Albrecht von Urach
Encyclopedia
Prince Albrecht of Urach (18 October 1903 – 11 December 1969) was a German nobleman, artist and wartime author, journalist, linguist and diplomat.
Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach
(1864-1928), a German general in the First World War who was briefly chosen as King Mindaugas II of Lithuania
. His mother was Amalie
(1865-1912), daughter of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria and a niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria
. Amalie's sister was the queen consort
of King Albert I of the Belgians. The Urach family are a morganatic
branch of the royal family that ruled the kingdom of Württemberg
until 1918. The Urachs lived in Stuttgart
and at Lichtenstein Castle.
His father's mother was Princess Florestine of Monaco
(1833-98), and he was named Albrecht after her nephew Albert I, Prince of Monaco
. His family were the legitimate heirs presumptive
to Monaco's throne between 1911 and 1918 (See Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918
). Before 1911 his father was intended to inherit Monaco, as the son of his cousin Prince Louis of Monaco
had no legitimate children. In particular, from 1914 and the First World War, France could not tolerate a possible U-boat
base so close to Toulon
, and preferred a descent from Louis, who had had a distinguished career in the French army for many years. Louis had to adopt his natural daughter Charlotte to ensure a pro-French succession, and Monaco signed a concessive treaty with France in July 1918.
Albrecht von Urach joined the NSDAP in 1934.
in 1927-30, while living on the Ile de la Cité
, developing an expressionist
style. He then exhibited in 1930-32 at the Leicester and Redfern galleries in London, Galerie Bonaparte in Paris and at Blomquist in Oslo
, but could not make a living from painting with the start of the Great Depression
, and took up freelance photography. His artistic friends included Willi Baumeister
and Fernand Léger
. His signature on his paintings was usually "AvU". His artistic output resumed in the 1950s.
, renting a flat from Anna Mahler
, and by chance photographed the first unpublicized meeting of Mussolini
and Hitler
, which was followed by a public rally in the Piazza San Marco
. Albrecht turned this scoop
into a permanent position as a journalist based in Tokyo from September 1934, covering the Chinese-Japanese war
and also the Nomonhan incident
for several German newspapers. To become a journalist he joined the Nazi party in 1934, the only member of his family to do so. The German military attaché and then ambassador in Tokyo, Eugen Ott
, was a family friend and their regular drinking friend was Richard Sorge
, the famous Red Army
spy.
, whose family
had worked with Albrecht's family in the past. In 1940 he brought neutral American and Italian journalists to report on the invasion of Norway, and then in 1941 at the start of the invasion of Russia
. Following the Tripartite Pact
between Germany, Japan and Italy signed in September 1940, he was sent on a secret mission to Japan in May and June 1941 to persuade the Japanese to attack the British in Asia; ostensibly the mission was for the co-operation of the German and Japanese press services. In April 1941 Yosuke Matsuoka
agreed a neutrality pact between Japan and Russia. Failed in his mission, he returned on the Trans-Siberian Railway
shortly before Russia was invaded. Ciano's diary of 10 March 1942 mentions German pessimism about the war in Russia, and that Prince Alberto von Urach had visited Rome, making "bitter-sweet" comments about Japan, and hinting at the need for an Axis
peace with Britain. "Urach also said that the liquidation of Russia still appears to be a very hard task". 11 March: "The Duce was indignant about Urach's declarations".
Seen in Berlin as an expert on East Asia, he spent much of 1939-43 writing about Japan's progress (see below). The 1943 booklet "The secret of Japan's strength" is his best known, selling 800,000 copies, and is of particular interest insofar as someone with a partial dislike for Japan should glorify its martial spirit. Anxious to leave Germany, which was now facing defeat, in early 1944 he succeeded in being appointed press attaché at the German Embassy in Berne
, with the rank of Unterkonsul. Here he assisted a group smuggling capital out of Switzerland to the USA via "Banque Charles" in Monaco, where his second cousin Louis II reigned. In May 1945 the embassy staff was expelled to the French border and he was interned
.
). He apologized and there was no sanction. His superiors were prosecuted in the Ministries Trial
in 1948. In 1947-67 he resumed his career as an artist and freelance journalist. He was chief press attaché at Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart in 1953-67, where his elder brother Wilhelm was a director. This suited his ability in languages and he travelled widely. He then died of a stroke in 1969 and was buried at Waldenburg
.
journalist
and artist, daughter of John Blackadder and wife Anna Wilson, and this morganatic marriage
made him ineligible to be Duke (Herzog
) of Urach. They had a daughter Marie-Gabrielle, (1932-89; "Mariga") who married Desmond Guinness
. Rosemary returned alone to Europe in 1938. In 1943 he remarried to Ute Waldschmidt (1922-84), daughter of Arnold Waldschmidt and wife Olga Schwartz, and they had two children, Peter (1944-77), and Manuela (1945- ) who later married Sergei von Cube. They divorced in 1960. Manuela's daughter Katerina married Jochen Werz, a director at Lenzing AG
.
Background
He was the third son of HSHSerene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach
Duke of Urach
The title Duke of Urach was created in the Kingdom of Württemberg for Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand, Count of Württemberg on 28 March 1867, with the style of HSH."Urach" is pronounced Oo-raakh -Family:...
(1864-1928), a German general in the First World War who was briefly chosen as King Mindaugas II of Lithuania
Mindaugas II of Lithuania
Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach was a German prince who was elected King of Lithuania with the regnal name Mindaugas II on 11 July 1918...
. His mother was Amalie
Duchess Amalie in Bavaria
Duchess Amalie Maria in Bavaria was the only child of Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria and his first wife Princess Sophie of Saxony...
(1865-1912), daughter of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria and a niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria
Elisabeth of Bavaria
Elisabeth of Austria was the spouse of Franz Joseph I, and therefore both Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. She also held the titles of Queen of Bohemia and Croatia, among others...
. Amalie's sister was the queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of King Albert I of the Belgians. The Urach family are a morganatic
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
branch of the royal family that ruled the kingdom of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
until 1918. The Urachs lived in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and at Lichtenstein Castle.
His father's mother was Princess Florestine of Monaco
Princess Florestine of Monaco
Princess Florestine Gabrielle Antoinette of Monaco was the youngest child and only daughter of Florestan I, Prince of Monaco and his wife Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz...
(1833-98), and he was named Albrecht after her nephew Albert I, Prince of Monaco
Albert I, Prince of Monaco
Albert I was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 10 September 1889 until his death.-Early life:...
. His family were the legitimate heirs presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to Monaco's throne between 1911 and 1918 (See Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918
Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918
The Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918 arose because France objected to the prospect of a German national inheriting the throne of Monaco, a nation which neighboured France on its Mediterranean coast. Albert I, Sovereign Prince of Monaco had only one legitimate child, the Hereditary Prince Louis,...
). Before 1911 his father was intended to inherit Monaco, as the son of his cousin Prince Louis of Monaco
Louis II, Prince of Monaco
Louis II was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 27 June 1922 until 9 May 1949.-Early years:Born Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi in Baden-Baden, Germany, he was the only child of Prince Albert I of Monaco , and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton...
had no legitimate children. In particular, from 1914 and the First World War, France could not tolerate a possible U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
base so close to Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, and preferred a descent from Louis, who had had a distinguished career in the French army for many years. Louis had to adopt his natural daughter Charlotte to ensure a pro-French succession, and Monaco signed a concessive treaty with France in July 1918.
Albrecht von Urach joined the NSDAP in 1934.
Artist
Following the German defeat in 1918, Albrecht studied art in Stuttgart under Arnold Waldschmidt and Christian Landenberger, and then in Paris at the Académie de la Grande ChaumièreAcadémie de la Grande Chaumière
The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The school was founded in 1902 by the Swiss Martha Stettler , who refused to teach the strict academic rules of painting of the École des Beaux-Arts. It opened the way to the "Art Indépendant"...
in 1927-30, while living on the Ile de la Cité
Île de la Cité
The Île de la Cité is one of two remaining natural islands in the Seine within the city of Paris . It is the centre of Paris and the location where the medieval city was refounded....
, developing an expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
style. He then exhibited in 1930-32 at the Leicester and Redfern galleries in London, Galerie Bonaparte in Paris and at Blomquist in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, but could not make a living from painting with the start of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and took up freelance photography. His artistic friends included Willi Baumeister
Willi Baumeister
Willi Baumeister was a German painter, scenic designer, art professor, and typographer.-Life:Willi Baumeister, born in Stuttgart in 1889, completed an apprenticeship as a decorative painter in his native city from 1905 to 1907, followed by military service...
and Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
. His signature on his paintings was usually "AvU". His artistic output resumed in the 1950s.
Photo-journalist
In April 1934 he was living in VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, renting a flat from Anna Mahler
Anna Mahler
Anna Justine Mahler was an Austrian sculptor.-Early Life:Born in Vienna, she was the daughter of the composer Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma Schindler. They nicknamed her 'Gucki' on account of her big blue eyes...
, and by chance photographed the first unpublicized meeting of Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, which was followed by a public rally in the Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco , is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as "the Piazza". All other urban spaces in the city are called "campi"...
. Albrecht turned this scoop
Scoop (term)
Scoop is an informal term used in journalism. The word connotes originality, importance, surprise or excitement, secrecy and exclusivity.Stories likely considered to be scoops are important news, likely to interest or concern many people. A scoop is typically a new story, or a new aspect to an...
into a permanent position as a journalist based in Tokyo from September 1934, covering the Chinese-Japanese war
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
and also the Nomonhan incident
Nomonhan
Nomonhan is a small village near the border between Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China south of the Chinese city of Manzhouli.In the summer of 1939 it was the location of the Nomonhan Incident, as it is termed in Japan, or the Battle of Khalkhin Gol as it is known in Soviet and Mongolian People's...
for several German newspapers. To become a journalist he joined the Nazi party in 1934, the only member of his family to do so. The German military attaché and then ambassador in Tokyo, Eugen Ott
Eugen Ott
Eugen Ott was the German ambassador to Japan during the early years of World War II, he is most famously known for having worked with Soviet spy Richard Sorge....
, was a family friend and their regular drinking friend was Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge was a German communist and spy who worked for the Soviet Union. He has gained great fame among espionage enthusiasts for his intelligence gathering during World War II. He worked as a journalist in both Germany and Japan, where he was imprisoned for spying and eventually hanged....
, the famous Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
spy.
Second World War
In 1939 he returned to Europe and was posted to Rome as the Foreign Office liaison between the German and Italian Press, and made friends with Count Ciano. His ally in the Berlin Foreign Office was Ernst von WeizsäckerErnst von Weizsäcker
Ernst Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German diplomat and politician. He served as State Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1938 to 1943, and as German Ambassador to the Holy See from 1943 to 1945...
, whose family
Weizsäcker
The Weizsäcker family was and is influential over the span of several generations, hailing from the former Kingdom of Württemberg. Their members include a Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a President of Germany, a leading diplomat, a prominent environmental scientist, and the...
had worked with Albrecht's family in the past. In 1940 he brought neutral American and Italian journalists to report on the invasion of Norway, and then in 1941 at the start of the invasion of Russia
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. Following the Tripartite Pact
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
between Germany, Japan and Italy signed in September 1940, he was sent on a secret mission to Japan in May and June 1941 to persuade the Japanese to attack the British in Asia; ostensibly the mission was for the co-operation of the German and Japanese press services. In April 1941 Yosuke Matsuoka
Yosuke Matsuoka
was a diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan during the early stages of World War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in 1933, ending Japan’s participation in that organization...
agreed a neutrality pact between Japan and Russia. Failed in his mission, he returned on the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
shortly before Russia was invaded. Ciano's diary of 10 March 1942 mentions German pessimism about the war in Russia, and that Prince Alberto von Urach had visited Rome, making "bitter-sweet" comments about Japan, and hinting at the need for an Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
peace with Britain. "Urach also said that the liquidation of Russia still appears to be a very hard task". 11 March: "The Duce was indignant about Urach's declarations".
Seen in Berlin as an expert on East Asia, he spent much of 1939-43 writing about Japan's progress (see below). The 1943 booklet "The secret of Japan's strength" is his best known, selling 800,000 copies, and is of particular interest insofar as someone with a partial dislike for Japan should glorify its martial spirit. Anxious to leave Germany, which was now facing defeat, in early 1944 he succeeded in being appointed press attaché at the German Embassy in Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
, with the rank of Unterkonsul. Here he assisted a group smuggling capital out of Switzerland to the USA via "Banque Charles" in Monaco, where his second cousin Louis II reigned. In May 1945 the embassy staff was expelled to the French border and he was interned
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
.
Later life
In 1946-48 von Urach was charged by a German court for creating and broadcasting propaganda in National-Socialist style, and for membership of the Nazi party (see DenazificationDenazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
). He apologized and there was no sanction. His superiors were prosecuted in the Ministries Trial
Ministries Trial
The Ministries Trial was the eleventh of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S...
in 1948. In 1947-67 he resumed his career as an artist and freelance journalist. He was chief press attaché at Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart in 1953-67, where his elder brother Wilhelm was a director. This suited his ability in languages and he travelled widely. He then died of a stroke in 1969 and was buried at Waldenburg
Waldenburg, Baden-Württemberg
Waldenburg is a hilltop town in south central Germany, eastwards of Heilbronn in the Hohenlohe of Baden-Württemberg. The town is the site of Waldenburg Castle and some hilltop churches...
.
Family
In July 1931 he married Rosemary Blackadder (1901-75), a ScottishScottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and artist, daughter of John Blackadder and wife Anna Wilson, and this morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
made him ineligible to be Duke (Herzog
Herzog (name)
Herzog is a German hereditary title held by one who rules a territorial duchy, exercises feudal authority over an estate called a duchy, or possesses a right, by law or tradition, to be referred to by the ducal title. The word is usually translated by the English duke and the Latin Dux. Generally,...
) of Urach. They had a daughter Marie-Gabrielle, (1932-89; "Mariga") who married Desmond Guinness
Desmond Guinness
Hon. Desmond Guinness is an Irish author on Georgian art and architecture and a conservationist.He was the second son of the author and brewer Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne and Diana Mitford...
. Rosemary returned alone to Europe in 1938. In 1943 he remarried to Ute Waldschmidt (1922-84), daughter of Arnold Waldschmidt and wife Olga Schwartz, and they had two children, Peter (1944-77), and Manuela (1945- ) who later married Sergei von Cube. They divorced in 1960. Manuela's daughter Katerina married Jochen Werz, a director at Lenzing AG
Lenzing AG
Lenzing AG is a company based in Lenzing, Austria whose main business is textile and nonwovens cellulose fibers and also makes some polymer plastics...
.