The Palace and the Bunker (Royal Resistance to Hitler)

 

The part played by the many German and Austrian royal families in opposing Hitler has hitherto been overlooked, and this history outlines many incredible instances of their involvement. Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia was deeply involved in the German resistance movement and was questioned by the Gestapo following the July 20 plot on Hitler's life; Otto von Habsburg, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was sentenced to death and escaped through Europe to America, where he helped coordinate attempts to liberate his homeland; his Hohenberg cousins (children of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand) were incarcerated in Dachau; Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria was exiled to Italy where he was pursued by the SS—his wife and children were captured and sent to concentration camps; and the exiled Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein traveled between the U.S. and Britain assembling German exiles into groups representing the real Germany, so that they could assume power when Hitler was defeated. The sweeping away of German and Austrian monarchs in 1918 made the rise of Hitler possible; and their successors helped make possible his defeat.