Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Countess Sophie and their family

[grandduchessella]

Some pics:

Franz Ferdinand with his wife and their two elder children Sophie and Maximilian




Countess Sophie


Max

[grandduchessella]

The persons who took care of Hohenberg children after their parent's death were in fact Prince Jaroslaw and Princess Maria Pia von Thun und Hohenstein...They took the task of taking care of the children because Duchess Sophia's sister was Princess Maria Pia von Thun und Hohenstein witch makes her children's aunt...

[grandduchessella]

Children's other aunts were Countess Oktavia von Schönburg-Glauchau(who is an ancestor of Princess Gloria von Thunrn und Taxis),Maria Antonia von Wuthenau-Hohenturm and Countess Maria Henriette Leopoldina von Nostitz-Reineck(and Sophie's daughter Sophie also married into Nostitz-Reineck family)...

[etonexile]

I'm glad they all seem to have turned out well....

[KarlandZita]

Princess Sophie von Hohenberg was born on 24 july 1901 and was the eldest of four children of the morganatic marriage of Archiduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of the Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria, and Countess Sophie Chotek.
Upon the marriage, the Countess was made Her Serene Highness Sophie von Hohenberg, but in 1909 her title was raised to Her Highness Duchess Sophie von Hohenberg, and the children became Prince or Princess von Hohenberg.
After the assassination of her parents, Sophie and her two surviving brothers, Maximilian (1902-1962) and Ernst (1904-1954), were taken in by their father's close friend Graf Jaroslav Thurn.
They were exiled from Czechoslovakia and took refuge in Vienna and Schloss Artstetten.
On 1920, Sophie married Count Friedrich von Nostitz-Rieneck and had four children, three sons and a daughter.
In 1938, following the Anschluss, sophie and her brothers were arrested and deported to Dachau concentration camp where they spent the next seven years of their lives.
She died 27 october 1990.

[Danjel]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/daan73/SophHabsb.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/daan73/Sophie2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/daan73/withherfatherFranzFerdinand.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/daan73/sophiehohenberg1901-4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/daan73/SophieHOH.jpg

Some pictures of Sophie with thanks to the wonderful pages of Brigitte and Mardam!

[lumpi]

I've never seen any of these rare pictures of Sophie. Thanks!
By the way, does anyone have a pic of Sophie when she was a baby?

[KarlandZita]

Sophie was a quite and charming princess with a sweet smile.
Like her two younger brothers, Ernst and Maximilian, she had a tragic life. After her parent's death, she was totally rejected by members of the Hasburg family. But, in adversity, she remained ever loyal towards them.

[Franz_Ferdinand]

There's an interesting chapter in a book called Secret of Sarajevo by Hertha Pauli dealing with the fates of the Archduke's children.  As has been pointed out, they were sent to Dachau.  According to Pauli, they were sent there because of their anti-Nazi activities (i.e., tearing down Nazi posters, etc.).  The two sons were forced by the Nazis to hit and spit on each other among other things.  The Nazis got a kick out of referring to them as "Highnesses."  

I think a book about their lives after Sarajevo would be fascinating, as would a book about the survivors of the other royal houses that fell after WWI.  Anybody know of any such works in English?

[KarlandZita]

Sophie with her two brothers Max and Ernst

[Daniela]

After Archduke Franz Ferdinand's and Furstin Sophie's death, did Emperor Franz Joseph saw the Hohenberg children ever again?

Daniela

[KarlandZita]

After Archduke Franz Ferdinand's and Furstin Sophie's death, did Emperor Franz Joseph saw the Hohenberg children ever again?

Daniela

I believe that Franz Joseph kept any contact with them. Because, the morganatic marriage of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Chotek was always disapproved by the old emperor.

So, after their parents's death, the Hohenberg children were totally rejected and forgotten by the Hasburg family (Franz Joseph and the others...).

Archiduc Franz Ferdinand's mother-in-law, archiduchess Maria-Theresa, was the only member of the Hasburg's family to show them some affection and to protect children's interests.

And emperor Charles I of Austria kept too contact with them.

[Marie Valerie]

Franz Ferdinand von Österreich-Este (* 18th July 1863 in Graz; † 28. June 1914 in Sarajevo)

Sophie Chotek von Chotkova und Wognin ( * 1st March 1868 in Stuttgart; † 28. June 1914 in Sarajevo)

Tragic Couple, their assassination was the reason for WWI...

[Marie Valerie]

[britt.25]

It´s really a tragic story, some of the murder pictures I have not seen before. There were many tragic cases in the family, both of their sons were in KZs later, because they were againt the connection of Austria-Germany. In 1938 they had to go to Dachau, and "carried with honour all the tortures, which were done to them" (Reiffenscheid): They both survived, Max went home 1940 and his brother Ernst three years later (he changed to Buchenwald) But they remained sick and  Ernst died with only 49 years in 1954, and Max with 59 in 1962. Their graves are in Artstetten, where there are also the tombs of their parents.

It´s really tragic what happened to that family, the parents were murdered before WW1 and the children suffered terribly in WW2.