Georg, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (11 October 1892 – 6 January 1946) was the head of the house of

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...

from 1941 until his death.

Biography

He was born in Kassel the eldest son of Prince Frederick Johann of Saxe-Meiningen (1861-1914) and

Countess Adelaide of Lippe-Biesterfeld Countess Adelaide of Lippe-Biesterfeld (22 June 1870 – 3 September 1948) was the eldest child of Ernest II, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld and Countess Karoline of Wartensleben. Family and early life Adelaide was born on 22 June 1870 to Ernest ...

(1870–1948). His father was a son of

Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (2 April 1826 – 25 June 1914), was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914. For his support for his successful court theatre he was also known as the ''Theaterherzog'' (theatre duk ...

and his mother a daughter of

Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld (''Ernst Kasimir Friedrich Karl Eberhard''; 9 June 1842 – 26 September 1904) was the head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. From 1897 until his death he was the regent of the Principalit ...

. Georg studied law at the Universities of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

. Georg suspended his studies to serve in

World War I 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 ...

and saw action as a Captain in a cavalry regiment. His uncle Bernhard III abdicated on 10 November 1918 following the German Revolution as the German monarchies were abolished. After the war he resumed his law studies and for a time served as a substitute judge for the town of

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen ( IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra riv ...

in the Free State of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. On 1 May 1933 he joined the

Nazis 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 N ...

,Archduchess Regina von Habsburg, Royalty Obituaries
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 4 Feb 2010. becoming

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

member (# 2.594.794). After the death of his uncle

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

on 29 December 1941, Georg succeeded to the headship of the house of Saxe-Meiningen and assumed the title of Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and style ''Georg III''. Georg died in the Russian

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

camp near Cherepovets (''Tscherepowetz'' in German) in Northern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. His heir was his second and only surviving son Prince Frederick Alfred who renounced the succession, being a monk in 1953, allowing it to pass to his uncle

Bernhard Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

Marriage and children

He was married in Freiburg im Breisgau on 22 February 1919 to Countess Klara Marie von Korff genannt Schmissing-Kerssenbrock ( Darmstadt, 31 May 1895 - Högerhof bei Türnitz,

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

, 10 February 1992). They had four children:

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Georg Of Saxe-Meiningen, Prince 1892 births 1946 deaths German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Nobility from Kassel Princes of Saxe-Meiningen Royalty in the Nazi Party German people who died in Soviet detention