The Corps Masovia Königsberg is the only remaining academic student corps from the

Albertus University Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...

. In 2001 Masovia was re-established in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

History

The Mazovian people represented a unique minority. They were

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, commonly spoke

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and devoted themselves to the Prussian kings. Even after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

they declared themselves as

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

s. The Protestant

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s, many of them corps members, helped to preserve this heritage. In the 19th century most corps members came from and returned to the remote and poor, but wonderful land. 500 corps members had had their education in Lyck and Rastenburg. The Mazovian people considered the Corps Masovia as theirs and took over the blue-white-red flag. In 1855 Friedrich Dewischeit, a Mazovian teacher, composed songs about Masovia. Dedicated to the Corps Masovia, the ''Masurenlied'' still is the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

of the Mazovian people. The Corps Masovia was founded in June 1830 and until 1935 played an important role at the

Königsberg university Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

. On occasion of the centenary in 1930, the Mazovian mayors donated a library cupboard with the arm coats of their 30 towns.

Prussian heritage

In East Prussia many pastors, teachers, judges, physicians, civil servants and mayors proudly showed Masovia's colours, i.e. light blue, white and fire-red. 15 members of the Prussian Parliament (Abgeordnetenhaus) were corps members, three conservatives and twelve liberals. Two sat in the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Rep ...

, four in the Reichstag.

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

members illustrate Masovia's unconstricted freedom of spirit. 115 corps members fell in both world wars. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

six obtained the ''Königliche Hausorden von Hohenzollern'' (prestage of the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Ea ...

). In the

three had the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

, one with Oak Leaves. In 1935 Masovia had to resign herself to the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

rules of academic life. In January 1950 Masovia joined the Corps Palaiomarchia which had been expelled from

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-An ...

and restituted in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

. When it became evident that this had not been a formal restitution Masovia re-established herself in Potsdam, just 300 years after Prussia becoming a kingdom.

Members

* Horst Ademeit, Major, Knight Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves * Gustav Adolf Bergenroth, historian * Erich Bloedorn, Colonel, Knight Cross of the Iron Cross * Rüdiger Döhler, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery *

Gustav Gisevius Gustaw Herman Marcin Gizewiusz, or Gustav Gisevius (May 21, 1810 – May 7, 1848) was a Polish political figure, folklorist, and translator. He was married to a Mazur Polish woman, who encouraged him to become a political figure. He was born in ...

(1810-1848), pastor in Mazovia *

Ferdinand Gregorovius Ferdinand Gregorovius (19 January 1821, Neidenburg, East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia – 1 May 1891, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria) was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. Biography Gregorovius was the son of ...

, historian, honorary citizen of Rome *

Paul Hensel (politician) Paul Hensel (3 October 1867 – 8 January 1944) was a German Lutheran theologian and politician. Biography Hensel was born in Gehsen (today Jeże, Poland) and visited school in Lyck. In 1886, he began to study Theology at the University ...

, campaigner for Mazovia * Jürgen Herrlein, lawyer * Otto Hesse. Professor of Mathematics in Heidelberg * Goetz Oertel, physicist, member of

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

Friedrich Julius Richelot Friedrich Julius Richelot (6 November 1808 – 31 March 1875) was a German mathematician, born in Königsberg. He was a student of Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi. He was promoted in 1831 at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Königsberg wit ...

, Professor of Mathematics in Königsberg * Ernst Reinhold Schmidt, leader of the German immigrants in Philadelphia, author of ''The American Civil War'' (1867) *

André Rüdiger Simon André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

, surgeon at the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...

* Karl Ludwig Stellmacher (1909-2001), Professor of Mathematics, University of Maryland *

Arthur Zimmermann Arthur Zimmermann (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1940) was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire from 22 November 1916 until his resignation on 6 August 1917. His name is associated with the Zimmermann Telegram during World War ...

, Secretary of State

History

Prussian heritage

Members

See also