Prince Albrecht of Urach (German: Fürst Albrecht von Urach, Graf von Württemberg) (18 October 1903 – 11 December 1969) was a German nobleman, artist and wartime author, journalist, linguist and diplomat.[1]
His father's mother was Princess Florestine of Monaco (1833–98), and so he was named after her nephew Prince Albert I of Monaco. His father was next but one in line to Monaco's throne up to the 1911 Monégasque Revolution, as Albert I had no legitimate grandchildren. Even before the First World War, France could not tolerate a possible U-boat base so close to Toulon, and preferred a descent from Albert's son Prince Louis, who had had a career in the French army for many years. Louis therefore adopted his natural daughter, Charlotte, to ensure a pro-French succession, and Monaco signed a concessive treaty with France in July 1918. Though he was the third Von Urach son, according to the Chicago Daily Tribune Prince Albrecht was in Paris in March 1930, unsuccessfully trying to persuade the French Foreign Office to accept him as the respectable and legitimate heir of Prince Louis after the recent divorce of Louis' daughter and son-in-law.[3]
ArtistEdit
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 Chaumière in 1927–30, while living on the Île de la Cité, developing an expressionist style.[4] 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".[5] His artistic output resumed in the 1950s.
Photo-journalistEdit
In April 1934 he was living in Venice, renting a flat from Alma Mahler,[6] and by chance photographed the first unpublicized meeting of Mussolini and Hitler, which was followed by a public rally in the Piazza San Marco.[7] 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.[8] To become a journalist he was required to join the Nazi party in 1934.[9] By chance the German military attaché and then ambassador in Tokyo, Eugen Ott, had served under his father in 1914–18, and their regular drinking friend was Richard Sorge, the famous Red Army spy.[10][11]
Second World WarEdit
In early 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. A supporter in the Foreign Office was Ernst von Weizsäcker, 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 during the invasion of Russia.[citation needed] 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.[12] In April 1941 Yosuke Matsuoka agreed a neutrality pact between Japan and Russia. Failed in his mission, he returned to 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 Urago" 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".[13]
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. His children Manuela and Peter were born in Berne. Here he is said to have assisted a group smuggling capital out of Switzerland to the USA via "Banque Charles" in Monaco, where his second cousin Louis II reigned.[14] However, the Swiss Kriminalpolizei files reveal that they had him under surveillance in 1944-45, and found after several months that he was not the well-connected clandestine financier that they had been led to believe.[15]
In May 1945, as the Embassy no longer represented a state, all the German Embassy staff was expelled to the French-controlled part of Germany, and he was interned for questioning until 1946. He was interviewed twice in October 1945 by OSS officers, who concluded that: "He has been cooperative, and his information is considered reliable. He is not an automatic internee and is of no further CI interest".[16] The OSS wartime chief in Berne had been Allen Dulles.
Later lifeEdit
In 1946-1948 von Urach was charged by a German court for creating and broadcasting propaganda in the National-Socialist style, and for membership of the Nazi party (see Denazification). He apologized and there was no sanction.[17] His superiors were prosecuted in the Ministries Trial in 1948. In 1947-1967 he resumed his career as an artist and freelance journalist.
He was appointed chief press attaché at Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, in 1953-1967, where his elder brother Wilhelm was a director. This suited his ability in languages and he travelled widely. He is jointly credited with encouraging the design of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.[18] He then suffered a stroke in 1967 and was buried at Waldenburg in 1969.
FamilyEdit
In July 1931 in Oslo he married Rosemary Blackadder (1901–1975), a Scottishjournalist 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, a.k.a. "Mariga", who married Desmond Guinness. Rosemary returned alone to Britain in 1938.
In 1943 he remarried to Ute Waldschmidt (1922–1984), daughter of Arnold Waldschmidt and his wife Olga Schwartz, and they had two children, Peter (1944, Bern – 1977), and Manuela (1945, Bern - 2018) who later married Sergei von Cube. They divorced in 1960.
^"Die Alpenfahrt und mehr: Wie aus einem Fotoauftrag eine einmalige Beziehung zu einem Auto wurde: David Douglas Duncan, Mercedes und der 300 SL - Classic".
October 21, 2023
albrecht, urach, prince, albrecht, urach, german, fürst, graf, württemberg, october, 1903, december, 1969, german, nobleman, artist, wartime, author, journalist, linguist, diplomat, contents, background, artist, photo, journalist, second, world, later, life, f. Prince Albrecht of Urach German Furst Albrecht von Urach Graf von Wurttemberg 18 October 1903 11 December 1969 was a German nobleman artist and wartime author journalist linguist and diplomat 1 Contents 1 Background 2 Artist 3 Photo journalist 4 Second World War 5 Later life 6 Family 7 Ancestry 8 Bibliography 9 ReferencesBackground EditHe was the third son of Wilhelm Karl Duke of Urach 1864 1928 a German general in the First World War who was briefly chosen as king 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 of the Belgians The Urach family are a morganatic branch of the royal family that ruled the Kingdom of Wurttemberg until 1918 They lived in Stuttgart and at Lichtenstein Castle and paid frequent visits to Monaco before 1914 2 His father s mother was Princess Florestine of Monaco 1833 98 and so he was named after her nephew Prince Albert I of Monaco His father was next but one in line to Monaco s throne up to the 1911 Monegasque Revolution as Albert I had no legitimate grandchildren Even before the First World War France could not tolerate a possible U boat base so close to Toulon and preferred a descent from Albert s son Prince Louis who had had a career in the French army for many years Louis therefore adopted his natural daughter Charlotte to ensure a pro French succession and Monaco signed a concessive treaty with France in July 1918 Though he was the third Von Urach son according to the Chicago Daily Tribune Prince Albrecht was in Paris in March 1930 unsuccessfully trying to persuade the French Foreign Office to accept him as the respectable and legitimate heir of Prince Louis after the recent divorce of Louis daughter and son in law 3 Artist EditFollowing the German defeat in 1918 Albrecht studied art in Stuttgart under Arnold Waldschmidt and Christian Landenberger and then in Paris at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in 1927 30 while living on the Ile de la Cite developing an expressionist style 4 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 Leger His signature on his paintings was usually AvU 5 His artistic output resumed in the 1950s Photo journalist EditIn April 1934 he was living in Venice renting a flat from Alma Mahler 6 and by chance photographed the first unpublicized meeting of Mussolini and Hitler which was followed by a public rally in the Piazza San Marco 7 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 8 To become a journalist he was required to join the Nazi party in 1934 9 By chance the German military attache and then ambassador in Tokyo Eugen Ott had served under his father in 1914 18 and their regular drinking friend was Richard Sorge the famous Red Army spy 10 11 Second World War EditIn early 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 A supporter in the Foreign Office was Ernst von Weizsacker 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 during the invasion of Russia citation needed 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 12 In April 1941 Yosuke Matsuoka agreed a neutrality pact between Japan and Russia Failed in his mission he returned to 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 Urago 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 13 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 attache at the German Embassy in Berne with the rank of Unterkonsul His children Manuela and Peter were born in Berne Here he is said to have assisted a group smuggling capital out of Switzerland to the USA via Banque Charles in Monaco where his second cousin Louis II reigned 14 However the Swiss Kriminalpolizei files reveal that they had him under surveillance in 1944 45 and found after several months that he was not the well connected clandestine financier that they had been led to believe 15 In May 1945 as the Embassy no longer represented a state all the German Embassy staff was expelled to the French controlled part of Germany and he was interned for questioning until 1946 He was interviewed twice in October 1945 by OSS officers who concluded that He has been cooperative and his information is considered reliable He is not an automatic internee and is of no further CI interest 16 The OSS wartime chief in Berne had been Allen Dulles Later life EditIn 1946 1948 von Urach was charged by a German court for creating and broadcasting propaganda in the National Socialist style and for membership of the Nazi party see Denazification He apologized and there was no sanction 17 His superiors were prosecuted in the Ministries Trial in 1948 In 1947 1967 he resumed his career as an artist and freelance journalist He was appointed chief press attache at Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart Baden Wurttemberg West Germany in 1953 1967 where his elder brother Wilhelm was a director This suited his ability in languages and he travelled widely He is jointly credited with encouraging the design of the Mercedes Benz 300 SL 18 He then suffered a stroke in 1967 and was buried at Waldenburg in 1969 Family EditIn July 1931 in Oslo he married Rosemary Blackadder 1901 1975 a Scottish 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 a k a Mariga who married Desmond Guinness Rosemary returned alone to Britain in 1938 In 1943 he remarried to Ute Waldschmidt 1922 1984 daughter of Arnold Waldschmidt and his wife Olga Schwartz and they had two children Peter 1944 Bern 1977 and Manuela 1945 Bern 2018 who later married Sergei von Cube They divorced in 1960 Ancestry EditAncestors of Albrecht von Urach16 Frederick II Eugene Duke of Wurttemberg8 Duke Wilhelm of Wurttemberg17 Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg Schwedt4 Wilhelm 1st Duke of Urach18 Karl August Rhodis Baron of Thunderfeldt9 Baroness Wilhelmine of Tunderfeldt Rhodis19 Therese Baroness of Canstatt2 Mindaugas II of Lithuania20 Honore IV Prince of Monaco10 Florestan I Prince of Monaco21 Louise d Aumont Mazarin5 Princess Florestine of Monaco22 Charles Thomas Gibert de Lametz11 Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz23 Marie Francoise Le Gras de Vaubercey1 Prince Albrecht of Urach24 Duke Pius August in Bavaria12 Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria25 Princess Amelie Louise of Arenberg6 Duke Karl Theodor in Bavaria26 Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria13 Princess Ludovika of Bavaria27 Caroline of Baden3 Duchess Amalie in Bavaria28 Maximilian Crown Prince of Saxony14 John of Saxony29 Princess Caroline of Parma7 Princess Sophie of Saxony30 Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria 26 15 Amalie Auguste of Bavaria31 Caroline of Baden 27 Bibliography EditGerman National Library DNB author ref http d nb info gnd 126970335 Ostasien Kampf um das kommende Grossreich Steiniger Berlin 1940 Det Gula livsrummet Malmo 1941 Swedish edition of the above book Das Geheimnis japanischer Kraft Berlin Zentralverlag der NSDAP 1943 see link 1 Japans schopferische Aussenpolitik 1944 References Edit Stuttgart archives file Nr GU129 Von Cube Essay 2000 Chicago Daily Tribune March 29 1930 now the Chicago Tribune Zeitgenossen Willi Baumeisters Kunstler und Architekten www willi baumeister com Archived from the original on 2011 08 11 Retrieved 2007 11 29 Artnet reference page permanent dead link PENN STATE UNIVERSITY Mahler Werfel Papers fol 1261 Peck C ed Mariga and her friends Hannon Press Dublin 1997 p 7 ISBN 0 9516472 5 3 Dinardo K Lili St Cyr Back Stage Books New York 2007 pp 10 11 ISBN 978 0 8230 8889 8 Propagandisten im Krieg By Peter Longerich Oldenbourg Verlag 1999 p 161 Prange G Target Tokyo McGraw Hill New York 1984 pp 101 168 196 ISBN 0 07 050677 9 Matthews O An Impeccable Spy Bloomsbury 2020 p 417 index ISBN 978 1 4088 5781 6 Prange G op cit pp 344 348 Muggeridge M ed Ciano s Diary Heinemann London 1947 pp 444 445 Abramovici P Un rocher bien occupe Editions du Seuil Paris 2001 pp 301 304 ISBN 2 02 037211 8 Swiss Federal Archives files published in 2010 E2001D 1000 1553 1079 Von Urach Albrecht Prinz Presseattache 1944 1945 E2001E 1967 113 9065 Von Urach Prinz Albrecht 1903 Bern E4320B 1973 17 671 Von Urach Albrecht 1903 1944 1957 National Archives and Records Administration files CI IIR 27 and CI FIR 38 declassified 1978 Calvin webpages Die Alpenfahrt und mehr Wie aus einem Fotoauftrag eine einmalige Beziehung zu einem Auto wurde David Douglas Duncan Mercedes und der 300 SL Classic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Albrecht von Urach amp oldid 1169928446, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
