Moniek Bloks - Hermine: An Empress in Exile: The Untold Story of the Kaisers Second Wife

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The untold story of the Kaisers second wife

First published by Chronos Books, 2020
Chronos Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., No. 3 East St., Alresford,
Hampshire SO24 9EE, UK

www.johnhuntpublishing.com
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For distributor details and how to order please visit the Ordering section on our website.

Moniek Bloks 2019

ISBN: 978 1 78904 478 2
978 1 78904 479 9 (ebook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019948219

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Moniek Bloks as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

UK: Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
US: Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore, 7300 West Joy Road, Dexter, MI 48130

We operate a distinctive and ethical publishing philosophy in all areas of our business, from our global network of authors to production and worldwide distribution.

With special thanks to my Patreon patrons for their continued support, especially Emmalisa.

On 22 February 1933, guests gathered in the von Dirksen house in the Margrethenstrasse in Berlin. Ten minutes after eight, Hermine the would-be Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia appeared. She was expecting to meet a very important man by the name of Adolf Hitler, but Mr. Hitler was not there yet. The beautiful 17th century English clock struck the quarter of an hour then the half hour. Was he not coming?

At a quarter to nine, Hitler entered the room without a word of apology. Frau von Dirksen was now faced with a difficult protocol question: Should she introduce the Empress to the Chancellor or the Chancellor to the Empress? Hitler solved the problem for her. He stepped elegantly up to Hermine, clicked the heels of his shoes, bowed stiffly and said: Hitler!

Heil Hitler! Mr. Hitler! Hermine replied nervously as the Fhrer gallantly kissed her hand. During the following meal, Hermine had no opportunity to speak to Hitler herself or for her cause the restoration of her husband, the exiled Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany. The two sat at opposite ends of the table.

At last, she was able to speak to him after dinner. Would he be willing to reintroduce the monarchy, or at least allow the Emperor to return to Germany? I would be proud if I could contribute something to the return of your noble family to their legally appropriate place, said Hitler. No one is more aware of the great merit that the House of Hohenzollern has acquired for the Fatherland, but unfortunately the time is not ripe, in the present moment such a measure will provoke only unrest and turmoil, this attitude we have to take into account in our delicate situation today, has by no means welcomed a sweep of this kind. I can tell Your Imperial Majesty in the strictest confidence that an exceptionally important English agent will inform me even before we have taken the government that the

The monarchy was never restored in Germany, but it wasnt for lack of effort. Hermine, born Hermine Reuss of Greiz, the fifth child and fourth daughter of Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz and Princess Ida Mathilde Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe, probably never imagined she would one day marry the exiled Emperor of Germany and would promote his return to power to one of the most evil men in history, Adolf Hitler.

Her youth was overshadowed by her brothers illness and the early death of her mother. Her first marriage to Prince Johann Georg of Schnaich-Carolath brought her five children but her husbands long illness meant that she was more his nurse than his wife. When he died of tuberculosis in 1920, Hermine vowed never to marry again. Hermine wrote in her memoirs, I was strongly determined never to marry again, never to surrender the precious right to be the master of my soul.

Things changed shortly before Easter 1922 when her young son Prince Georg Wilhelm asked her if he could write a letter to the former Emperor of Germany, who had been in exile in the Netherlands since his abdication in 1918 and whose wife Auguste Viktoria had just passed away. The young Prince told his mother that he wanted to fight for the Emperor when he became a man. He wrote to the Emperor, I am sorry because you are so terribly lonely. Hermine posted the letter and was surprised to find both of them invited to the Emperors exile in Doorn. In the end, Hermine went alone to Doorn as she did not want to interrupt her sons education and it became her first visit to a house that would become her home for the next 20 years.