Lieutenant Commander Franz Joseph Prince of Hohenzollern - Emden

Friedrich Viktor Prinz von Hohenzollern (1891–1965). Im März 1911 trat Prinz von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in die Kaiserliche Marine ein und kam am 1. Dezember 1913 in Shanghai als Fähnrich zur See auf den Kleinen Kreuzer SMS Emden. Bei Kriegsbeginn war er Zweiter Torpedooffizier und wurde kurz darauf zum Leutnant zur See befördert. Vom 10. November 1914 bis zum 6. Dezember 1919 befand er sich in britischer Gefangenschaft auf Malta. Am 28. Februar 1920 wurde Prinz von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen aus der Reichsmarine verabschiedet.

In 1933 he applied for the additional name Emden and was henceforth called Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden. In 1933 he joined the SS and on April 1, 1936 he became a member of the NSDAP (membership number 276,691).

From September 1940 to May 1941, Franz Joseph commanded the Marine Flak Abteilung 214 in Cuxhaven. In June 1944, he was released from active military service. In November 1944, he was expelled from the SS along with other upper-class Nazis, whose devotion became suspect in light of Germany's now almost certain defeat. In a letter to Heinrich Himmler dated January 3, 1945, Franz Joseph expressed his continued devotion to the Nazi cause and unsuccessfully asked to be reinstated in the SS. He died on April 3, 1964 in Tübingen and was buried in the crypt of the Church of the Redeemer (Hedingerkirche) in Sigmaringen.Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph,_Prince_of_Hohenzollern-Emden