Hitler and the Habsburgs by James Longo

Author:James Longo
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2018-09-17T22:00:00+00:00

Twenty thousand Austrians were taken into custody following the Nazi Anschluss. Only those labeled the most “dangerous” were deported to Dachau. Max and Ernst had the infamous distinction of being the first Austrian “criminals” sent there. Four days later, they were joined by 153 of their countrymen. In May, another 120 detainees arrived. The Austrians were segregated from other prisoners but suffered the same cruel treatment.

A journalist who survived later wrote: “Amongst them were two ambassadors, three ministers, a state secretary, a senior judge, a state prosecutor, the mayor of Vienna, a general, a colonel, three majors, two university professors, some senior police officers, two prominent Viennese lawyers and a number of well-known journalists and authors.” Another survivor wrote, “Looking at them, you would almost be ashamed to be free.”

It wasn’t until years later that Maximilian and Ernst’s family came to understand the horror that was Dachau, not from them, but from others. Guards wielding bull whips and wearing skull-and-crossbone insignias on their uniforms mockingly addressed them as “Your Imperial Majesties.” The brothers were photographed, stripped of their clothes, marched naked to the barber, their heads and mustaches shaved, given a cold shower, and issued striped uniforms and wooden shoes. They were also required to fill out forms that asked their age, date of birth, religion, occupation, and whether or not their parents were living. Guards delighted in asking details about when, where, and how their parents had died.

Neither was ever officially charged with a crime. But the Duke of Hohenberg, prison number 13742, wore the green triangular badge of a “protective custody prisoner.” Prince Ernst, prison number 13741, was designated a “political criminal” for his attack on Vienna’s German Tourism office. His “anti-German behavior” earned him the red badge of a terrorist. During the winter, Ernst was also required to remove the snow from the front of the SS headquarters, and scatter sand and ashes on the paths where Gestapo officers walked. The task eerily mocked Hitler’s winter memories of shoveling snow in front of the Hotel Imperial for the Royal and Imperial Habsburg family.

The brothers were assigned latrine duty, the endless job of emptying and cleaning the camp’s overflowing toilets. They were only given a spoon to assist them in their task. A witness later wrote of their treatment, “They were harnessed to the sewage cart like roped animals. Their slave driver, a professional criminal, beat them mercilessly as they were chased from one latrine to another where they had to shovel excrement into buckets and cart them away.” Another eyewitness remembered:

Soon word got around that they were the two sons of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated at Sarajevo. On the cart was a ton of muck. The SS-men stopped them and made fun of them. They took a flat stone, had the two prisoners put their heads close to the pile of muck and then threw the stone into the pile so that the brothers’ faces were splattered with excrement.

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