Prince Oskar of Prussia

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0152, Familie Kaiser Wilhelm II..jpg with his family in 1896. Prince Oskar is in the centre in front of Wilhelm II.]]

Prinz Oskar of Prussia was born on 27 July 1888 at his parents' residence in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg. He was the fifth son of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, and was born in the so-called Year of the Three Emperors, just a month after his 29-year-old father had become German Emperor and King of Prussia. He was baptised in the chapel of the Royal Palace on the Spree Island in central Berlin and was named after King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway, who was also his godfather.{{Cite web |last=Kirschstein |first=Jörg |year=2003 |title=Oskar Prinz von Preussen |url=http://www.preussen.de/de/geschichte/1888_wilhelm_ii./kinder/oskar.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522144927/http://www.preussen.de/de/geschichte/1888_wilhelm_ii./kinder/oskar.html |archive-date=22 May 2015 |access-date=11 December 2012 |website=preussen.de |publisher=Haus Hohenzollern |language=de}}

Prince Oskar had five brothers: Crown Prince Wilhelm, Prince Eitel Friedrich, Prince Adalbert, Prince August Wilhelm, Prince Joachim and one sister: Princess Viktoria Luise. He spent his childhood with his six siblings at the New Palace, also in Potsdam.

Prince Oskar was educated as a cadet at the Prinzenhaus in Plön, in his mother's ancestral Schleswig-Holstein, as his brothers had been before him. He made the news in 1902 when he fractured his collar bone after a fall from the horizontal bars.{{Cite news |date=9 December 1902 |title=Kaiser's Fifth Son Hurt |work=The New York Times}}

During the early months of the First World War, he commanded Grenadierregiment "König Wilhelm I." (2. Westpreussisches) Nr. 7 in the field as its colonel. Future fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen witnessed the 22 August 1914, attack on Virton, Belgium, and wrote of Prinz Oskar's bravery and his inspirational leadership at the front of his regiment as they went into combat.{{Cite book |last=Kilduff |first=Peter |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/969071479 |title=Red Baron: The Life and Death of an Ace |publisher=F+W Media |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7153-3381-5 |oclc=969071479}} For this action, Oskar earned the Iron Cross, Second Class.{{Cite news |date=26 August 1914 |title=Kaiser Decorates 2 Sons for Bravery |work=The New York Times}} A month later, at Verdun, Oskar again led his men in a successful assault into heavy combat, and was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class. After this action, he also collapsed and had to be removed from the field.{{Cite news |date=3 October 1914 |title=Von Der Horst Killed Leading His Troops |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/10/03/100107891.pdf}} Awarded the wound badge for his injuries, he spent much of the autumn of 1914 recovering from what was reported to be a heart condition. He eventually returned to duty and served on the Eastern Front, where he was again awarded the wound badge.{{Cite news |date=8 February 1916 |title=Kaiser's Son Oscar is Wounded Again |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/02/08/104665227.pdf}}

In the early 1920s, his name was listed with other members of the general staff or the royal family accused of war crimes, and was condemned in the Press for applying for a colonel's pension from the Weimar Republic.{{Cite news |date=20 August 1922 |title=Princes Seek Pension reprinted from 'Chicago Tribune' |work=The New York Times}}

During the 1930s, when the Hohenzollern family attempted to test the waters for a return to power through Nationalist Socialism, Oskar appears to have played along, and eventually was commissioned at Generalmajor zur Verfügung (rank equivalent to brigadier general, "available for assignment"), circa 1 March 1940. As the family fell out of favour with Hitler (with the exception of Oskar's middle brother, August Wilhelm), it became evident that there would be no restoration of the monarchy through the Nazis.

With the early battlefield deaths of Oskar's son (also named Oskar, killed in Poland, September 1939) and his nephew (Wilhelm, son of the Crown Prince, died of wounds received in France, May 1940) the German people harboured a newfound sentiment for the royal family amidst the totalitarian regime that was Nazi Germany. As a consequence, the majority of royals serving in the German Armed Forces appear to have had their commissions canceled, including Prinz Oskar.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00506, Feier zum Ritterschlag des Johanniter-Ordens.jpg (left to Prince Oskar) in procession with the Johanniterorden, 1924]]

The Johanniterorden (The Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)) was a favourite of the Hohenzollerns, historically, and of Prince Oskar's immediate family specifically. His father and uncle were members, and his brother, Eitel Friedrich, served as its Master of Knights (Herrenmeister), from 1907 to 1926. Prinz Oskar served as the thirty-fifth Master of Knights{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Robert M. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/314594607 |title=The Evangelical Knights of Saint John a history of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Knightly Order of St. John of the hospital at Jerusalem, known as the Johanniter Order |publisher=R. M. Clark, Jr |year=2003 |isbn=0-9726989-0-6 |location=Dallas |pages=41–53, 111 |oclc=314594607}} from Eitel Friedrich's resignation in 1926 until his death in 1958. Modern historians credit Prinz Oskar for saving the ancient order from oblivion during the cultural purges of the Nazi regime. It is from this struggle that he held his anti-Nazi sentiments. After his death in 1958, his youngest son, Prinz Wilhelm Karl, became his permanent successor. Prinz Oskar's grandson, to whom he is namesake, Dr. Oskar Hohenzollern, is the current (thirty-seventh) Master of Knights.

Prinz Oskar was married on 31 July 1914 to Countess Ina-Marie Helene Adele Elise von Bassewitz (27 January 1888 – 17 September 1973).{{Cite news |date=27 May 1914 |title=Son of the Kaiser To Wed A Countess. Prince Oscar to Contract a Morganatic Marriage with a Premier's Daughter |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/05/27/archives/son-of-the-kaiser-to-wed-a-countess-prince-oscar-to-contract-a.html |access-date=18 March 2011 |quote=Prince Oscar of Prussia, the fifth son of the Kaiser, is about to contract a morganatic marriage. His engagement to Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz-Levetzow, daughter of the Premier of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and former maid of honor of the Kaiserin, is officially announced today.}} On 27 July 1914, prior to the wedding, Ina Marie was granted the title "Countess von Ruppin". Both the civil and religious ceremonies took place at Schloß Bellevue near Berlin, Prussia. Initially the union was a morganatic marriage, but on 3 November 1919 was decreed to be dynastic in accordance with the house laws of the Royal House of Hohenzollern. Henceforth, from 21 June 1920, his wife was titled "Princess of Prussia" with the style Royal Highness. The couple had four children:

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00069, Oskar von Preußen mit Familie.jpg

• Prince Oskar Wilhelm Karl Hans Kuno of Prussia (12 July 1915 Potsdam – 5 September 1939 Poland); died in World War II. Died unmarried without issue.
• Prince Burchard Friedrich Max Werner Georg of Prussia (8 January 1917 – 12 August 1988), married Countess Eleonore Fugger von Babenhausen on 30 January 1961, no issue.
• Princess Herzeleide Ina Marie Sophie Charlotte Else of Prussia (25 December 1918 – 22 March 1989), married Karl, Prince Biron von Kurland on 15 August 1938, with issue.
• Prince Wilhelm-Karl Adalbert Erich Detloff of Prussia (20 January 1922 – 9 April 2007), married Armgard Else Helene von Veltheim on 1 March 1952, with issue.

Prince Oskar, whose health declined during the final years of his life, died of stomach cancer in a clinic in Munich on 27 January 1958, on his wife's 70th birthday and what would have been his father's 99th birthday. He was the last surviving son of Wilhelm II.{{Cite news |date=1 February 1958 |title=Von Woche zu Woche |page=2 |work=Das Ostpreußenblatt |url=http://archiv.preussische-allgemeine.de/1958/1958_02_01_05.pdf}}

File:Germany, Oskar von Preussen 1930 Shooting Medal Barnim - Altlandsberg, obverse.jpg]]

Source:{{Cite journal |url=https://dlibra.bibliotekaelblaska.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=53802 |title=Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat |journal=010516 |date=1918 |publisher=Deckersche Geheime Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei}}

1. Garderegiment zu Fuß (1st Regiment of Foot Guards), Leutnant from 1898, Hauptman (captain) through 1914.{{Cite news |date=27 May 1914 |title=Son of the Kaiser to Wed a Countess |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/05/27/100093495.pdf}}
2. Grenadierregiment "Konig Wilhelm I." (2. Westpreussisches) Nr. 7, à la suite before 1908, Oberst (colonel) during World War I.
3. Gardegrenadierlandwehrregiment (3rd Reserve Regiment of Grenadier Guards), à la suite before 1908.

He received the following orders and decorations:{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/bub_gb__34OAAAAYAAJ |title=Handbuch über den Königlich preussischen Hof und Staat |date=1868 |publisher=Kommission bei R.v. Decker's Verlag / G. Schenck |location=Berlin}}

{{columns-list|

• {{flag|Baden}}:
• Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1908{{Cite web |year=1910 |title=Inhouse-Digitalisierung / 1910 [63] |url=http://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/1881289 |access-date=1 January 2023 |website=digital.blb-karlsruhe.de|page=41}}
• War Merit Cross
• {{flag|Brunswick}}: War Merit Cross
• {{flagicon|Anhalt}} Duchy of Anhalt: Friedrich Cross
• {{flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse}}: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 27 January 1910{{Cite book |title=Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste |publisher=Staatsverlag |year=1914 |location=Darmstadt |page=6 |chapter=Ludewigs-orden |via=hathitrust.org |language=German}}
• {{flag|Hamburg}}: Hanseatic Cross
• {{flagicon|Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen}} Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
• {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}:
• Knight of St. Hubert, 1913{{Cite book |title=Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern |publisher=Druck and Verlag |year=1914 |location=Munich |page=10 |language=German |chapter=Königliche Orden |via=hathitrust.org}}
• Officer of the Military Merit Order, with Crown
• {{flag|Kingdom of Prussia}}:
• Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 27 May 1898; with Swords
• Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, with Crown, 27 May 1898
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd Class, 22 August 1914 (Virton); 1st Class, 24 September 1914 (Verdun)
• Knight of the Black Eagle, 27 May 1898;{{Cite journal |year=1895 |title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025921423&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021 |journal=Preussische Ordens-Liste |location=Berlin |pages=5, 96, 160 |via=hathitrust.org |language=German}} with Collar
• Knight of the Royal Crown Order, 1st Class, 27 May 1898
• Master of Knights of the Johanniter Order, 1926–1958
• Wound Badge, September 1914 (Virton); 7 February 1916 (Russian Front){{Cite news |date=8 February 1916 |title=Kaiser's Son Oscar is Wounded Again |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/02/08/104665227.pdf}}
• {{flagicon image|Flagge Fürstentum Lippe.svg}} Lippe-Detmold: War Merit Cross
• {{Flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg}} Mecklenburg:
• Bronze Merit Medal (Schwerin)
• Cross for Distinction in War, 2nd Class (Strelitz)
• Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore
• {{flag|Netherlands}}: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
• {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}: Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class in Diamonds
• {{flag|Sweden}}: Knight of the Seraphim, 23 February 1906{{Cite web |year=1925 |title=Sveriges Statskalender |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1925/0813.html |access-date=6 January 2018 |page=807 |language=sv |via=runeberg.org}}
• {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}: Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 1 July 1904{{Cite news |title=Chancery of the Royal Victorian Order, St. James' Palace, 1 July 1904 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27704/page/5191 |issue= 27704|page= 5191|date=12 August 1904|access-date=1 January 2023 |work=The London Gazette}}

}}

{{ahnentafel

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|boxstyle_1= background-color: #fcc;

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|boxstyle_4= background-color: #bfc;

|boxstyle_5= background-color: #9fe;

|1= 1. Prince Oskar of Prussia

|2= 2. Wilhelm II, German Emperor

|3= 3. Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

|4= 4. Frederick III, German Emperor

|5= 5. Victoria, Princess Royal

|6= 6. Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

|7= 7. Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

|8= 8. William I, German Emperor

|9= 9. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

|10= 10. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

|11= 11. Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom

|12= 12. Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

|13= 13. Countess Louise Sophie af Danneskiold-Samsøe

|14= 14. Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

|15= 15. Princess Feodora of Leiningen

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Prince Oskar of Prussia (1888–1958)}}

• List of Herrenmeisters of the Johanniterordens on the German language Wikipedia: {{Interlanguage link|Johanniterorden#Kapitel_und_Ordensregierung|de}}
• {{PM20|FID=pe/013839}}

{{S-start}}

{{S-hou|House of Hohenzollern|27 July|1888|27 January|1958}}

{{S-bef|before=Eitel Friedrich, Prinz von Preußen}}

{{S-ttl|title=Herrenmeister (Grand Master) of the Order of Saint John|years=1927–1958}}

{{S-aft|after=Wilhelm Karl, Prinz von Preußen}}

{{S-end}}

{{Prussian princes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oskar of Prussia, Prince}}

Category:1888 births

Category:1958 deaths

Category:Protestants in the German Resistance

Category:House of Hohenzollern

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Category:Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht)

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

Category:Annulled Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

Category:Sons of emperors

Category:Children of Wilhelm II

Category:Sons of kings