#huis doorn

[d3utschem4rk]

‘We humans are foolish in many ways: we want to conquer all as if we had all time, as if our lives did not have any end. Thus, our real time passes too quickly, and often when one believes that they are working only for themselves, they are in fact working for unworthy or ungrateful successors.’

— Anti-Machiavel (1740), Chapter V

Friedrich der Große als Kronprinz

by Antoine Pesne (French, 1683 – 1757) oil on canvas (113 × 143 cm), 1736

Berliner Stadtschloß / Huis Doorn

[theroyalhistory]

Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany with grandson Prince Karl Franz of Prussia, Huis Doorn, Netherlands, 1921

[cptblackadder]

[neoprusiano]

@Neoprusiano Emperador Guillermo II de Alemania y Rey de Prusia Imperator Gulielmus II Germaniae et Rex Borussiae Kaiser Wilhelm II. von Deutschland und König von Preußen Emperor William II of Germany and King of Prussia Empereur Guillaume II d'Allemagne et Roi de Prusse

Oscar Tellgmann (1857-1936), Huis Doorn, 1933.

[tuxedomoon-64]

Grossfürstin Kira & ihr Grossvater Kaiser Wilhelm II. 1938

[twf100]

Huis Doorn, Doorn Netherlands, March 2019

Full photo gallery online here.

Huis Doorn

Seven years after he was dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, Otto von Bismarck visited the German emperor one final time. Before departing Bismarck gave the Kaiser a warning:

Your Majesty, so long as you have this present officer corps, you can do as you please. But when this is no longer the case, it will be very different for you.

Twenty-one years later this warning would prove true.

Uprisings against the German government began in late October 1918. German sailors mutinied at Kiel on November 3. By this point the Kaiser knew that he would have to give up the crown of the German Empire, but he planned to remain King of Prussia. These plans went awry when, in the hopes of pacifying the citizenship, Chancellor Price Max of Baden announced that the Kaiser had abdicated as Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia on November 9. In a rage the Kaiser tried to hold on to his titles but finally relented when he was informed that the German army would follow the command of General Paul von Hindenburg but would not fight for the Kaiser’s throne. It was Hindenburg himself that had to convince Wilhelm to give up the crown. He boarded a train to the Netherlands the next day where he would live in exile until his death in 1941.

In 1919 Wilhelm purchased a house in Doorn Netherlands and moved in on May 15 1920. The Weimar Republic of Germany allowed Wilhelm to remove 23 rail cars of property from his former palace in Potsdam. While the 1919 Treaty of Versailles allowed for the prosecution of Wilhelm after the war, the Netherlands refused to extradite him. Wilhelm was allowed to travel freely within a 15km radius of the house, but had to receive permission from the government for travel outside of this zone.

Following the initial Nazi success of the Second World War Wilhelm sent a telegram to Hitler stating:

My Fuhrer, I congratulate you and hope that under your marvellous leadership the German monarchy will be restored completely.

Hitler had no interest in a restoration and, other than remarking that Wilhelm was “an idiot”, ignored the telegram. 

Wilhelm was a racist and an anti-Semitic throughout his life. Despite visits from leading Nazis including Hermann Goring, Wilhelm grew to distrust Hitler and was appalled at the actions of the Third Reich. 

Wilhelm died of a pulmonary embolism on June 4 1941. The Nazis had occupied the Netherlands for over a year and an honor guard was posted at Huis Doorn. Upon discovering this, his jealousy provoked, Hitler flew into a rage and nearly fired the General that had ordered the guard. As a propaganda device, Hitler had wanted to bring Wilhelm back to Berlin for a state funeral but the former Kaiser had stated a desire not to return to Germany until the monarchy was restored. Wilhelm was honored with a small funeral on the grounds of Huis Doorn, His desire that that swastika not be displayed was ignored. Wilhelm’s coffin, covered in the flag of the German Empire, lies today inside a mausoleum in the yard next to Huis Doorn.

The Dutch government seized the property and its contents in 1945 and opened the house as a museum in 1956. Wilhelm’s family have never accepted the Dutch claim to the residence and property. As recently as 2019 Wilhelm’s great great grandson Georg Friedrich was still engaged in litigation with the Netherlands over the issue.

The home is just as Wilhelm left it, a truly amazing display of souvenirs, sculptures, paintings and knick-knacks. Nearly the entire house is available to see, but you do need a tour guide to take you through the building. There was no English speaking guide available when I visited in March of 2019 but they were kind enough to find someone that could show me around the house. Although this site is not really on the Western Front, it’s an obvious connection to the Great War. It was an amazing experience to get this insight to a man and a time long since past.

December 28, 2019

[collectiebeheer]

24-01-2017 HMC Amsterdam

Presentaties schaderapporten

-De foto’s van de muren kunnen wat duidelijker, -het advies om te restaureren gaat verder dan preventieve conservering.

In de beeldbank van het RCE hadden we meer beelden van Huis Doorn kunnen vinden.