Franz Joseph Maria Ludwig Anton Thassilo Prinz von Hohenzollern-Emden (English: Prince Francis Joseph of Hohenzollern-Emden; 30 August 1891 – 3 April 1964) was a member of the Roman Catholic branch of the House of Hohenzollern. He was born as Prince Franz Joseph of Hohenzollern and adopted the surname Prinz von Hohenzollern-Emden in 1933.

Early life

Franz Joseph was born in Heiligendamm in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the second son of Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern and Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He had a twin brother, Prince Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern, who was born a few minutes before he was.

Military service

During World War I Franz Joseph served in Germany's Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) as the second torpedo officer on the light cruiser SMS Emden at the Battle of Cocos. The SMS Emden had an extraordinary record capturing British ships, and as a result all those who served on her, including Franz Joseph, were given the right to add the ship's name to the end of their surnames. Since Germany had converted titles of nobility into family names in 1919, he became Franz Joseph Prinz von Hohenzollern-Emden. In 1925 Franz Joseph wrote a book recording his naval service, Emden: Meine Erlebnisse auf S.M Schiff Emden (Leipzig: Eckstein, 1925), translated into English and published as Emden: My Experiences in S.M.S. Emden (reprinted as Emden: The Last Cruise of the Chivalrous Raider, 1914, Brighton: Lyon, 1989, ISBN 0-904256-45-6). Franz Joseph also had the rank of Konteradmiral in the Romanian Naval Forces.

Nazi Party membership

In 1933 Franz Joseph became a member of the Schutzstaffel (SS) (member number 276 691). On 1 April 1936, he became a full member of the Nazi Party with membership number 3765580. As a leading Roman Catholic nobleman and a near relative of the Habsburg, Bourbon, and Saxon dynasties, Franz Joseph did much to lend respectability to the Nazi Party. From 1939 to 1944 Franz Joseph commanded a marine flak battery at the Cuxhaven naval base. In June 1944 he was released from active service. In November 1944 he was expelled from the SS together with other upper class Nazis whose devotion was becoming suspect in the face of Germany's, by then, near-certain defeat. In a letter to Heinrich Himmler dated 3 January 1945, Franz Joseph proclaimed his continued devotion to the Nazi cause and unsuccessfully begged to be readmitted to the SS.

Marriage and family

On 25 May 1921, Franz Joseph married his second cousin Princess Maria Alix of Saxony (1901–1990), a daughter of Friedrich August III of Saxony and Archduchess Luise, Princess of Tuscany. His twin brother was married to Maria Alix's sister, Princess Margarete Karola of Saxony (1900–1962). Franz Joseph and Maria Alix had four children: Franz Joseph lived with his family at Villa Eugenia in Hechingen. Franz Joseph died on 3 April 1964 at Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg. He and his wife are buried in the Erlöserkirche in Sigmaringen.

Ancestry