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DW
3 days ago
- Business
- DW
Dispute with the Hohenzollerns ends after almost 100 years – DW – 06/17/2025
After years of debate, the state and the Hohenzollerns have reached a mutually beneficial deal over diverse art items, including paintings and furniture. An almost century-long dispute in Germany is coming to an end. The House of Hohenzollern — a German noble family to which the last German Emperor, Wilhelm II, also belonged — had long laid claim to various objects in German museums. They had also demanded millions in compensation for expropriated palaces and inventory. The whole thing went to court — until Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia, the great-great-grandson of the last German emperor, finally changed the aristocratic house's strategy in 2023. He withdrew the compensation claims and thus cleared the way for out-of-court negotiations. The talks began in late 2024, resulting in the newly-reached agreement. Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia, great-great-grandson of the last German emperor Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger Works of art to remain in museums The new German Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer (CDU) and Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia had announced the breakthrough back in May 2025. The federal government and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg had reached an agreement with the former ruling house of Hohenzollern to set up the non-profit "Hohenzollern Art Foundation" to manage the previously reclaimed art and cultural objects. Now that the supervisory bodies of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the German Historical Museum have also given their approval, the agreement has been signed and sealed. According to Weimer, the public will be the biggest winner. The collections that include around 3,000 objects will now feature in the German Historical Museum, along with museums run by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg, and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The new foundation will also manage the inventory — furniture, tableware and paintings — from around 70 palaces, villas and other properties in Berlin and Potsdam that were owned or used by the Hohenzollern family until 1945. There are also objects belonging to the family that were confiscated as early as 1918, after the end of the monarchy. #DailyDrone: Hohenzollern Castle To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The expropriation of the 'Junkers' At the end of World War II, Soviet troops conquered the former German territories east of the Elbe River and with them the bulk of the Hohenzollern territories. The Soviet Union regarded the "Junkers" — the land-owning nobility — as the class enemy and a pillar of the Nazi system. So in 1945, all noble houses in the Soviet occupation zone were expropriated without compensation. More than four decades later, the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunited. From one minute to the next, many former Hohenzollern castles and estates were once again on the Federal Republic's soil. But the German Unification Treaty in 1990 stated that the land reform of 1945 would not be reversed, meaning the Hohenzollerns had to write off their old properties in the east. Some 30 years later, the heirs of the last monarch demanded millions in compensation from the German state and the restitution of cultural assets — in vain. So the matter went to court. A painting of the last German Emperor Wilhelm II, painted by Philip de László in 1911 Image: Ralf Hirschberger/dpa/picture alliance Did the Hohenzollerns 'aid and abet' the Nazis? This question played a central role in the compensation dispute: Had representatives of the House of Hohenzollern colluded with the National Socialists who ruled Germany between 1933 and 1945? Specifically, had the heirs of the last German Emperor, Wilhelm II, who abdicated in 1918, "significantly supported" National Socialism? And what role did the son of the last monarch and former Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia play between the world wars? Did he help the Nazis come to power in order to re-establish the monarchy? The so-called "Compensation Act" of 1994, which regulates the compensation of landowners whose property was expropriated in the East in 1945, states that anyone who "significantly aided" Hitler and the Nazis has no right to compensation. In fact, historical documents prove Wilhelm's ties to Hitler, with photos and films showing the former crown prince with the dictator and other Nazi leaders. However, Wilhelm's hopes that the Nazis would crown him the new emperor were never realized and historians continue to debate Wilhelm's role in the Nazi state. What relationship did the House of Hohenzollern have with the Nazi regime? Image: akg-images/picture-alliance Seeking proximity with Hitler In their biographies, two German historians Lothar Machtan ("The Crown Prince and the Nazis") and Stephan Malinowski ("The Hohenzollerns and the Nazis") describe the crown prince as a radical anti-democrat who admired Mussolini and sought proximity to Hitler. His mission was to restore the monarchy. Malinowski and his colleague Peter Brandt concluded that Wilhelm of Prussia's behavior had "considerably aided and abetted" the establishment and consolidation of the National Socialist regime. In fact, the ex-crown prince called for the election of Hitler in the 1932 German presidential election. He later boasted to Hitler that he had procured him two million votes. Wilhelm also publicly demonstrated solidarity with the new elites. "The symbolic capital of the Hohenzollerns was very important for the Nazis in 1932/33, even if the crown prince had his own agenda in the process," said Jacco Pekelder, a historian from Münster, in a television interview." This is where the last German emperor spent his exile — at Doorn House in the Netherlands Image: Daniela Posdnjakova/DW Debate ongoing but settlement reached The editors of the anthology "Die Hohenzollerndebatte" (The Hohenzollern Debate), published in 2021, casted their doubt on these fascist ties. Historian Frank-Lothar Kroll attested to Wilhelm's "rather marginal commitment" to the Nazis. He may have pandered to Hitler, but he did not share his totalitarian ideology. For decades, hordes of lawyers, politicians and historians dealt with the restitution and compensation claims of the descendants of Wilhelm of Prussia. Now a settlement finally seems to have been reached, and the public could benefit the most. This is an updated version of an article originally written in German.
Local Germany
7 days ago
- Business
- Local Germany
Germany and last Kaiser's heirs agree to keep treasures on display
The agreement ends a century-old dispute between the state and the Hohenzollern family, descendants of the last German emperor and king of Prussia, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who abdicated after World War I. "After 100 years, we have amicably resolved a dispute dating back to the transition from the monarchy to the republic," said Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer, hailing the "historic success". The collection reportedly covers 27,000 objects including paintings, sculptures, coins, books and furniture. "Countless works of art that are of great importance to the history of Brandenburg, Prussia, and thus Germany will now be permanently accessible to the public and continue to form the centrepieces of our museums and palaces," said Weimer. Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia said in a statement that "it has always been my goal to permanently preserve our shared cultural heritage for art-loving citizens and to make it publicly accessible". "The solution now found provides an excellent basis for a new partnership between the state cultural foundations and my family." Under the agreement, previously disputed objects will be transferred to a non-profit Hohenzollern Art Heritage Foundation, with two thirds of the board made up of public sector representatives, and one third by the aristocratic family. Advertisement Lost behind Iron Curtain The ancient House of Hohenzollern ruled the German Empire from its establishment in 1871 until Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate in 1918, going into exile after Germany's defeat in World War I. The Prussian royals were initially to be stripped of their properties but a deal was later worked out under a 1926 law. The imperial family received millions of Deutschmarks and kept dozens of castles, villas and other properties, mainly in and around Berlin but also as far away as today's Namibia. However, after Nazi Germany's World War II defeat, Soviet occupation of eastern Germany and communist rule led to additional expropriations. The riches lost behind the Iron Curtain only came back into reach for the Hohenzollern family with the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. Under a 1994 law, people whose property was expropriated by the Soviets have a right to claim compensation -- but only if they did not "lend considerable support" to the Nazi regime. The family fought for years to recover the treasures but dropped the bid in 2023 when a family representative acknowledged that Kaiser Wilhelm II "sympathised with the Nazis at times". The deal announced on Friday was sealed after the German Historical Museum Foundation gave its approval, following the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Prussian Castles and Gardens Foundation in Berlin-Brandenburg.
New European
20-05-2025
- General
- New European
Germansplaining: The House of Hohenzollern, a dynasty fit for a Netflix drama
This near-century-long dispute could be a Netflix series featuring imperial palaces, royal corpses, Spanish snuff, a Prussian prince, the Nazis and commies, and a few plot twists. Some conflicts last for ever. One has just been wrapped up after only 99 years: German authorities and the noble House of Hohenzollern have buried the hatchet, though not in each other, which is progress. Previously on Hohenzollern Unrestored: from the 18th century, the dynasty supplied Prussia with monarchs, and from 1871 it also provided the new Reich with a few Kaisers. That all came to a screeching halt when the Weimar Republic was declared, and Wilhelm II flounced off into exile in the Netherlands. Family assets were confiscated. A 1926 law settled who got what, but legal ambiguities remained. They wrangled through the Third Reich, then through the GDR, and even persisted in reunified Germany, long after Prussia itself had been officially dissolved by the allies in 1947. Prussia, which had made up two-thirds of German territory before the war, remained a historical problem area. At last, this month the federal culture secretary and Prinz Georg Friedrich von Preussen, great-great-grandson of the last emperor Wilhelm II, announced an agreement. The saga, it seems, has a finale. Georg Friedrich had inherited the legal headache in 1994, aged just 18, when he became head of the once-royal house. By that point, the family had spent decades trying to claw back property and compensation. They even asked the GDR for the right to reside in Potsdam's Cecilienhof Palace (as if the Berlin Wall was just a garden fence). And communist-in-chief Erich Honecker offered 'His Imperial Highness' a proper burial for the Prussian kings Frederick William I and his son, Frederick II 'The Great', at Schloss Sanssouci. The royal coffins had been taken from Potsdam in 1943, stored in a potash mine in Thuringia, then transferred to Marburg in Hesse (West Germany) and finally to Hechingen near Stuttgart, to the ancestral castle of the Hohenzollern. For the corpses, considering the bumpy journey, RIP must have stood for 'rest in one piece'. In the end, it was chancellor Helmut Kohl (and not Honecker) who attended the final burial of 'Old Fritz', aka Friedrich II, on the terrace of Sanssouci Palace. The public authorities refused to pay compensation for Hohenzollern palaces expropriated under Soviet rule – as this is legally denied to anyone who 'significantly aided and abetted' the Nazis. And, well, Kaiser Wilhelm II's oldest son, another Wilhelm, wasn't exactly resistance material. To bolster their claim, the Hohenzollern family commissioned an expert report from Cambridge historian Christopher Clark. According to Clark, Wilhelm Jr had expressed admiration for Hitler and the Nazis. The ex-crown prince was, however, too insignificant to have 'significantly supported' them. 'As if!', thought the Bundesrepublik, and provided two counter-experts. Both added incriminating facts to Clark's list, emphasizing Wilhelm's enthusiasm for Italian fascism and his PR for the regime. A fourth historian – Team Prussia again – came up with the creative twist that supporting the Nazis may have just been a ruse to restore the monarchy. A draw. And in 2023, the Hohenzollern finally dropped the lawsuits and returned to negotiations, focusing on movable goods – 27,000 of them, to be precise – including memorabilia, furniture, textiles, paintings, library and archive collections, some of considerable value and historical significance. Most have been in public museums in Berlin and Brandenburg. And thanks to the new deal, the majority will stay there. Highlights include a Lucas Cranach the Elder portrait of Joachim I of Brandenburg, baroque ivory furniture and the table service for the Breslau City Palace, acquired by Frederick II in 1750. A newly created non-profit, Hohenzollern Art Foundation, will oversee the collection. The family gets three board seats, but the public sector has a majority say. Some disputed pieces are returned to Hohenzollern property, however, including seven tabatiers – fancy tobacco tins Frederick the Great used for Spanish snuff. One of them, legend has it, saved his life in the seven years' war by deflecting an enemy bullet. Two tabatiers will remain in museums on permanent loan, but the other five may soon appear at auctions. So if you've got a few million pounds lying around and a taste for fancy antiques, you're in luck.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- The Guardian
Sailing across the Baltic: an idyllic voyage from Germany to Denmark
A south-westerly wind blew us to Ærø. This little Baltic island (pronounced Air-rue) in Denmark's South Funen archipelago is home to some 6,000 fortunate residents who enjoy free bus services, shallow swimming beaches and picture-perfect villages. The 54 sq mile island has a history of building sailing ships and there is an excellent maritime museum, so it seemed appropriate to arrive on a historic wooden sailing boat, Peggy, a Bristol pilot cutter built in 1903. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. 'We're going to Ærø without a plane,' quipped one crew member as we set the sails on leaving the German Baltic port of Kiel. Our overland journey from the UK had started with a 12-hour train trip from London to Cuxhaven, a German port on the North Sea; a short taxi ride to Cuxhaven marina; an overnight stay on Peggy in the marina; and then a two-day transit of the Kiel canal, the busiest in the world by number of vessels, with some 35,000 ships transiting annually. Sails furled, Peggy puttered along at about six miles an hour with 150 metre-long container ships overtaking and looming toward us. The 61-mile (99km) canal, which saves some 500 miles on the route between Germany's North Sea and the Baltic ports, was opened in 1895 when it was called the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal. The Germans now know it as the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal but internationally it is called the Kiel canal after the Baltic port where construction began. Kaiser Wilhelm II introduced a tax on sparkling wine to help fund its operation. The canal is mostly delightfully rural, edged by reeds. Beyond the banks and canalside cycle paths, a backdrop of trees bordered the waterway on both sides. An overnight stop at a junction with the River Eider navigation, on the Gieselau canal, was even more bucolic. Starlings flew in to roost and perform their evening murmurations, shape-shifting from sailing boat to love heart. The sun set behind trees while we ate dinner on deck. In the morning, we swam in the river, edged with waterlilies, before continuing to Kiel, the canal becoming less rural as we neared its eastern terminus. The next day, we sailed away from our overnight anchorage in Kiel Fjord, with the pale cream sails full of wind, Peggy looking resplendent in the afternoon sun. Only the captains, Peggy's owners John Potter and Rachel Haynes, really knew what they were doing. The rest of us, their four willing crew, pulled ropes when asked or made cups of tea or gripped the tiller tightly. We kept course by heading for a landmark or following the compass or the route on a digital chart. Peggy may be old but she has modern navigation systems. The waves sloshed and slapped against the hull, the sails and boom creaked, and we sped along at seven knots. Sun lit our way though grumpy clouds loomed in the distance. Sailing is to balance on the knife-edge of the weather, harnessing the wind that, with one wrong push of the tiller, could swing the heavy boom and spell disaster. Skies to which you pay scant attention on land except perhaps to wonder 'should we take a brolly?' seem full of weight out at sea. That dark bruise of cloud ahead might be rife with squalls. But the weather gods were kind, the wind a constant south-westerly blowing us on our way. There were plenty of sailing boats out in the fjord leaning into the 25 knots of wind but once we were on our way on the 37-mile crossing, we only saw a few other vessels, one of which was similarly from the history books with russet sails and a mizzen mast. Three hours later, Ærø island appeared on the horizon, seemingly edged with tall sandy beaches. Closer to, it became clear that these were actually fields ripe for harvest. Six hours after leaving Kiel, the passage into the harbour at Marstal was marked with red and green buoys distinctively topped with supersize bottle brushes. They looked jolly and festive, and already Ærø felt special. We tied up in the harbour next to a seafood restaurant. Our waiter was a young man with a fish tattooed on the inside of his forearm. 'It's a trout,' he said. 'It's a reminder of the day my dad and I went fishing and I caught five but he only caught one.' The friendly staff and meal of lobster bisque, plaice and prawns, along with a rite-of-passage story, seemed a fitting celebration of our arrival by sailing boat. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion We were in the village of Marstal, which has the island's main harbour, today mostly used by yachts. The maritime museum spreads across several historic buildings nearby. There are rooms full of model boats and photographs and paintings of tall ships that were built here. For children there are ship playgrounds, including one where the captain's bridge appears to heave in a stormy sea. Another room is an art gallery of oil paintings by 19th-century naval artist JEC Rasmussen who was born in Ærø, depicting both the joys and horrors of life at sea: sailors caught in a tempest, taking an axe to their broken mast to stop things getting worse. We boarded the free community bus to the village of Ærøskøbing where, in the pedestrianised centre there are cosy, colourful centuries-old houses. Mullioned windows display wooden boats and porcelain dogs while hollyhocks grow between cobbles outside decoratively carved doors. We visited the whisky distillery and its courtyard cafe before heading for a swim at Vesterstrand beach where a jetty led out over eelgrass to a sand-bottomed, clear sea watched over by two dozen beach cabins of all shapes and colours. People arrived on bicycles for their daily swim. In the maritime museum, a volunteer, Lotte, had told us that many islanders, like her, are retirees. As well as swimming and sailing, 'singing in choirs is a popular pastime', she said. Ærø seemed heavenly and even more so without a plane. Paul Miles was a guest of Rachel Haynes and John Potter, owners of Peggy. For more information about Bristol pilot cutters, visit Travel back from Kiel was provided by which has fares between London and Cuxhaven or Kiel from £101 one-way. Venturesail Holidays offers similar trips with berths on historic sailing boats worldwide including transits of the Kiel canal and sailing in the western Baltic visiting Ærø and other islands
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany ends 100-year legal dispute over imperial art treasures
Thousands of cultural treasures from Germany's former Hohenzollern imperial family will remain on permanent display in museums in Berlin and Brandenburg, the country's new Culture Commssioner Wolfram Weimer announced on Monday. After a dispute lasting almost 100 years, the descendants of the last German emperor have reached a landmark agreement with the federal government and with states of Berlin and Brandenburg, he added. "This agreement is a tremendous success for Germany as a cultural location and for the art-loving public," Weimer said in Berlin. "For a hundred years, there has been ongoing uncertainty about objects that are central to the art and collection history of Prussia and thus to German history as a whole." The treasures include a portrait of Elector Joachim I of Brandenburg by painter Lucas Cranach the Elder and a table service for the Breslau City Palace acquired by Emperor Frederick II in 1750. According to the Tagesspiegel newspaper, the agreement covers a total of 27,000 items. Ownership rights and claims have been disputed since 1926. With the proclamation of the Weimar Republic and the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II, the monarchy in Germany came to an end in 1918. The Hohenzollern family's assets were confiscated. In 1926, a contract was signed between the then state of Prussia and the Hohenzollerns to settle who owned what. Nevertheless, ambiguity over ownership and restitution claims persisted for decades. The House of Hohenzollern – currently headed by Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, great-great-grandson of the last German emperor, Wilhelm II – had asserted claims to thousands of works of art that are now in museums. The prince had been negotiating with federal and state authorities since 2014, seeking the return of thousands of artworks and financial compensation for expropriated palaces and property. Litigation stalled talks for several years, but in 2023, the lawsuits were resloved, clearing the way for fresh negotiations in autumn 2024. The objects will remain physically housed in their current locations, including the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG), the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK), and the German Historical Museum (DHM) in Berlin. Public access to the artworks will continue.
