Homefront

Crown Prince Wilhelm dons the Brown Shirt ...

Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, heir to the vacant German Imperial throne, in the uniform of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK), 1933-'34. The NSKK was a division of the SA until shortly before the Rohm Purge, when it was separated out as an independent organisation within the NSDAP. The Crown Prince and his father, ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II, did not have a particularly good relationship. However, they were agreed on the desirability of the restoration of the Monarchy (even on a "figurehead" basis), and saw the Nazi-dominated German government that took office in 1933 as a possible means of achieving this. Consequently, "Little Willi" (as his British WW1 enemies called him) did much hobnobbing with Nazis in the 1933-'34 period, appearing with Hitler, Rohm and other Nazi dignitaries on a number of public occasions. Why he became a member of the NSKK in particular can probably be explained by reference to his enthusiasm for fast cars in general, for motor car racing in particular (his father had forbidden him to take part in races before WW1), and for speed boats. After the Rohm Purge, Hitler was less interested in giving the least pretence of willingness to consider restoring the Monarchy at any point; and the brutality of the Purge (which removed a number of personal friends and acquaintances) rather soured the Prince's view of Naziism. Consequently, the Crown Prince largely withdrew from his limited, ceremonial engagement with the Nazis. I am not clear as to the exact significance of the "MB" collar patch, which does not resemble standard NSKK collar patches particularly closely. The best I can make out is that it refers to the organisation's motor boat section (of which there was one), although that is little better than a guess. Perhaps someone In Here will know ? Best regards, JR.