WEBVTT

00:00:00.660 --> 00:00:02.620
after the start of world war one crown prince

00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:04.320
adolf hitler the hohenzollern was conscripted

00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:06.019
to the german army when he was in his mid -20s

00:00:06.019 --> 00:00:08.619
he received a short letter in the mail by courier

00:00:08.619 --> 00:00:11.339
it said dear crown prince adolf hitler the hohenzollern

00:00:11.339 --> 00:00:13.580
we are writing to inform you officially that

00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:15.039
you have been conscripted to the german military

00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:18.500
your participation is compulsory please report

00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:21.839
for basic training with the german army etc they

00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.420
gave him 72 hours approximately to make his first

00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:26.239
contact with the german army conscription office

00:00:27.210 --> 00:00:29.089
Under German law, he had the right to dispute

00:00:29.089 --> 00:00:31.589
the conscription for obvious reasons. National

00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:33.229
constitutional monarchy duties being the main

00:00:33.229 --> 00:00:35.329
one he could have used. With the fact he was

00:00:35.329 --> 00:00:37.109
the only possible next monarch, with no eligible

00:00:37.109 --> 00:00:39.549
children. Adolf was the end of the Hohenzollern

00:00:39.549 --> 00:00:42.030
royal family line at the time. My Hohenzollern

00:00:42.030 --> 00:00:43.789
royal family had a history of military participation

00:00:43.789 --> 00:00:47.009
in some ways. So, he let Kaiser Wilhelm II know,

00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:49.409
who started crying. Packed his bags and went

00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:51.909
to join the army. Contrary to popular rumor at

00:00:51.909 --> 00:00:53.549
the time, he was not trying to commit service

00:00:53.549 --> 00:00:55.770
suicide, including for being homosexual, by attending

00:00:55.770 --> 00:00:58.329
for basic training. The protest to his conscription

00:00:58.329 --> 00:01:00.170
may not have been successful, but was never submitted.

00:01:01.090 --> 00:01:03.049
He ended up having a reasonable time at basic

00:01:03.049 --> 00:01:04.849
training, fully aware he was going into combat.

00:01:05.349 --> 00:01:07.450
He met a few close friends in the military, including

00:01:07.450 --> 00:01:10.290
a part French web, or three, related to me. Crown

00:01:10.290 --> 00:01:11.989
Prince Adolf served in the German army in the

00:01:11.989 --> 00:01:13.569
trenches on the Western Front during World War

00:01:13.569 --> 00:01:15.469
I, and was highly respected, but not comfortable

00:01:15.469 --> 00:01:17.930
with any form of promotion offered. The German

00:01:17.930 --> 00:01:19.689
army was very blunt, and regretted everything

00:01:19.689 --> 00:01:22.469
afterwards. Crown Prince Adolf Xtreme left, and

00:01:22.469 --> 00:01:25.500
circled. Crown Prince Adolf ended up being seriously

00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:27.219
wounded on the Western Front during full trench

00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:29.439
warfare. And I mean the fully gruesome type.

00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:32.359
It is one of those things in history. Germans

00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:33.900
have never officially fought against Australians

00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:35.980
in a wartime combat scenario and it annoys some

00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:38.379
of them. When the word Anzac was mentioned in

00:01:38.379 --> 00:01:40.200
relation to combat against German troops, only

00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.760
New Zealanders were in those battles. No Australians.

00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:45.299
Rumors that the German troops could hear familiar

00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:47.480
Australian accents when all was quiet but never

00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:50.680
fought any Australians are true. I will not try

00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:52.640
to explain how heroic Crown Prince Adolf was

00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:54.400
along with his closest friends during World War

00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.120
I. But he was good for the term heroic as far

00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:59.540
as that sort of thing goes in context. Crown

00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:01.500
Prince Adolf was involved in from trench reconnaissance

00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:03.219
rescue missions in the trench network involving

00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:05.319
a large number of attempts to assist other personnel

00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:06.939
who had been wounded but couldn't make it back

00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:09.379
to safe ground. It was very risky and he was

00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:12.500
very successful at it. His uncle and second predecessor

00:02:12.500 --> 00:02:14.319
Kaiser Frederick Hohenzollern IV died during

00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:16.740
1916 in Gippsland whilst Crown Prince Adolf was

00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:19.240
in combat on the Western Front. Adolf was likely

00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:22.360
not informed of it directly at all. Shortly afterwards,

00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:24.460
Crown Prince Adolf was extremely seriously wounded

00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:26.120
with a rudimentary machine gun during a rescue

00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:28.319
mission. The precursor to the modern automated

00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:30.280
version, it fired slender bullets akin to thick

00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:31.939
nails in short bursts at the intended target.

00:02:32.419 --> 00:02:34.659
He was very seriously wounded in the torso, lungs,

00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:36.860
hip, and upper quadricep on one side of his body

00:02:36.860 --> 00:02:38.500
with a short and brutal burst of machine gun

00:02:38.500 --> 00:02:40.919
fire. It was sprayed at him from an angle, with

00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:42.659
most of the bullets missing to his left or right,

00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:44.360
including some that left scarring marks as they

00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:46.830
passed him, but did not impact him. He was hit

00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:48.569
four times, twice through the exact same part

00:02:48.569 --> 00:02:51.069
of his body. Crown Prince Adolf had a well -worn

00:02:51.069 --> 00:02:52.650
and used rope around his waist that led back

00:02:52.650 --> 00:02:54.289
to a wounded friend in a trench, tied around

00:02:54.289 --> 00:02:56.810
his waist as well. A large man with curly hair

00:02:56.810 --> 00:02:58.389
when it grew, particularly at the front, who

00:02:58.389 --> 00:02:59.830
was sitting on padding -like mattresses that

00:02:59.830 --> 00:03:01.349
lined the floor and wall of the trench at the

00:03:01.349 --> 00:03:03.310
base in case anyone wanted to suddenly drop in.

00:03:03.789 --> 00:03:05.530
The rope could not be seen as it was covered

00:03:05.530 --> 00:03:06.830
in the muck and debris on the ground outside

00:03:06.830 --> 00:03:10.060
the trench as if camouflaged. Crown Prince Adolf

00:03:10.060 --> 00:03:11.979
was lying face down, holding a metal object he

00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:13.479
needed tightly in his hand, breathing through

00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:15.259
a bullet hole in his lung, also wounded in the

00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:17.479
hip and upper quad. He laid there for a prolonged

00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:19.620
period in excruciating pain, unable to move.

00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:21.979
He was approached by a small bunch of men who

00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:23.620
had a quick look at him and thought he was dead

00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:26.199
or was certain to die. They had a short conversation

00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:28.120
in a language he didn't understand whilst he

00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:30.400
laid there as still as possible. They decided

00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:32.300
he was dead or soon would be and very gently

00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:34.060
stole his boots off his feet, slipping them off

00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:36.580
quietly and walking away with them. they decided

00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:38.460
not to do a kill shot and left him there as they

00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:41.120
found him without boots when all was quiet again

00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:42.960
he felt a tugging motion on the rope around his

00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.219
waist and tried to get back to the trench it

00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:46.919
was an excruciating brutal process of working

00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:49.219
backwards feet first using his arms with punctured

00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:51.000
lungs over the debris on the field in between

00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:52.900
barbed wire and wooden obstacles following the

00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:55.219
tugging on the rope when he made progress he

00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:56.740
tugged on the rope and waited for a tug on it

00:03:56.740 --> 00:03:59.620
back he inched his way backwards over an excruciatingly

00:03:59.620 --> 00:04:01.360
long time frame until his feet went over the

00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:03.740
edge then he tipped over and fell down onto the

00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:05.340
mattresses lining the bottom of the trench with

00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:07.580
a bizarrely soft landing when he got himself

00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:09.400
upright on his back and sat up a little the friend

00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:11.280
next to him turned and said where have you been

00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:14.659
to be blunt that man looked like me it happens

00:04:14.659 --> 00:04:17.220
a lot and isn't all that weird webs and other

00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:18.839
related to me were around him constantly all

00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:21.639
his life and he was born in gippsland when they

00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:23.959
were found they were both seriously wounded they

00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:26.180
were evacuated to a nearby triage emergency area

00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:27.720
where they both had to have emergency on the

00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:30.079
spot surgery A surgeon that performed emergency

00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:31.920
surgery on Crown Prince Adolf had to literally

00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:34.100
push his arm inside Adolf, grab his heart, and

00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:35.620
squeeze it with his hand to keep it pumping due

00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:37.279
to loss of blood whilst performing the surgery.

00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:39.839
They were both then further evacuated to a field

00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:42.480
hospital for more surgery. Crown Prince Adolf

00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:44.040
and his friend were then eventually returned

00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:46.579
to inner Germany to a recovery hospital. After

00:04:46.579 --> 00:04:48.319
the physical process to get Crown Prince Adolf

00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:50.220
back towards good health was completed over months,

00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:52.079
enough for him to move more freely, they transferred

00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:53.980
him to one of those post -traumatic stress disorder

00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:56.019
recovery hospitals full of men wounded in similar

00:04:56.019 --> 00:04:58.399
ways. He was one of the early victims of what

00:04:58.399 --> 00:04:59.959
was to become the machine gun, one of the early

00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:02.199
casualties of the new weapon. He was bedridden,

00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:05.120
couldn't get up, and couldn't talk. The German

00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:07.060
army awarded him two combat German Iron Cross

00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:09.240
and looked horrified when they did. He could

00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:10.720
barely stand up because of the wounds to his

00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.079
side. They pinned them on his chest, patted him

00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:14.680
on the shoulder, did the full ceremony in front

00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:16.560
of the other patients and apologized profusely

00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:18.319
repeatedly that the medals only had Crown Prince

00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:20.180
Adolf Hitler engraved on them because there wasn't

00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:22.480
enough room to add the Hohenzollern. The highest

00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:24.079
ranked German army man there for the presentation

00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:26.670
started crying and walked away. crown prince

00:05:26.670 --> 00:05:29.089
adolf was sat down he was given a photograph

00:05:29.089 --> 00:05:30.970
frame like stand to hang the medals from so he

00:05:30.970 --> 00:05:32.410
could put them on the side drawers next to his

00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:33.850
bed and they carefully placed them there for

00:05:33.850 --> 00:05:36.209
him crown prince adolf hitler the hohenzollern

00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:38.290
was then dismissed or discharged on medical grounds

00:05:38.290 --> 00:05:39.990
from the german military and awarded the medical

00:05:39.990 --> 00:05:42.589
discharge iron cross he was told he could provide

00:05:42.589 --> 00:05:44.250
it as proof he never had to serve in the military

00:05:44.250 --> 00:05:47.350
again he was a complete wreck mentally he could

00:05:47.350 --> 00:05:49.350
barely say more than a few words at a time stuttered

00:05:49.350 --> 00:05:51.050
and could suddenly lose concentration and just

00:05:51.050 --> 00:05:53.730
stare without blinking panting very slowly eyes

00:05:53.730 --> 00:05:56.100
wide shut is the expression What happened to

00:05:56.100 --> 00:05:57.800
him was on the extreme end of excruciatingly

00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.600
painful. He spent well over a year in the trauma

00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:02.480
recovery hospital and was unresponsive to any

00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:04.980
visitors, regardless of who they were. He wouldn't

00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:07.160
have remembered them well. He gradually recovered

00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:08.639
to the point where he could hold a conversation

00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:11.300
for five to ten minutes at a time. Any longer

00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:12.879
and he would phase out and go back to a blurry

00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.319
stare, then forget the whole conversation. He

00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:17.100
had daily physiotherapy on his wounded side to

00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:18.699
help him stand on his own and eventually learn

00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:21.160
to walk again. Crown Prince Adolf swore off the

00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:22.899
military, he did not want to be directly involved

00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:25.800
in any way. he eventually recovered enough to

00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:28.019
go on what was called outings to try to reintegrate

00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:30.620
him into a future daily peacetime life they were

00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:33.040
not planned well and he was soon reassessed when

00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:34.540
he had recovered enough to tolerate 10 -minute

00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:36.240
conversations they let him leave the hospital

00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:37.939
occasionally telling him he could come back if

00:06:37.939 --> 00:06:40.360
he needed more rest he stated he thought he needed

00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:42.100
more time in recovery and he could barely walk

00:06:42.100 --> 00:06:43.259
with the assistance of walking aids
