Prince Heinrich Wilhelm Konstantin Viktor Franz of Hesse-Kassel (30 October 1927 – 18 November 1999), known as Enrico d'Assia, was the second child of

Prince Philipp of Hesse Philipp, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (6 November 1896 – 25 October 1980) was head of the Electoral House of Hesse from 1940 to 1980. He joined the Nazi Party in 1930, and, when they gained power with the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancel ...

and

Princess Mafalda of Savoy Princess Mafalda of Savoy (19 November 1902 – 28 August 1944) was the second daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and his wife Elena of Montenegro. The future King Umberto II of Italy was her younger brother. Biography Princess Mafa ...

. Heinrich became an artist, set designer, and memoirist after

World War II 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 opposin ...

Life

Prince Heinrich was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, as the second son of

and

, daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. During 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 opposin ...

, Heinrich's father, an important former aristocratic Nazi party member, was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

. His mother was detained and imprisoned in

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, where she was killed by Allies' bombardments in 1944. Heinrich and his siblings ( Moritz, Otto and Elisabeth) were given sanctuary in the Vatican. After the War they were reunited with their father in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Heinrich was an artist and set designer, active mainly in Italy under the name Enrico d'Assia. He published a volume of memoirs, notably ''Der Kristallene Lüster'' (1994). He died in Frankfurt, unmarried.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse-Kassel, Prince Heinrich Of Hesse, Heinrich, Prince of Hesse, Heinrich, Prince of Heinrich of Hesse-Kassel German princes