Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: We Visited The Grave of Prince Philip's Nazi Sister in Darmstadt

Friday, June 22, 2018

We Visited The Grave of Prince Philip's Nazi Sister in Darmstadt - She Died In Plane Crash

Prince Philip's sister Cecilie
Delivered baby in plane -
died in crash

Prince Philip - 16 - marched in
Cecile's Funeral in
Darmstadt Germany

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

We are in Darmstadt - Germany. While I type - Lulu is teaching a course at Darmstadt Hochschule University. We are spending a month here - then we go to London where she will be teaching another course at the FSU Study Center. We have the opportunity to spend time in each place - being able to compare things.

My ancestors are from Britain and Germany. Lulu's are mainly for England. Mine are mainly from Germany with a grandfather from Wales. There are so many connections between the two countries - both in war and peace. About 80 years ago - the Nazis of Germany nearly ended the British Empire. But it did not happen - thanks to help from the USA and Canada - among others.

Junker 52 - crashed in Belgium

During the days of royalty and kingdoms - it was very common for princes and princesses to marry royalty from other kingdoms to parley power - wealth - and real estate.

Yesterday - Lulu and I were scanning the map to find a place to visit. Rosenhohe is a prominent green spot on the Darmstadt map. It was just 3 miles from our house - so we hopped in our car and followed the GPS to Rosenhohe. It turned out to be a park but we read that from 1810 to 1979 it was owned by the Duke and Duchy of Hesse - Darmstadt. The park is beautiful - but a little rough around the edges. We found a couple very old mausoleums - some strange trees - and a few grave sites. We found a common grave with 6 distinct granite headstones. The thing that stood out was they all read November 16 - 1937.

After a little research - we found out that this was the family of the Duke and Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt. They died in a plane wreck in Belgium. They were flying to a wedding in London. In the fog - the plane while doing an emergency landing - hit a tall brick chimney and crashed into a factory. They all died. This was two years before WWII started.

Prince Philip - Marching in Darmstadt Nazi Funeral

Prince Philip - Nightmare of His Sister Cecilie's Death

We have been watching the TV series - "The Crown" on Netflix. It is the story of the life of Queen Elizabeth. In 1947 - she married Prince Philip. Many people in England did not like the marriage because most of his family was German - many of them were Nazis.

It turns out that this plane was heading to London for a wedding. Prince Philip's sister Cecilie was part of the German royalty. She was only 26 - 8 months pregnant with her 4th child. When the burnt wreckage of the plane was found - the baby was borne - and next to the mother. It would have been Prince Philip's nephew. Two of her other kids were on the plane. Prince Philip had 3 sisters but he was soulmates with Cecelie. Now she and her husband and the kids were dead.

Prince Philip at the time named - Philip Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg was attending school in Scotland. He went to Darmstadt - Germany and marched in the funeral procession from the train station - through town - to the Rosenhohe. He was just 16 years old and the perfect image of a handsome young Aryan. In World War II - he bravely fought with the Allies against Hitler - but at this time - most of his family was saying "Heil Hitler."

"The Crown" captures the funeral in the episode called "Patria familia." The recreation is stunning - capturing the Nazis - Philip - and Darmstadt.

This is the first time I am using the word dichotomy. Our trip "half German - half England" seems to sum up that meaning. As much as they are alike - they are so different. They are separated by a few miles of water - and yet they look at things so differently. They are both full of blue eyes and fair skin. They both sent a lot of immigrants to the USA.

I am cobbling this story together in a McDonalds by campus. It is full of screaming kids in the playground. They love Cokes and Big Macs just like Americans. My story is full of mistakes - but I wanted to get it out fresh.

I have lived 70 years in America and often brag about my ancestors being British and German. I really know very little about the cultures. I have not really made an effort to learn either language. The more I learn - the more I realize how little I know.

Ironically - Lulu is teaching a classroom full of German men - and the language of choice is English. Who would have thought that this lovely little coal-region blondie that commuted to "Pennsylvania Deutsch" Kutztown State Teachers College - would have interested the tech savvy men of Germany to study the American "women's" profession of library science.

This is not our first time we are visiting these countries - so the rose colored glasses are off. We love being over here. Sometimes it is just an excuse to get out of the hot and humid Tallahassee summers. Other times it is more than that. We can learn more about ourselves by studying the diversity of the human being. The more one experiences - the more we realize that we do not have all the right answers. We become less xenophobic. We realize that we are much more similar than different.