Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg (20 November 1912 – 4 July 2011), also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of
Austria-Hungary from
1916 until the dissolution of the empire in
1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and parts of Italy, Montenegro,
Poland (
Krakow), Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. He remained the Crown Prince of
Hungary until
1921. He was the head of
the House of Habsburg and the Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece between 1922 and 2007, and at the same time, the Habsburg pretender to the former thrones.
The eldest son of
Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria and
King of Hungary, and his wife,
Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Otto was born as third in line to the thrones, as His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Imperial Otto of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and
Bohemia. With his father's accession to the thrones in 1916, he was himself likely to become
the Emperor. As his father never abdicated,
Otto was considered by himself, his family and
Austro-Hungarian legitimists to be the rightful Emperor-King from 1922. Had the dual monarchy still existed, he might have had an 89-year reign.
Otto was active on the Austrian and European political stage from the 1930s, both by promoting
the cause of Habsburg restoration as well as an early proponent of
European integration—being thoroughly disgusted with nationalism—and
a fierce opponent of Nazism and communism.
He has been described as one of the leaders of the Austrian anti-Nazi resistance. After the
1938 Anschluss, monarchists were severely persecuted in
Austria, and—sentenced to death by the Nazis—Otto fled to
the United States, with a visa issued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes.
Otto von Habsburg was Vice President (1957–1973) and President (1973–2004) of
the International Paneuropean Union, and served as a Member of the European Parliament for t
he Christian Social Union of Bavaria (
CSU)
1979–1999. In 1961,
Francisco Franco offered him the crown of
Spain, but he declined on account of the Habsburg dynasty's long absence from the Spanish throne, and recommended J
uan Carlos. As a newly elected Member of the European Parliament in 1979,
Otto had an
empty chair set up
for the countries on the other side of the Iron Curtain in
the European Parliament, and took a strong interest in the countries behind
the Iron Curtain during his tenure.
Otto von Habsburg played a central role in
the revolutions of 1989, as a co-initiator of t
he Pan-European Picnic.
Later he would be a strong supporter of the EU membership of central and eastern European countries. A noted intellectual, he has published several books on historical and political affairs.
Otto has been described as one of the "
architects of the European idea and of European integration" together with
Robert Schuman,
Konrad Adenauer, and
Alcide De Gasperi.
Otto was exiled in
1918 and grew up mostly in
Spain. His
devout Catholic mother raised him according to
the old curriculum of Austria-Hungary, preparing him to become
a Catholic monarch. During his life in exile, he lived in
Switzerland,
Madeira,
Spain,
Belgium,
France,
the United States, and from 1954 until his death, finally in
Bavaria (
Germany), in the residence
Villa Austria. At the time of his death, he was a citizen of
Germany,
Austria,
Hungary and
Croatia, having earlier been stateless de jure and de facto and possessed passports of
Monaco,
the Order of Malta, and
Spain.
His funeral took place in
Vienna on
16 July 2011; he was entombed in
the Imperial Crypt in
Vienna and
his heart buried in Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary.
Early life
Crown Prince Otto in Budapest in 1916Otto was born at
Villa Wartholz in
Reichenau an der Rax,
Austria-Hungary. He was baptised
Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius on 25 November 1912 at Villa Wartholz by the Prince-Archbishop of Vienna,
Cardinal Franz Xaver Nagl. His godfather was the Emperor
Franz Joseph I of
Austria (represented by Archduke
Franz Ferdinand of Austria); his godmother was his grandmother Infanta
Maria Antonia of Portugal.
In November
1916,
Otto became
Crown Prince of
Austria, Hungary and Bohemia when his father, Archduke Charles, acceded to the throne. However, in 1918, at the end of the First World War, the monarchies were abolished,
the Republics of Austria and Hungary founded instead, and the family was forced into exile.
Hungary did become a kingdom again, but
Charles was never to regain the throne. Instead,
Miklós Horthy ruled as regent until
1944, in a kingdom without a king.
He spoke
German,
Hungarian,
Croatian,
English,
Spanish,
French and
Latin fluently. In later life, he would write books in German, Hungarian, French and Spanish. His mother made him learn many languages because she believed he one day might rule over many lands.
Years in exileOtto's family spent the subsequent years in
Switzerland, and on the Portuguese island of
Madeira, where
Charles died prematurely in 1922, leaving the 9-year-old
Otto pretender to the throne. On his father's deathbed, his mother, then-Empress
Dowager Zita, told the 9-year old, "
your father is now sleeping the eternal sleep—you are now Emperor and King". The family eventually relocated to the Basque town of
Lekeitio, where 40 Spanish grandees bought them a villa.
Meanwhile, the Austrian parliament had officially expelled the Habsburg dynasty and confiscated all the official property (
Habsburg Law of 3 April 1919).
Otto von Habsburg (left) and Count von Degenfeld in 1933.In
1935, he graduated with a
PhD degree in Political and Social Sciences from
the University of Louvain (
Leuven in Dutch) in
Belgium. From his father's death throughout the remainder of his time in exile,
Otto considered himself the rightful emperor of
Austria and stated this on many occasions. In 1937 he wrote,
“
I know very well that the overwhelming majority of the Austrian population would like me to assume the heritage of the peace emperor, my beloved father, rather earlier than later. (...) The [Austrian] people have never cast a vote in favor of the republic. They have remained silent as long as they were exhausted from the long fight, and taken by surprise by the audacity of the revolutionaries of 1918 and 1919. They shook off their resignation when they realized that the revolution had raped their right to life and freedom. (...) Such trust places a heavy burden on me. I accept it readily. God willing, the hour of reunion between the Duke and the people will arrive soon.”
He continued to enjoy considerable public support in Austria; from 1931 to 1938, 1,603 Austrian municipalities named Otto an honorary citizen.
World War IIOtto strongly opposed
the Anschluss of
Austria to
Nazi Germany. In 1938 he requested Austrian Chancellor
Kurt Schuschnigg to resist the Nazis and supported
an international intervention, and offered to return from exile to take over the reins of government in order to repel
Hitler. According to
Gerald Warner, "
Austrian Jews were among the strongest supporters of a Habsburg restoration, since they believed the dynasty would give the nation sufficient resolve to stand up to the Third Reich".
Following the German annexation of
Austria,
Otto was sentenced to death by the Nazis. As ordered by
Adolf Hitler, his personal property and that of
the House of Habsburg were confiscated and not given back after the war. The so-called "
Habsburg Law", which had previously been repealed, was
reintroduced by the
fiercely republican and
anti-monarchist Nazis. The leaders of
the Austrian legitimist movement, i.e. supporters of
Otto, were arrested by the Nazis and largely executed (
Stefan Zweig's novella The Royal Game is based on these events).
Otto's cousins
Max,
Duke of Hohenberg, and
Prince Ernst of Hohenberg were arrested in
Vienna by the
Gestapo and sent to
Dachau concentration camp where they remained throughout the Nazi rule.
Otto was involved in helping around
15,000 Austrians, including t
housands of Austrian Jews, flee the country at the beginning of the Second World War.
Rudolf Hess ordered that
Otto was to be executed immediately if caught. After the German invasion of
France the family left the French capital and fled to
Portugal with a visa issued by
Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese consul in
Bordeaux. For his own safety, he left the European continent and lived from
1940 to 1944 in Washington D.C.. In his war-time exile in
the United States, he worked to stop or limit the bombing campaign against
Austria. In the United States, he initiated
the Austrian Day and was able to get
Austria included in a postage stamp series on "
Occupied Nations". He obtained the support of W
inston Churchill for a conservative "
Danube Federation", in effect a restoration of Austria-Hungary, but Stalin put an end to these plans.
He lobbied for the recognition of an Austrian government-in-exile, for the rights of the German-speaking population of South Tyrol, against the deportation of the German-speaking inhabitants of Bohemia and eastern Europe, and against letting Stalin rule Eastern Europe.
In
1941,
Adolf Hitler personally revoked the citizenship of
Otto, his mother, and his siblings, and the imperial-royal family found themselves stateless.
After World War IIAt the end of the war,
Otto returned to
Europe and lived for some years in
France and
Spain.
In
1949, he ennobled several people, granting them Austrian noble titles, although not recognized by the Austrian republic. As he did not possess a passport and was effectively stateless, he was given a passport of
the Principality of Monaco, thanks to the intervention of
Charles de Gaulle in
1946. As a
Knight of Malta, the Order also issued him a diplomatic passport. Later, he was also given
a Spanish diplomatic passport.
In
1956,
Otto was recognized as
an Austrian citizen by t
he Lower Austrian state government and was given an Austrian passport that was "v
alid in all countries except Austria".
On multiple occasions, and as late as the 1960s, the Austrian police would be looking for
Otto, suspecting that the "
enemy of the republic" had entered the country.
Political career
Otto von Habsburg giving a speechIn a declaration dated 31 May
1961,
Otto renounced all claims to the Austrian throne and proclaimed himself "
a loyal citizen of the republic", a move that he made only after much hesitation and certainly "
for purely practical reasons". In a 2007 interview on the occasion of his approaching 95th birthday,
Otto stated:
"
This was such an infamy, I'd rather never have signed it. They demanded that I abstain from politics. I would not have dreamed of complying. Once you have tasted the opium of politics, you never get rid of it."
The Habsburg Law of
1918 stated that Charles' descendants could only return to
Austria if they renounced their royal claims and accepted the status of private citizens. The Austrian administrative court found on
24 May 1963 that
Otto's statement was sufficient to meet this requirement. However, several elements in the country, particularly
the Socialists, were ill-disposed to welcoming back the heir of the deposed dynasty. This touched off political infighting and civil unrest that almost precipitated a crisis of state, and later became known as the "
Habsburg Crisis." It was only on 1 June 1966, after the conservative
Austrian People's Party won an outright majority in the national election, that
Otto was issued an Austrian passport, and was finally able to visit his home country again on 31 October 1966 for the first time in 48 years.
An early advocate of a unified Europe,
Otto was president of the International
Paneuropean Union from 1973 to 2004. He served from 1979 until 1999 as a Member of the European Parliament for t
he conservative Christian Social Union of
Bavaria (
CSU)
party, eventually becoming the senior member of the European Parliament. He was also a member of
the Mont Pelerin Society. He was a major supporter of the expansion of the European Union from the beginning and especially of the acceptance of
Hungary,
Slovenia and
Croatia. During his time in the European Parliament, he was involved in a
fracas initiated by fellow MEP
Ian Paisley. In 1998,
Pope John Paul II had just given a speech to the Parliament, and Protestant
Paisley shouted at the Pope, "
I denounce you as the Antichrist!", holding a poster reading "
Pope John Paul II Antichrist".
Otto snatched Paisley's banner and, along with other MEPs, helped eject him from the chamber.
He was one of the men instrumental in organising the so called
Pan-European Picnic at
the Hungary-Austria border on 19 August 1989. This event is considered a milestone in the collapse of Communist dictatorships in Europe.
He was reportedly a patron of
the Three Faiths Forum, a group which aims to encourage
friendship,
goodwill and
understanding amongst people of the three monotheistic faiths of
Christianity,
Judaism and
Islam in
the United Kingdom and
elsewhere.
Otto von Habsburg (right) with former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl (left)In December 2006, he observed that, "
The catastrophe of 11 September 2001 struck the United States more profoundly than any of us, whence a certain mutual incomprehension. Until then, the United States felt itself secure, persuaded of its power to bombard any enemy, without anyone being able to strike back. That sentiment vanished in an instant. Americans understand viscerally for the first time the risks they face."
On 5 July 2007,
Otto von Habsburg received
the Freedom of the City of London from the hands of
Sir Gavyn Arthur, a former Lord Mayor of London.
He was known as a supporter of the rights of refugees and displaced people in Europe, notably of t
he ethnic Germans displaced from Bohemia where he was once the Crown Prince. He was a jury member of
the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award. He also held
Francisco Franco in a high regard and praised him for helping refugees, stating that he was "
a dictator of the south American type, not totalitarian like Hitler or Stalin".
In 2002, he was named the first ever
honorary member of the European People's Party group.
Death and funeral
Otto and Regina lying in repose in the Capuchin Church, Vienna, draped with the Habsburg flag. The guards of honour are dressed in Austro-Hungarian uniforms.After the death of his wife,
Regina in
2010,
Otto stopped appearing in public. He died at the age of 98 on Monday, 4 July 2011, at his home in
Pöcking,
Germany. His spokeswoman reported that he died "
peacefully and without pain in his sleep". He was survived by his younger brother,
Felix, as well as 7 children, 22 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
On 5 July, his body was laid in repose in the Church of St. Ulrich near his home in
Pöcking,
Bavaria, and a massive 13-day period of mourning started in several countries formerly part of
Austria-Hungary. Otto's coffin has been draped with
the Habsburg flag decorated with the imperial–royal coats of arms of
Austria and
Hungary in addition to the Habsburg family coat of arms.
In line with the Habsburg family tradition,
Otto von Habsburg was buried in the family's crypt in
Vienna, while
his heart will be buried in a monastery in Pannonhalma, Hungary.
Family
4-year old Crown Prince Otto of Hungary in Budapest in 1916, attending his parents' coronation as King and Queen of Hungary, painted by Gyula Éder.He was married to P
rincess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen from
1951 until her death in
2010. They had seven children, 23 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren (as of 2011)
Andrea von Habsburg (born 1953). Married Hereditary
Count Karl Eugen von Neipperg. They have three sons, two daughters and two grandchildren.
Monika von Habsburg (born 1954). Married
Luis María Gonzaga Gonzaga de Casanova-Cárdenas y Barón,
Duke of Santangelo,
Marquess of Elche, Count of Lodosa and Grandee of Spain, who is a descendant of Infanta
Luisa Teresa of Spain,
Duchess of Sessa and sister of Francis, King-Consort of Spain.
Michaela von Habsburg, born on 13 September 1954 (age 56). Monika's twin sister. Married firstly
Eric Alba Teran d'Antin, and secondly
Count Hubertus of Kageneck. She has two sons and a daughter from her first marriage. Twice divorced.
Gabriela von Habsburg, born on 14 October 1956 (age 54)
∞
Christian Meister in 1978, divorced in 1997.
Walburga von Habsburg, born on 5 October 1958 (age 52)
∞C
ount Archibald DouglasKarl von Habsburg, born on 11 January 1961 (age 50) -
∞
Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, born on 7 June 1958 (age 53)
Georg von Habsburg, born on 16 December 1964 (age 46)
∞
Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, born on 22 August 1972 (age 38)
Otto lived in retirement at the
Villa Austria in
Pöcking bei Starnberg, Starnberg, near the lake
Starnberger See, Upper Bavaria,
Bavaria,
Germany.
