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

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 name ...

. 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 o ...

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, commonly spoke

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

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 **Ge ...

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 ''hy ...

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 named ...

. 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 Re ...

, 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""The ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priests, French 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 fightin ...

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 Eag ...

). In the

three had the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, 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 totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

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

. 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 Horst Ademeit (8 February 1912 – 7 August 1944) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) during World War II. The Knight's ...

, Major, Knight Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves *

Gustav Adolf Bergenroth Gustav Adolf Bergenroth (26 February 1813 – 13 February 1869) was a German historian. Life He was born at Oletzko, in East Prussia, on 26 February 1813. From his father, the magistrate of the town, a stubborn and incorruptible patriot, he rec ...

, historian * Erich Bloedorn, Colonel, Knight Cross of the Iron Cross *

Rüdiger Döhler Rüdiger Döhler FRCSEd (24 August 1948 – 28 September 2022) was a German professor of orthopedic surgery. Life Döhler grew up in Rochlitz and East Berlin. In 1958, his family fled from the GDR to Bremerhaven (then Port of Embarkation f ...

, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery * Gustav Gisevius (1810-1848), pastor in Mazovia * Ferdinand Gregorovius, historian, honorary citizen of Rome * Paul Hensel (politician), campaigner for Mazovia * Jürgen Herrlein, lawyer *

Otto Hesse Ludwig Otto Hesse (22 April 1811 – 4 August 1874) was a German mathematician. Hesse was born in Königsberg, Prussia, and died in Munich, Bavaria. He worked mainly on algebraic invariants, and geometry. The Hessian matrix, the Hesse nor ...

. Professor of Mathematics in Heidelberg * Goetz Oertel, physicist, member of National Academy of Sciences *

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, 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 cu ...

* 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