1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,840 Speaker 1: One quick note before we begin. Noble Blood is now 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: on Patreon, so if you are interested in supporting the 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: show and getting a behind the scenes look at my 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: process and getting access to Q and as bibliographies for 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 1: the readings and episode scripts, check out patreon dot com 6 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 1: slash Noble Blood Tales. All right, let's dive in. Welcome 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio and 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:33,160 Speaker 1: Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion is advised. 9 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: There are two German people that I need to introduce 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: you to before this story can really begin. The first 11 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: is Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia. That's his legal last name, 12 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: Prince von Prussen. Germany is no longer a monarchy today, 13 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: but if it were, Georg Friedrich would be its leader. 14 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: The forty four year old head of the House of 15 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: Hohenzo Learn is the great great grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: the Second, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, 17 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: who abdicated both of those titles in nineteen eighteen following 18 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 1: Germany's defeat in World War One. Up until then, the 19 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: hohens O Learned family had ruled in modern day Prussia 20 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: for over three hundred years. Looking at Georg Friedrich, you 21 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: wouldn't necessarily think that he's royal. He looks like any 22 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: other attractive, wealthy person in his forties. He could be 23 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: a stockbroker or a member of the local school board. Still, 24 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: he is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria, which makes 25 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: him technically two hundred second in line for the British throne, 26 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: although I've seen that number as low as one hundred 27 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: and seventy Yet. The second German Man you need to 28 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: know for this story is the German equivalent of John 29 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: Stewart back when he was hosted The Daily Show, a 30 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: man named Jan Boorman. Jan is the host of a 31 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: late night television show called Neo Magazine Royal. Like any 32 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: political satire, the show is no stranger to controversy. Jan 33 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: has launched a handful of national scandals in the press 34 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: and dealt with about as many lawsuits. Last year in 35 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: Jan air to segment that brought a little known legal 36 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: battle to national attention. For years, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, 37 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: had secretly been embroiled in negotiations with the German government 38 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: in an effort to reclaim thousands of pieces of art 39 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: and other priceless historical artifacts and to regain his family's 40 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: claim to a number of castles and other properties, a 41 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: negotiation worth hundreds of millions of euros. When the Soviets 42 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: claimed East Germany after World War two, and half the 43 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: country fell under communism, much of the Holland or Land 44 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: family property fell on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. 45 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: But then the Berlin Wall came down and in German 46 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: parliament passed a law which allowed Germans the right to 47 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: reclaim property that had been seized in the Soviet occupation. 48 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,920 Speaker 1: But that law had one major caveat. You had the 49 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: right to family property, but that right was automatically forfeited 50 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: if your ancestors significantly contributed to the rise of the 51 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: Nazi Party. This is where things get slightly sticky for 52 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: Georg Friedrich, the Kaiser abdicated in eighteen after Germany's defeat 53 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: in World War One, and he spent the rest of 54 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: his life in exile in the Netherlands to avoid being 55 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: extradited by the Allies. But his son, former Crown Prince 56 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: will Home, did return to Germany, and there are a 57 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: number of more than uncomfortable photos of the former Crown 58 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: Prince wearing a Nazi uniform, saluting, smiling and laughing next 59 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: to Adolf Hitler like they're the best friends in the world. 60 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: Georg Friedrich's negotiations with the German government over the art 61 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: and the property had almost been entirely private until beyond 62 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: Borman segment, in which the comedian dubbed Georg Friedrich in 63 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: German hashtag print stupid. Young Gorman said that for bringing 64 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: the case at all, for trying to reclaim any of 65 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: the property that was currently being displayed to the public 66 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: as museums, meant that Georg Friedrick had and I quote, 67 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: I are ashall balls of steel for Georg Friedrich. I 68 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: imagine it's not just a matter of money, though it 69 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: does seem like quite a bit of money, but of family, 70 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: honor and shame. Whatever pride he might take in being 71 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:12,279 Speaker 1: able to trace his lineage back past Queen Victoria is 72 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: permanently overshadowed by those photos of his great grandfather proudly 73 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: wearing a swatsticka But those photos, embarrassing as they are, 74 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: can't tell a full story, and so millions of euros 75 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: are at stake in a legal battle in which historians 76 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: have been enlisted on both sides to answer a seemingly 77 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:42,160 Speaker 1: simple question, did Crown Prince Wilholm significantly help the Nazis? 78 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: I'm Dana Schwartz and this is noble blood. Crown Prince 79 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: Wilhelm was the son of the last Kaiser. He was 80 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: actually the son of a man with two titles, Kaiser 81 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: of Germany and King of Prussia. Until eighteen seventy one, 82 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: Prussia was one of a number of sovereign states within 83 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: the German Confederation. In eighteen seventy one, the states became 84 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: the German Empire and the Hohenzollern family became its emperors. 85 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: Kaiser Wilhelm the second went to war against two of 86 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: his first cousins, the King and Czar of England and 87 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: Russia respectively, in World War One, and his oldest son, 88 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: Crown Prince Wilholm, was obviously expected to show his bravery 89 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: and composure on the battlefield in a leadership position. The 90 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: Crown Prince was in his thirties when World War One began, 91 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: and he patriotic as any German, was thrilled at the 92 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: notion of expansion and the sharing of Teutonic glory all 93 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 1: over Europe. As a prominent noble He was, of course 94 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: given command of an entire field army, regardless of the 95 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: fact that he was completely unqualified and had done nothing 96 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: with his twenties more notable than having an affair with 97 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: the opera singer Geraldine Farrar. Crown Prince Wilhelm had the 98 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: misfortune of being born as a prince while the idea 99 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: of monarchy in Europe was facing a major reckoning. Famously, 100 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: the devastation of World War One can be in part 101 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: attributed to nineteenth century tactics and twentieth century technology. A 102 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: similar mismatch was at play with Europe's royal families at 103 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: the time. Crown Prince will Holm had the lineage and 104 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: ego of the absolute monarchs in a country no longer 105 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: willing to give him any real power, and so though 106 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: Crown Prince will Holm was technically the commander of the 107 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: military's fifth Army, he had a chief of staff with 108 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: actual experience who would be actually, you know, doing the work. 109 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: It was understood and expected that Crown Prince Wilhelm would 110 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: defer to his chief of staff on all important military decisions. 111 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: But the Crown Prince still about to wear the sash 112 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: and badges of a commander. The most noteworthy thing that 113 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: Crown Print Wilhelm was actually involved in in the war, 114 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: for my money, is having an affair with the performer 115 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: known as Mata Harri, who would be offered a million 116 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: francs by the French military for German secrets, attempt to 117 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 1: double cross them with the Germans, and then face execution 118 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: by a French firing squad when the Germans left her 119 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,319 Speaker 1: out to dry. Now, this would be a much longer 120 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,959 Speaker 1: and a much different podcast if I were to go 121 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: into all of the details about the military maneuvers of 122 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: the First World War. Those details are fascinating, and I 123 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: encourage you to read more about them, but for now, 124 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: I think it suffices to say that at the end 125 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: of the war, Germany was in free fall. A generation 126 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: of young men had been wiped out in the senseless 127 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: bloodshed of trench warfare. Three million Germans percent of Germany's 128 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: men were killed. While the German army stood facing the 129 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 1: precipice of true and genuine defeat, It's demoralized soldiers began 130 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: to splinter in revolt against the aristocrats who had put 131 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,839 Speaker 1: them in that position to begin with. First, there was 132 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: a mutiny at sea by naval officers then coming in 133 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: from the coasts. The masses demanded change. A socialist uprising 134 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: was bubbling within Germany. The nation was going to become 135 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:02,839 Speaker 1: a republic at any cost. On November nine, with a 136 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: crowd gathering in Berlin, the Kaiser and his closest advisers 137 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: realized that they had no choice. The Kaiser resigned his 138 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:21,839 Speaker 1: royal title, as did his son, the Crown Prince. Privately, 139 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,199 Speaker 1: the former Kaiser believed that even though he had technically 140 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: abdicated his title as Kaiser, he could still hold some 141 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: power as the King of Prussia. It's the type of 142 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: naivety that almost looks adorable in retrospect, like someone on 143 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: the Titanic asking to make sure their tea is still 144 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: out by the time they get back. Both the former 145 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,480 Speaker 1: Kaiser and former Crown Prince had to flee Germany in 146 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: order to protect themselves from their own people's revolt. They 147 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: went through Belgium and rode a train across the border 148 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: to the Netherlands, a country that was neutral under Queen Wilhelmina. 149 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: The Allied powers tried in Vain to extradite the former 150 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: Kaiser in order to charge him for war crimes, but 151 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: Queen Wilhelmina was neutral and wanted to make a clear 152 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,319 Speaker 1: point to the rest of Europe adds to her nation's autonomy, 153 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: and so the Kaiser would go on to buy a 154 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 1: big house, endured, and live in exile in the Netherlands 155 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,439 Speaker 1: for the rest of his life, stewing about his wrongful 156 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: forced eviction and blaming the Jews for sabotage in Germany 157 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: during World War One. From within. One more interesting thing 158 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: happened to the former Kaiser, not entirely relevant to the story, 159 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: but I think worth mentioning just because it seems surreal 160 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: to me that Ben Affleck hasn't made it into a 161 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 1: movie yet. In January nineteen nineteen, a former Tennessee senator 162 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: named Luke Lee, who had just been serving as a 163 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 1: colonel in France, attempted to kidnap the former Kaiser and 164 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: bring him to justice. Like most American soldiers, Lee was 165 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,680 Speaker 1: frustrated that Kaiser Bill as he called him, was just 166 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: going to get away with it, to have caused so 167 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: much death and then just go on to live a 168 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 1: quiet life in a pastoral Dutch village somewhere. It seemed unimaginable. 169 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: After the war, Lee happened to stumble into a party 170 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: where he met the Duke of Connacht, the uncle of 171 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: both King George five and the Kaiser. With the blase 172 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: attitude of the blue blooded, the Duke mentioned off handedly 173 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: that no one was going to make a real fuss 174 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: about the Kaiser now that he was an exile. Of course, 175 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: they were all embarrassed by the Kaiser. The British royal 176 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: family had changed their last name in v from sax 177 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 1: Coburg Gotha to the more neutral sounding Windsor in order 178 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: to avoid the as pesky German associations. But nobility was nobility. 179 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:10,439 Speaker 1: The noble, like the wealthy, like to protect their own 180 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: or at least to try to prevent them from ever 181 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: facing any actual consequences. But Luke Lee was a good 182 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: Southern boy who instinctively bristled against the insular camaraderie of 183 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,959 Speaker 1: the elite, and so he took matters into his own hands. 184 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: With absolutely no permission from any authority whatsoever. Lee gathered 185 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 1: a handful of other officers from his unit, and the 186 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: group of them used fake civilian passports to sneak into 187 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: Holland in a seven passenger Winston Car Lee didn't tell 188 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: the other men what their mission was going to be 189 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: until they were already across the border. We're here to 190 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 1: kidnap Kaiser Bill and bring him to Paris, where they're 191 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: having peace talks. They can bring him to justice, he said. 192 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 1: Anyone who doesn't want to come along doesn't have to 193 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: leave now. None of the men left. Instead, the seven 194 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: American soldiers drove through the January night to the seventeenth 195 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: century castle where the Kaiser was living with his wife. 196 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: The gate was locked, but Lee leapt from the car 197 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: and rattled at the railing until a guard approached. I 198 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: demand to see the man in charge here, Lee shouted 199 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: in terrible German. The guard, no doubt deeply uncomfortable by 200 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: the rowdy strangers, nevertheless, brought them inside and escorted them 201 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: to the castle's library. After fifteen minutes, a man entered. 202 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: It wasn't the Kaiser. It was a Dutch nobleman named 203 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: Count Bentinck, wearing a full coat and tails, state or business. 204 00:14:55,560 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: The Count said the Americans were silent. Benton left the 205 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: library and slammed the doors behind him. From the other 206 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: side of the library doors, the Americans listened as the 207 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: Count and the Kaiser talked quickly back and forth. Suddenly 208 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: the count reappeared. If you don't have official business with 209 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: the Kaiser, I'm afraid you must leave now. He said. 210 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 1: We're nephews of the German count. One of the Americans 211 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: ad libbed. Lee shook his head. Their mission was over 212 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: and their next move was written on his face aboard. 213 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,840 Speaker 1: Before anyone could say another word, Lee and the Americans 214 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: ran from the castle and jumped back into their car. 215 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: They drove away as they saw Dutch troops coming up 216 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: the road. Finally, when it seemed like the coast was clear, 217 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: one of the men pulled a silver ashtray out from 218 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: his pocket. At least we got a souvenir, he said. 219 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: The ash tray was embossed with the German coat of 220 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: arms and the initial W I Wilhelm Imperator. The former 221 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: Kaiser would file a formal complaint about the illegal Americans 222 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: and their burglary of a priceless stolen astray, but in 223 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: the end, Colonel Lee and his cohorts would receive what 224 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: amounted to nothing more than a slap on the wrists. 225 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: Was the cost of an astray really worth the cost 226 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: in damages? The Kaiser had caused to Europe. Perhaps the 227 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: former Kaiser realized that it wasn't worth asking for anything 228 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: from the international community. Any attention you received at that 229 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: point would probably lead to trouble for him. He had 230 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: gotten away with it with everything he did. He had 231 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: his life and his freedom, and now he just needed 232 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: to keep his mouth shut. Sometimes you need to quit 233 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: while you're ahead. But while the former Kaiser was more 234 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: or less comfortable in xt style, the former Crown Prince 235 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 1: was not. In N three, the former Crown Prince, who 236 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: from now on will just call Wilhelm, made a deal 237 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: with the Chancellor that he would be allowed to return 238 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:18,360 Speaker 1: to Germany as long as he didn't get involved in politics. 239 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,640 Speaker 1: It didn't take him too long to break that promise. 240 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,199 Speaker 1: From here we have to do a little bit of 241 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 1: speculation to draw conclusions about motivations and ideologies about which 242 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: historians on both sides of the issue argue. How did 243 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: Wilhelm feel about Adolf Hitler, the rising star of German 244 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: politics in the twenties. Well, we know that Wilhelm shared 245 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: a hatred of Jews and communists. He would write a 246 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,680 Speaker 1: column published in a New York newspaper stating that Hitler 247 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:56,679 Speaker 1: was a quote clear sighted and energetic leader, and commenting 248 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,919 Speaker 1: that the Jews and Communists were the ones to blame 249 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: for Germany's lowered status on the world stage. Wilhelm wrote 250 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 1: glowing letters to Hitler and he joined Der Staalholm, a 251 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: World War One veterans group that then went on to 252 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:17,920 Speaker 1: become the far right Harsburg Front. And then, when Hitler 253 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: and his party were celebrating the reopening of the new 254 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: Reichstock after the Reichstag fire, Crown Prince Wilhelm was the 255 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:31,240 Speaker 1: guest of honor. He marched in the day of Potsdam 256 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: Parade with three of his four surviving brothers with a 257 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 1: swastika on his arm. For Hitler, the location and date 258 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:45,199 Speaker 1: of the celebration were of massive symbolic importance. Potsdam in 259 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,919 Speaker 1: Prussia was the seat of power for Frederick the Great 260 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,400 Speaker 1: and the center of the Second Reich under Otto von Bismarck. 261 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 1: The date Hitler chose, March twenty one, was the anniversary 262 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: of the opening of the First Reichstock. Everything that Hitler 263 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: did was meant to convey the continuity and greatness of 264 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 1: Germany under his party, a return to its former glory 265 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:15,199 Speaker 1: and the Crown Prince was essential in that vision. Not 266 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: only did Wilhelm's acceptance of Hitler ingratiate the politician among 267 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: the aristocratic elites, but his very presence at the parade 268 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: afforded it a legitimacy. Here was the heir of the 269 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 1: Hohenzolern family, the people who had ruled Germany for hundreds 270 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 1: of years, throwing his weight behind Adolf Hitler. Here's the 271 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 1: problematic part for Georg Friedrich, the head of the Hohenzolelern 272 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: family today, at least in terms of public image, there 273 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 1: is no shortage of photographs of Crown Prince Wilhelm wearing 274 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 1: the stormtrooper Nazi uniform in boots, or standing across from 275 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: Adolf Hitler looking genial like he seeing an old friend. 276 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,919 Speaker 1: They are the type of damning photos of an ancestor that, 277 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,400 Speaker 1: to me would make someone want to change their last 278 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 1: name altogether. But was being on Hitler's side publicly enough 279 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 1: to constitute a quote significant contribution to the Nazi Party. 280 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: Some argue that Wilhelm was just cozying up to Hitler 281 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: because he secretly believed that the Nazi Party might restore 282 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: the monarchy. In fact, once it became obvious that Hitler 283 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: had zero intention of sharing power with anyone. Will Holm 284 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: cold towards him, But does it make a difference why 285 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: someone supported Hitler? I only supported Nazis for a selfish reason, is, 286 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: to my ears, not an incredibly compelling line of defense. 287 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: Christopher Clark, a professor at Cambridge who was hired by 288 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,000 Speaker 1: the Hollandzo Learned, initially argued in favor of restoring the 289 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: holandz Learned prop pretty. He wrote that even though it 290 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:06,119 Speaker 1: was undeniable that the Crown Prince did support Hitler, he 291 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,560 Speaker 1: wasn't politically adept or intelligent enough for that support to 292 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:14,679 Speaker 1: be politically meaningful. It's as I like to think of it, 293 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: the don junior defense. Professor. Clark says that he has 294 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,000 Speaker 1: since changed his mind on the issue since coming across 295 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: new evidence. But the Hollins O Learns have another historian, 296 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:30,920 Speaker 1: will from Peter at the University of Stuttgart, who argues 297 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: that privately, Crown Prince Wilhelm actually rejected the Nazi system. 298 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: But for the most part, the historians that I read, 299 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,720 Speaker 1: at least the translations of the internal reports that Comedian 300 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:48,720 Speaker 1: Jan Bowerman leaked, paint a very clear picture. As the 301 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: German historian Peter Brant wrote, it cannot be denied that 302 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: will Holm, especially in the dissolution phase of the Weimar 303 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: Republic and in the consolidation phase of the Third Right, 304 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: steadily and significantly, contributed to the transfer of power to 305 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: the Nazi Party and to its consolidation. This happened in 306 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: full awareness and in agreement with the path to dictatorship, 307 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: combined with the hope of a more prominent place in 308 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:22,119 Speaker 1: the new circumstances. Once Hitler was fully in power, Wilhelm 309 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: almost fully withdrew from public life. He lived at his 310 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:30,639 Speaker 1: palace in Potsdam, Secilianhoff, separated from his wife, until the 311 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,199 Speaker 1: end of the war, when it was seized by the 312 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: Red Army. That palace was actually used to host the 313 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,640 Speaker 1: Potsdam Conference, which you might remember from a famous photo 314 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: they showed us in a p u S History class 315 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:49,159 Speaker 1: of Winston Churchill, Harriet Strumman, and Joseph Stalin all sitting 316 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 1: side by side. After World War Two, Wilhelm was captured 317 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:58,120 Speaker 1: by French Moroccan troops and placed under house arrest under 318 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,919 Speaker 1: the pretense of being a World War One criminal. He 319 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 1: died of a heart attack in nineteen fifty one at 320 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,479 Speaker 1: age sixty nine, and he was buried at Hohenzollern Castle, 321 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,160 Speaker 1: where his great grandson Georg Friedrich now lives for part 322 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:19,600 Speaker 1: of the year. The legal demands that Gaeorg Friederick is 323 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:24,119 Speaker 1: making today are for the typical random assortment of landed 324 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: gentry property, paintings by German masters, historically important letters, the 325 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 1: chair where Frederick the Great died, you know, classic things. 326 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 1: But he also requested the right for him and his 327 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: family to live for free at the palace sicilian Hof, 328 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:44,160 Speaker 1: which Germany recently restored with taxpayer money to turn into 329 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: a museum. Georg Friederich said that he hoped he and 330 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:53,200 Speaker 1: the government would reach a quote amicable settlement, but presumably 331 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: to speed that alone in he and his family began 332 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: withdrawing pieces of art that they did own outright but 333 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 1: had been lending to public museums. Other nobles whose property 334 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: had been forfeited under communism have made quiet settlement already. 335 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: The Prince von seckend Weimar Eisenach was generous enough to 336 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:21,119 Speaker 1: accept eighteen point two million dollars for his assorted art 337 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: pieces and castle inventory. There's so much on the line 338 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: now between the German government and the Hohenzolen family that 339 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,679 Speaker 1: neither side wants to risk actually going to court and 340 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: accepting the consequences of an all or nothing outcome. In August, 341 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 1: both sides agreed to a year long delay in court 342 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 1: proceedings in order to try to negotiate a mutually acceptable compromise. 343 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,399 Speaker 1: The way Gayeric Friedrich describes it, he is simply upholding 344 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: his family legacy. He's fighting not out of financial greed, 345 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: but out of familial obligation to take the things that 346 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: belong to the holland to Learn. At its inception, the 347 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:09,359 Speaker 1: idea of feudal nobility and monarchy was almost meant to 348 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:14,120 Speaker 1: be mutually beneficial, that a king or nobleman would protect 349 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 1: his serfs in return for their loyalty. One has to wonder, 350 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: at what point does someone no longer earn the honor 351 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: or dignity that society at large still ascribes to a title. 352 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,439 Speaker 1: At what point do they no longer remain entitled to 353 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,879 Speaker 1: the extreme wealth that went along with it. It's not 354 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 1: as though gay Org Friederich, who owned three fourths of 355 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,360 Speaker 1: the Home to Learn, castle, to Wineries, and an island 356 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: outright among his many other properties, is hard up for cash, 357 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:47,879 Speaker 1: drawing attention to yourself and your great grandfather in a 358 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: Nazi uniform to ask for millions of euros in objects 359 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 1: and properties that are currently being given to the public takes, 360 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: as Jan Bowerman would say, here a stale. Being a 361 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: monarch at the best of times puts a target on 362 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:08,639 Speaker 1: your back. Sometimes you need to quit while you're ahead. 363 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:20,400 Speaker 1: In German culture, the date November nine is massively significant. 364 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:25,440 Speaker 1: It's called shiksaws Dog or the day of fate. November 365 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,800 Speaker 1: nine was the day that Kaiser Wilhelms Chancellor announced the 366 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:33,360 Speaker 1: Kaiser's abdication, and then five years later, it's the day 367 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: that his son, the former Crown Prince, chose to return 368 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: to Germany. It's the day of Hitler's failed beer hall 369 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:46,719 Speaker 1: putch and the horrific Crystal knach In when Jewish shops 370 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,440 Speaker 1: and synagogues were destroyed and hundreds of Jewish were murdered. 371 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: And then in nine it was the day the Berlin 372 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:00,880 Speaker 1: Wall fell, ending the German separation. All of the seeds 373 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 1: of the story that led to the Kaiser's great great 374 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: grandson demanding compensation from the German government for the castles 375 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: that the Communists took We're all planted in a steady 376 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:18,160 Speaker 1: row on different November nine. I'm only sorry that this 377 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:28,439 Speaker 1: podcast is just a little early. Noble Blood is a 378 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,160 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from 379 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 1: Aaron Manky. The show was written and hosted by Danis 380 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 1: Schwartz and produced by Aaron Manky, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, 381 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,120 Speaker 1: and Trevor Young. Noble Blood is on social media at 382 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,600 Speaker 1: Noble Blood Tales, and you can learn more about the 383 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 1: show over at Noble blood Tales dot com. For more 384 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,840 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 385 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.