(Abolished 13 November 1918)
Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
When Germany lost the war, all the German princes lost their titles and states.
Ernst was one of the first princes to realize major changes were coming for Germany, and quickly arrived at an amicable settlement with his subjects.. He was forced to abdicate the government of the duchy on 13 November 1918, and spent the rest of his life like a private citizen.
On 1 May 1937 Ernst joined the Nazi party Ernst became the only former reigning German prince who accepted German Democratic Republic citizenship after World War II, refusing an offer to leave his beloved Schloß Fröhliche Wiederkunft and relocate to the British occupation zone.
The Schloß had been confiscated by the Soviet occupiers, but Ernst had been granted free use of it until his death.
In March 1954, with the death of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, he became the last survivor of the German princes who had reigned until 1918.
One year later, on 22 March 1955, he died at his Schloß.
(Abolished 13 November 1918)
Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
When Germany lost the war, all the German princes lost their titles and states. Ernst was one of the first princes to realize major changes were coming for Germany, and quickly arrived at an amicable settlement with his subjects.. He was forced to abdicate the government of the duchy on 13 November 1918, and spent the rest of his life like a private citizen. On 1 May 1937 Ernst joined the Nazi party Ernst became the only former reigning German prince who accepted German Democratic Republic citizenship after World War II, refusing an offer to leave his beloved Schloß Fröhliche Wiederkunft and relocate to the British occupation zone. The Schloß had been confiscated by the Soviet occupiers, but Ernst had been granted free use of it until his death. In March 1954, with the death of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, he became the last survivor of the German princes who had reigned until 1918. One year later, on 22 March 1955, he died at his Schloß.
Former German nobility in the Nazi Party