Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg (1882–1904)

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Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg (-Schwerin) (1882–1904)

Paul Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin] (born May 12, 1882 in Schwerin , † May 21, 1904 in Kiel ; full name: Paul Friedrich Karl Alexander Michael Hugo ) was a German naval officer in the Imperial Navy .

family

Paul Friedrich was the eldest child of Duke Paul Friedrich (1852-1923) and his wife, the Austrian Princess Marie von Windisch-Graetz (1856-1929). He was the older brother of Duke Heinrich Borwin (1885–1942) and Duchess Marie Antoinette (1884–1944). He was also the youngest grandson of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II (1823–1883). Paul Friedrich was initially baptized Lutheran . After Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II died, he converted to Catholicism at the request of his mother .

Naval career

Like his relatives, the young duke received an appropriate school education. Paul Friedrich then decided to pursue an officer career in the Imperial Navy . After passing the entrance exam at the Kiel Naval School , he began his training in the spring of 1902. He received his first nautical and artillery training in the same year on the sailing training ship SMS Charlotte . In 1904, the Duke , who has meanwhile been promoted to lieutenant at sea , served on board the artillery training ship SMS Mars . His early death put an abrupt end to his career as an officer.

Circumstances of death

Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg was found hanged on May 20, 1904 at 7:00 a.m. in the bedroom of his villa in Kiel-Düsternbrook . The officer boy who was supposed to wake the duke in the morning spoke in shock of an angel hanging there. His assigned military companion, Lieutenant von Arnim, immediately informed the Mecklenburg Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV , who in turn sent the President of the Schwerin Regional Court, Adolf Langfeld, to Kiel . The also informed chief of the naval station of the Baltic Sea Vice Admiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia also initiated a military judicial investigation.

Paul Friedrich had built an apparatus out of the side rifle belt and rope with which he could float in the room while hanging on the lamp hook. The straps on the apparatus slipped and then strangled the Duke's neck. A cavalry lance was also found , the purpose of which remained unclear. Langfeld and other witnesses assumed an accident, they considered suicidal intent to be unlikely. At least that is the official statements of the officials involved. Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV had an autopsy ordered because of the unexplained circumstances surrounding his death . The forensic medical examination carried out by the Kiel professor of anatomy Arnold Heller supported the version of an accidental death. He also found that the duke had tried to break free. Langfeld then informed the Schwerin State Ministry that the death “was due to an accident during gymnastic exercises which the deceased did before going to bed”.

A confidential report that Langfeld had created provides further information about the discovery of the body: "The undressed corpse of the Duke hung on the lamp hook in the bedroom ... She wore a long-haired blonde woman's wig on her head ". Langfeld took the woman's wig at the scene and burned it "in the large fire hole of the heating system in the government building" in Schwerin. For Langfeld there was no question that the matter had to be kept secret. The situation in which they were found would only have "fueled malicious or lascivious suspicions" and had lasting damage to the reputation of the entire ducal family. The circumstances of death should therefore be withheld from the public.

It has never been possible to determine with absolute certainty whether an accident or suicidal intent led to the young duke's death.

After the end of the investigation, the corpse was transferred to Ludwigslust with military honors and given to the parents. Paul Friedrich's mother was indignant about the condition of the body, which had cuts on the neck. For them it was an indication that their son was murdered because of his Catholic faith. The explanation was very simple: The cuts came from the section made in Kiel.

Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg was buried on May 24, 1904 in the crypt of the Catholic St. Helena and Andreas Church in Ludwigslust. In May 1923 the coffin was transferred to the Louisen Mausoleum during the funeral of his father Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg .

Awards

Orders and decorations

(Source: Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine for the year 1904. )

À la suite

Memorial culture

After the court marshal's office and the magistrate had negotiated in May 1905, the Koppelallee in Ludwigslust was renamed Paul-Friedrich-Allee in honor of the late Duke .

Literature and Sources

literature

  • Paul Friedrich Duke of Mecklenburg (1882–1904), lieutenant at sea. In: Gerhard Beckmann, Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Ralf Mumm: Naval officers from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 1849–1990. Writings on the history of Mecklenburg, Schwerin 2006, ISBN 978-3-00-019944-8 , pp. 137-138.
  • Hanged while doing gymnastics ... Duke Paul Friedrich (son) (1882–1904). In: Bernd Kasten : Prince Schnaps. Black sheep in the Princely House of Mecklenburg. Hinstorff Verlag , Rostock 2009. ISBN 978-3-356-01334-4 , pp. 98-101.
  • Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Ralf Mumm: Seafarer's Death of a Mecklenburg Duke 1897. Writings of the studio for portrait and history painting, Schwerin 1999, ISBN 3-00-004911-8 , p. 60 f.
  • Klaus Franken: The naval cabinet of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his first boss, Admiral Gustav Freiherr von Senden-Bibran. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-8305-3522-5 , p. 134.
  • Paul Friedrich Karl Alexander Michael Hugo Duke of Mecklenburg . In: Anton Bettelheim (Hrsg.): Biographisches Jahrbuch and Deutscher Nekrolog. Volume X. From January 1 to December 31, 1905, Georg Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1907, p. 82 * ( digitized version ).

Unprinted sources

  • State Main Archive Schwerin
    • Stock: 5.2-2 No. 97, Ministry of the Grand Ducal House, duration: o. A.
    • Stock: 5.12-8 / 1 No. 911, military department, Duke Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (son), term: n.a.
    • Stock: 5.12-8 / 1 No. 2286, military department, wing adjutants and prince governors, duration: 1886–1909.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine for the year 1903. Mittler und Sohn , Berlin 1903, p. 114.
  2. ↑ Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine for the year 1902. Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1902, p. 46.
  3. ↑ Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine for the year 1903. Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1903, p. 49.
  4. ^ Adolf Langfeld: My life. Memories of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Minister i. RD Dr. Adolf Langfeld. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1930, p. 198.
  5. ↑ Bernd Kasten: Prince Schnaps. Black sheep in the Princely House of Mecklenburg. Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2009, p. 98.
  6. ^ A b c Adolf Langfeld: My life. Memories of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Minister i. RD Dr. Adolf Langfeld. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1930, p. 199.
  7. ^ Adolf Langfeld: My life. Memories of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Minister i. RD Dr. Adolf Langfeld. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1930, p. 199 f.
  8. ↑ Langfeld's report formed the basis for the officially disseminated death announcement: "Died in Kiel as a result of an accident while doing gymnastic exercises at night". see. New annals of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1904. In: Grand Ducal Statistical Office (Hrsg.): Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalender 1905. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1905, p. 533.
  9. ↑ Bernd Kasten: Prince Schnaps. Black sheep in the Princely House of Mecklenburg. Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2009, p. 100.
  10. ^ A b Adolf Langfeld: My Life: Memories of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Minister i. RD Dr. Adolf Langfeld. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1930, p. 200.
  11. ↑ Bernd Kasten: Prince Schnaps. Black sheep in the Princely House of Mecklenburg. Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2009, p. 101.
  12. ↑ Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine for the year 1904. Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1904, p. 104.
  13. ↑ Günter Wegmann, Christian Zweng (ed.): Formation history and staffing of the German armed forces from 1815 to 1990. Volume 3. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 978-3-7648-2413-6 , p. 76.
  14. ^ Grand Ducal Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Calendar 1902. Verlag der Bärensprungschen Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1902, p. 3.
  15. ^ Paul Friedrich Duke of Mecklenburg (1882–1904), lieutenant at sea. In: Gerhard Beckmann, Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Ralf Mumm: Naval officers from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 1849–1990. Writings on the history of Mecklenburg, Schwerin 2006, p. 138.
personal data
SURNAME Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paul Friedrich Carl Alexander Michael Hugo (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwerin
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1904
Place of death Kiel