Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Kaiser's grandson killed in battle


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September 16, 1939

Prince Oskar of Prussia was listed as "killed in action," according to the Associated Press. The 24-year-old Prince is the first member of the Hohenzollern family to be killed in the German-Polish war. The family learned yesterday of Prince Oskar's death, and that he "fell honorably somewhere in Poland." He was a lieutenant in the Fifty-First Infantry Regiment.

The prince's mother, the former Countess Ina von Bassewitz, is seriously ill in a hospital in Mecklenburg. His father, Prince Oskar, the former Kaiser's fifth son, is in charge of a reserve regiment with the rank of colonel. The young prince's brother, Prince Burchard, is serving on the Polish front with the Ninth Infantry regiment.

A spokesman for the family said that there are eight Prussian princes currently serving in the German military. Although the spokesman would not name the princes, it is believed that the eight include, three of the former Crown Prince Wilhelm's sons. Prince Wilhelm, the eldest, is on the Polish front with the First Infantry. Prince Louis Ferdinand is serving with the Hindenburg Bombing squadron and Prince Hubertus is with the Air Force, now in Poland.

The Crown Prince's fourth son, Prince Friedrich, who is known as Fritz, "was feared to be interned in England." He had been ill at a friend's home near London, and he may have "recovered too late to leave the country."

Prince Adalbert's only son, Prince Wilhelm-Victor, is "believed to be on the Western front." Prince Karl-Franz-Joseph, the only son of the late Prince Joachim, is reported to be with an armored car regiment on the Polish front.

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