Prince Gustav of Thurn and Taxis

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Prince Gustav of Thurn and Taxis

| full name = {{langx|de|Gustav Franz Maria}}

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| house = Thurn und Taxis

| father = Prince Franz of Thurn and Taxis

| mother = Countess Theresia Grimaud of Orsay

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1888|8|22|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1919|4|30|1888|8|22|df=y}}

| death_place = Munich, Bavarian Soviet Republic

{{Infobox person | child = yes | death_cause= Execution by firing squad}}

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| religion = Roman Catholic

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Prince Gustav Franz Maria of Thurn and Taxis{{refn|group=note|Full German name: Gustav Franz Maria, Prinz von Thurn und Taxis{{cite book |title=Vom König zum Führer: sozialer Niedergang und politische Radikalisierung im deutschen Adel zwischen Kaiserreich und NS-Staat |last=Malinowski |first=Stephan |year= 2003 |publisher=Akademie Verlag |isbn=3-05-004070-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RKEy0y2ZI1EC}}}} (22 August 1888 – 30 April 1919) was a member of the House of Thurn and Taxis and a Prince of Thurn and Taxis by birth. As a member of the Thule Society, Gustav was executed by the Bavarian Soviet Republic ({{langx|de|Bayerische Räterepublik}}) government during the German Revolution of 1918–19.Der Geiselmord in München. Ausführliche Darstellung der Schreckenstage im Luitpold-Gymnasium nach amtlichen Quellen. München 1919 (Digitalisat MDZ München). S. 9.

Family

Gustav was born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony as the fourth child and second son of Prince Franz of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Countess Theresia Grimaud of Orsay. Through his father, Gustav was a grandson of Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Princess Mathilde Sophie of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg.

Life

Gustav studied philosophy at the University of Tübingen. After fighting in World War I, he became a member of the Thule Society ({{langx|de|Thule-Gesellschaft}}), a German occultist and völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend.{{cite book |title=The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology |last=Goodrick-Clarke |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke |year= 1993 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York City, New York |isbn=0-8147-3060-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZzWRz9x8mwC}}

German Revolution

As White Guard ({{langx|de|Weisse Garde}}) forces (a coalition of Prussian and Bavarian troops combined with Freikorps) surrounded Munich, the Communists began to raid nationalist strong points throughout the city.{{cite web | url=http://www.destination-munich.com/communist-munich.html | title=Communist Munich: Before the fascists came the reds - Behind Communist Munich | year=2009 | access-date=2010-01-01 | publisher=Destination Munich | author=Destination Munich}} On 26 April 1919, the Red Army ({{langx|de|Rote Armee}}) broke into the Thule Society premises and arrested secretary Countess Heila von Westarp, Gustav, and five other members, labelling them as "right-wing spies." Gustav and the other hostages were taken to the cellar of the Luitpold Gymnasium, which had served as a Red Army post since mid-April. The seven Thule Society members, including Gustav, and three Freikorps soldiers were killed on 30 April as a reprisal for reports of the killing of Red soldiers by Whites at Starnberg.{{cite book |title=Hitler, the path to power |last=Flood |first=Charles Bracelen |year= 1989 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=0-395-35312-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlerpathtopowe00floo|url-access=registration }} Gustav and his fellow hostages were lined up against a wall and executed by a firing squad.{{cite book |title=The coming of the Third Reich |last=Evans |first=Richard J. |author-link=Richard J. Evans |year= 2004 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=1-59420-004-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781594200045|url-access=registration }} Their deaths may have also been a reprisal for an attempt by Thule Society members to infiltrate the Bavarian Soviet Republic's government and stage a coup d'état on 30 April. Gustav was the most notable of the four titled members killed in the incident, due to his family's extensive ties with several of Europe's royal houses.