle, founded by Pastor Paul Pietryga (1880–1945), had around 30 members. On the Catholic side, these included the general director of the Christkönigsgesellschaft Max Josef Metzger , prior Aurelius Arkenau , cathedral vicar Wilhelm Wagner (1909–1944) and Romano Guardini , on the Protestant side Pastor Hans Asmussen , the publisher of the magazine Junge Kirche , the women's rights activist Gertrud Bäumer , Jochen Klepper and the later Bishop of Lower Saxony Hanns Lilje and other church personalities. Occasionally there were also guests from outside, such as the politician and writer August Winnig . The confidential monthly meetings took place on the premises of Renata Kracker von Schwarzenfeld (1913–1942), the wife of Rudolf-Christoph von Gersdorff , not far from the Charlottenburg train station . The circle saw itself in the broadest sense as “ecumenism on site” and refuge of spiritual and spiritual independence, in which people of different denominations came together for free conversation. The evenings were mostly started with lectures and ended with common prayer. Georg spoke to representatives of both denominations in later years, among other things, about overcoming the religious rifts in the face of the increasing destruction of Germany. A majority of the members of the Berlin Una Sancta group were murdered, imprisoned or, like Klepper, committed suicide by the Nazi rulers until the end of the war.

Moreover, had George in another opposition circle, the next Hare also to 1942 acting head of the Reich cereal site Herbert Dassler , Bishop Otto Dibelius , preacher Bruno Doehring and Major Roland von Hößlin belonged, a close confidant Stauffenberg. They met irregularly in a villa on Woyrschstrasse in Berlin.

Consulting activities

Georg's origins, his church work also as a confessor and his position as a lieutenant colonel a. D. had provided him with ramified relationships with Vatican, princely, diplomatic and military-opposition circles. Because of these relationships, he was monitored by the Gestapo and interrogated several times, and his religious apartment was repeatedly searched. In order not to endanger the Berlin branch of the order unnecessarily, from September 1941 he was forced to use the villa of his friend Georg Herzog zu Mecklenburg in Berlin-Dahlem as a temporary residence. From there, Georg supported members of the opposition and Jews in their escape from Germany or at least tried to remove them from the Gestapo. However, his activities were made so difficult by the long journeys that he returned to his religious apartment in early 1943.

General Friedrich Olbricht belonged to the opposition circles in the military , with whom Georg was in personal and letter contact from 1940 at the latest, the correspondence being handled through Georg Alexander Herzog zu Mecklenburg . Georg also maintained contacts with other personalities in the later resistance group of July 20, 1944 . His connection to the city commandant of Berlin, General Paul von Hase, and to the ambassador Ulrich von Hassell are considered secure . He was also in an exchange of ideas with Colonel General Franz Halder and Ludwig Beck , with Halder's wife transmitting the news. The details of his interaction with these people remained secret and therefore cannot be reconstructed; In any case, according to his own statements, he feared that he would one day be abducted and killed by state organs, which later fueled suspicions about unnatural circumstances in his death. In addition, he maintained contacts with members of the Kreisau Circle .

Death and burial

George's grave in the New Crypt of the Catholic Court Church in Dresden

On the morning of May 14, 1943, Georg drove from his religious residence at Neue Kantstrasse 2 to Groß Glienicker See to swim, which the doctor had advised him to do because of his back pain. He also wanted to work out a sermon. On this day the temperature was above 36 ° C. After he failed to appear in the late afternoon and the morning of the next day, his friars notified the water police, who scoured the lake with search lines for six hours. However, only the clothes that Georg had discarded and his wristwatch were found in a nearby bathing hut. Witnesses wanted to have heard calls for help from the lake around 5 p.m. Eventually a diver was requested, but the search was unsuccessful. In the meantime, the siblings Friedrich Christian, Ernst Heinrich and Maria had come to the scene of the accident to take part in the search. General Olbricht and his adjutant were also present. Three weeks later, on June 5th, Georg's body was found floating in the reeds. After the criminal police had been informed, the corpse, which had not been injured on the outside, was taken to the Westend Hospital , where the pathologists Walter Koch (1880–1962) and Alexander Leo Christian von Damaris (1881–1945) identified heart failure as the cause of death. At necroscopy there was no water in the lungs, so death by drowning could be excluded. According to the autopsy report, there were no indications of a violent crime. However, his youngest brother, Ernst Heinrich von Sachsen, questioned this finding based on the testimony of eyewitnesses and spoke of a contract murder by the Gestapo. The Jesuit order never initiated its own investigation into the circumstances of death.

Georg's body was consecrated on June 6th and transferred to Dresden, where it was laid out in the Silver Chapel and buried on June 16, 1943 in the New Crypt of the Wettins in the Catholic Court Church with great sympathy among the population. The Nazi regime had decreed that the participants were not allowed to appear in uniform. Georg's death was also received with consternation on the part of opposition circles; von Hassell spoke of a great loss in this context.

When Dresden was taken by the Red Army in the spring of 1945, the sarcophagus of George was broken into by Soviet soldiers who suspected jewelry or valuables inside. After closing it again, the church had the sarcophagus embedded in a stone coffin. During the flood disaster in 2002 , the resting place suffered severe damage, which could only be repaired after extensive renovation and reconstruction measures.

Unlike his grandfather and father, Georg did not receive any posthumous honors. No memorial was erected for him, nor were streets or squares named after him. In the 1981 GDR film production Adel im Untergang , Georg was played by the actor Holm Gärtner .

Awards

genealogy

attachment

Fonts

• P. Georg, January 15, 1893-1943. Typescript (memoirs)

literature

• Georg von Sachsen , Internationales Biographisches Archiv 38/1946 from September 9, 1946, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible).
• Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. 2nd Edition. FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, ISBN 3-929413-86-8 .
• Reiner Groß : The Wettins. W. Kohlhammer 2007, ISBN 978-3-17-018946-1
• Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, ISBN 3-929413-97-3 .
• Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, without ISBN.

Web links

Commons : Georg von Sachsen  - Collection of images

• Literature by and about Georg von Sachsen in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 9 .; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony , Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, p. 8 .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 9 f., 20; Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg of Saxony - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Wesen and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 48; Albert of Saxony: Crown Prince (Father) Georg of Saxony. From heir to the throne to clergyman and opponent of National Socialism. In: Sächsische Heimat: Journal of the Bundeslandsmannschaft Sachsen eV, the Foundation Land Saxony and the Working Group Saxony in Europe , Volume 39 (1993), 2, p. 35 f.
2. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Pater SJ , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 11-23; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony , Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 9 f., 14 f .; Dagmar Vogel: Dramatic Crown Prince Fates, Tauchaer Verlag 1995, p. 7 f.
3. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 23 f .; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony , Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 11–13; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, p. 15 f.
4. ↑ Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 19 f., 21; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ).
5. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 24, 41; Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg of Saxony - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Essence and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 49.
6. ^ Dresdner Anzeiger of March 28, 1912.
7. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 25–34; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony , Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 16, 23
8. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 35 f .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, p. 27; Albert of Saxony: Crown Prince (Father) Georg of Saxony. From heir to the throne to clergyman and opponent of National Socialism. In: Sächsische Heimat: Journal of the Bundeslandmannschaft Sachsen eV, the Foundation Land Saxony and the Working Group Saxony in Europe , Volume 39 (1993), 2, p. 37.
9. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 36 f .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, p. 24.
10. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 35–38, 42.
11. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 38 f; Friedrich Schulze-Maizier P. Georg von Sachsen SJ in: Communications from the German Provinces of the Society of Jesus , Volume III, 1946/48, p. 177.
12. ↑ Dagmar Vogel: Dramati Kronprinzenschicksale , Tauchaer Verlag 1995, p. 9; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ).
13. ^ Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg von Sachsen - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Essence and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 50.
14. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 43–45; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, p. 26.
15. ^ Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg von Sachsen - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Essence and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 50.
16. ^ Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 9 f., 27-29; Alfred Rothe: P. Georg of Saxony. In: Communications from the German Provinces of the Society of Jesus , Issue 114, 1953/56, p. 200; Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg of Saxony - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Essence and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 50.
17. ^ Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg von Sachsen - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Essence and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 50.
18. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 46–51; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 27-32.
19. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 52 f .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, p. 30 f.
20. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 54–56; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, p. 33 ff .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, p. 32 f.
21. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 57 f .; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, p. 34 f .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 34–36; Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg of Saxony - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Essence and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 50.
22. ^ Albert Herzog zu Sachsen: The Wettins in Life Pictures , Graz Styria 1995, p. 367 f.
23. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 58-61; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 38-43; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 38–43; Alfred Rothe: P. Georg of Saxony. In: Communications from the German Provinces of the Society of Jesus , Issue 114, 1953/56, p. 204 f; Hans Eggert, Rainer Kubatzki: A king in good Saxon. Friedrich August III. , Verlag Sächsische Zeitung 2007, p. 156 f.
24. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jürgen Israel: Father Georg von Sachsen - anti-Nazi from a Christian conscience. If I don't come back one day, I'll be arrested. In: Das Parlament, Volume 54, No. 27 of June 28, 2004, p. 7.
25. ^ Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 47–49; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ).
26. ^ Lutz Hagestedt : Das Deutsche Literatur-Lexikon , Volume 2, Column 571 u. 572, Verlag Walter de Gruyter, 2000, ISBN 3-11-096114-8 ; (Digital scan)
27. ↑ Website on Max Biber
28. ^ Review with reference to Prince Georg in: Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitung , 1930, issue 10, p. 538 of the year; (PDF view)
29. ^ Albert Herzog Zu Sachsen: The Wettins in Life Pictures , Graz Styria 1995, p. 367 f., 370.
30. ↑ Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony , Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, p. 44 ff .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 45-50.
31. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 62–75; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 46, 54-56, 61-63; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 50-55; Friedrich Schulze-Maizier P. Georg von Sachsen SJ in: Communications from the German Provinces of the Society of Jesus , Volume III, 1946/48, p. 174.
32. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 76-80; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 57-60; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 56–58; Erich Klausener: Georg of Saxony. in: Una Sancta (magazine for ecumenical encounter), issue 39, year 1984, p. 32; Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg of Saxony - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Wesen and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 51; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ).
33. ^ Roland Kopp: Paul von Hase: from the Alexander barracks to Plötzensee; a German soldier biography 1885–1944. , Münster 2004, p. 175.
34. ↑ Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, p. 64 f .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, p. 58 f .; Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg of Saxony - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Wesen and Resistance, Volume 1, 1997, p. 51; Dagmar Vogel: Dramatic Crown Prince Fates. , Tauchaer Verlag 1995, p. 10; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ); Albert Duke of Saxony: Crown Prince Georg of Saxony. In: Memorial Days of Central Germany 1993, p. 48; Friedrich Schulze-Maizier P. Georg von Sachsen SJ in: Communications from the German Provinces of the Society of Jesus , Volume III, 1946/48, p. 176.
35. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 81 f .; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ); Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, p. 65.
36. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, pp. 83-85; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 67-69; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, pp. 60–63; Siegfried Seifert: Father Georg of Saxony - Reinhold Schneider, an encounter. In: Wesen and Resistance , Volume 1, 1997, p. 52; Erich Klausener: Georg of Saxony. in: Una Sancta , No. 39, year 1984, p. 34; Alfred Rothe: P. Georg of Saxony. In: Communications from the German Provinces of the Society of Jesus , Issue 114, 1953/56, p. 208; Albert Duke of Saxony: Crown Prince Georg of Saxony. In: Memorial Days of Central Germany 1993, p. 48; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ); Crown Prince (Father) George of Saxony. From heir to the throne to clergyman and opponent of National Socialism. In: Sächsische Heimat: Journal of the Bundeslandsmannschaft Sachsen eV, the Foundation Land Saxony and the Working Group Saxony in Europe , Volume 39 (1993), 2, p. 38.
37. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 86; Elisabeth von Schönau: From the throne to the altar. Georg Crown Prince of Saxony. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1955, pp. 67-69 f .; Clemens Brodkorb, Christoph Kentrup SJ: Georg von Sachsen. Crown Prince - Priest - Jesuit. Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2004, p. 63 f .; Klaus Günzel: I want to be alone. A life without compromise: Georg, Saxony's last Crown Prince. In: Die Zeit from May 28, 1998 ( digitized version ); Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen: The Hassell diaries 1938–1944: Notes from the other Germany. , Siedler Verlag Berlin 1989, p. 374.
38. ^ Albert Duke of Saxony: Crown Prince Georg of Saxony. In: Memorial Days of Central Germany 1993, p. 48.
39. ↑ Ralf Hübner: Kings have found their peace again. In: Lausitzer Rundschau , July 15, 2003. ( online )
40. ^ Johannes Sembdner: Georg of Saxony. Crown Prince - Lieutenant Colonel - Tertiary - Father SJ , Verlag FW Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2006, p. 39.
41. ^ H. Schindler: King Friedrich August III. A picture of life and character. , Apollo Dresden publishing house 1916, p. 72.

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