Philipp Albrecht Duke of Württemberg

Philipp Albrecht von Württemberg (first from right) with his siblings in 1903

Georg Philipp Albrecht Carl Maria Joseph Ludwig Hubertus Stanislaus Leopold Duke of Württemberg (born November 14, 1893 in Stuttgart , † April 15, 1975 in Ravensburg ) was head of the House of Württemberg from 1939 until his death .

Life

Philipp was the eldest son of Duke Albrecht of Württemberg and his wife, Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria . Philipp Albrecht attended the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Stuttgart and studied law for two semesters in Tübingen before joining the Grenadier Regiment "Queen Olga" (1st Württembergisches) No. 119 in 1912 as a lieutenant .

During the First World War he fought in the Württemberg Royal Dragoon Regiment No. 26 as a first lieutenant on the Eastern and Western Fronts and in Serbia . After the November Revolution of 1918, he retired as a major from active military service. When he returned to the University of Tübingen , he finished his studies in 1925 with a doctorate. iur. Neither did his father agree to the renunciation of the throne by King Wilhelm II of Württemberg on November 30, 1918. Since he had been raised as the future heir to the throne, he remained a staunch monarchist throughout his life.

time of the nationalsocialism

Since he rejected the Nazi regime and had stayed away from the elections in November 1933, he became hostile to the Nazi rulers. His brother Carl Alexander , who had become a Benedictine monk as Father Odo , had to leave Germany in 1933 for fear of reprisals. In 1940 he emigrated to the USA and was involved in various charitable organizations. Father Odo also made a contribution to the rescue of persecuted Jews.

When Philipp Albrecht refused in 1934 to hoist the swastika flag on his house, the then Kronprinzenpalais Stuttgart , he was forced to leave Stuttgart with his family. In the refuge Altshausen , who had been head of the House of Württemberg since the death of his father in 1939, he took over the management of the extensive property of his family and of the business enterprise Hofkammer des House of Württemberg .

post war period

In the post-war period he was again held in high regard in Württemberg. In 1965, Philipp Albrecht donated the standard of the state association of vigilante groups and city guards Württemberg-Hohenzollern . He was also very committed to society.

After his death he was buried in the family crypt in Altshausen . Because his eldest son Ludwig (1930–2019) gave up his membership in the house in 1959 and 1960, his younger son Carl followed him in 1975 as head of the house in Württemberg.

family

In 1923 Philipp Albrecht married Helene of Austria in Altshausen . She died the following year as a result of the birth of her only daughter:

• Marie Christine (* 1924) ⚭ September 23, 1948 Prince Georg von und zu Liechtenstein (* 1924).

In 1928 he married Rosa von Österreich in Friedrichshafen , the sister of his late first wife. From this second marriage there were two sons and four daughters.

• Helene (* 1929), ⚭ August 22, 1961 Federico Markgraf Pallavicini
• Ludwig (1930–2019), ⚭ February 16, 1960 Adelheid, Frein von und zu Bodman , ⚭ August 14, 1972 Angelika Kiessig, on June 29, 1959 renounced any rights to the throne and membership of the former royal house of Württemberg for himself and his descendants
• Elisabeth (* 1933), ⚭ July 18, 1958 Prince Antoine of Bourbon-Sicily
• Marie Therese (* 1934), ⚭ July 5, 1957 Henri d'Orléans , divorced in 1984, since the divorce she has been called “Duchess of Montpensier” in her circles
• Carl (* 1936) ⚭ July 21, 1960 Diane d'Orléans
• Marie Antoinette (1937-2004)

Honors

• Honorary citizen of Altshausen
• Honorary member of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings (1968)
• Herzog-Philipp Association School in Altshausen

literature

• 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: Journal for Hohenzollern History 47 , 48/2012. Pp. 225-261.
• 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.
• Max Messerschmid: Obituary in: Writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings , 94th year 1976, p. V ( digitized version )
• Sönke Lorenz , Dieter Mertens , Volker Press (eds.): Das Haus Württemberg - a biographical lexicon , Kohlhammer 1997, ISBN 3-17-013605-4 , p. 419 f.
• Philipp Albrecht Herzog von Württemberg , In: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 35/1975 from August 18, 1975, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 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. p. 142.
2. ↑ 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. p. 139.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Das Haus Württemberg - a biographical lexicon , Kohlhammer 1997, ISBN 3-17-013605-4 , p. 420.
4. ↑ ^{a b} “Ludwig Herzog von Württemberg died” , SWR of October 23, 2019.
5. ↑ Das Haus Württemberg - a biographical lexicon , Kohlhammer 1997, ISBN 3-17-013605-4 , p. 421.
6. ↑ Harald Derschka : The association for the history of Lake Constance and its surroundings. A look back at one hundred and fifty years of club history 1868–2018. In: Writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings , 136, 2018, pp. 1–303, here: p. 177, p. 229.

predecessor	Office	successor
Albrecht	Head of the House of Württemberg 1939–1975	Carl