Prince Oskar of Prussia
| Prince Oskar | |
|---|---|
| Prince Oskar of Prussia | |
 |
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| Born |
27 July 1888 Marmorpalais, Potsdam, Prussia |
| Died | 27 January 1958 (aged 69) Munich, Bavaria |
| Spouse |
Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz (m. 1914–58; his death) |
| Issue | Prince Oskar Prince Burchard Princess Herzeleide Prince Wilhelm-Karl |
| House | Hohenzollern |
| Father | Wilhelm II, German Emperor |
| Mother | Duchess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein |
Prince Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf of Prussia (Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf Prinz von Preußen; 27 July 1888 – 27 January 1958) was the fifth son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein.
Prinz Oskar was educated as a cadet at 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.
During the early months of the First World War, he commanded Grenadierregiment "Konig 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. For this action, Oskar earned the Iron Cross, Second Class. 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. Awarded the wound badge for his injuries, he spent much of the fall 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.
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.
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 March 1, 1940. As the family fell out of favor 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.
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Wikipedia