''Prinzenerlass'' (, "princes decree", also spelled Prinzenerlaß) was the name of a 1940 decree issued by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

that prohibited members of Germany's formerly reigning houses from participating in any military operations in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. In May 1940,

Prince Wilhelm of Prussia A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, the grandson of

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

, took part in the invasion of France. He was wounded during the fighting in

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

and died in a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

in Nivelles on 26 May 1940. His funeral service was held at the Church of Peace, and he was buried in the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

family mausoleum in the

Antique Temple The Antique Temple is a small round temple in the west part of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. Frederick the Great had the building constructed to house his collection of classical works of art, antique artifacts, coins and antique gems. Carl von Go ...

Sanssouci Park Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, built under Frederick the Great in the mid-1700s. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the stru ...

. The service drew over 50,000 mourners. His death and the ensuing sympathy of the German public toward a member of the

imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pap ...

greatly bothered Hitler, and he began to see the

s as a threat to his power. Shortly afterwards, the ''Prinzenerlass'' was issued, and all members of the former German royal houses were relieved from combat duties. The decree prohibited members of Germany's formerly reigning families from actively serving in the Wehrmacht, fearing that this would increase the public's sympathy for the deposed dynasties and threaten his grip on power.{{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fiixygAACAAJ&q=Hitlers+Herzog+%E2%80%93+Carl+Eduard+von+Sachsen-Coburg+und+Gotha, title=Hitlers Herzog – Carl Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha – Die Biographie, last=Sandner, first=Harald, publisher=Shaker Media, year=2011, isbn=978-3-86858-598-8, location=Aachen, pages=199, 236, 353, language=German

References

*''Queen Victoria's Family: A Century of Photographs.'', Charlotte Zeepvat. Sutton Publishing, 2003. *''Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany'',

Jonathan Petropoulos Jonathan Petropoulos (born January 10, 1961) is an American historian who writes about National Socialism and, in particular, the fate of art looted during World War II. He is John V. Croul Professor of European History at Claremont McKenna Colleg ...

. Oxford University Press, 2006. 1940 in law Law in Nazi Germany German royalty 1940 in Germany