A Germany prince had plans to overthrow the government via a violent coup. His plans were to free the country from the tyranny of the deep state.
Heinrich XIII who according to German prosecutors is a self-styled prince of Reuss was arrested along with 24 others from the far-right. The group were arrested on Wednesday as part of counter-terrorism operations in German history.
According to prosecutors, there is a terrorist group that had access to weapons and training. The group had already recruited members from the police and the armed forces. The terror group also had detailed plans on how to have in place a new government.
The terrorist group is alleged to be part of the Reichsburger or Reich Citizens. This group does not accept the legitimacy of the German State after Kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down in 1918.
Heinrich was to be installed as the new head of state if their coup plans had succeeded.
According to photographs shared online, Heinrich was led away in handcuffs by security agencies.
Germany has been a republic for over a century now and it is one of the most powerful democracies in Europe. There are no recognized kings and princes but just as is the case with many monarchies across Europe, some families with hereditary titles prefer to use them.
Heinrich XIII, 71, is a member of the House of Reuss. This is a royal lineage that ruled parts of what is now known as Thuringia located in central German for centuries until 1918. This is now one of the federal states of German.
German had many royal families many of whom have relatives across Europe including in the British royal family.
The royal families in Germany dates back to 12th century. All male heirs to the throne are all named Heinrich followed by a number. This is respect of Heinrich VI who ruled as King of Germany and was Holy Roman Empereor until his death in 1197.
Heinrich was arrested in Frankfurt on Wednesday. According to a local newspaper, Ostthüringer Zeitung, the police also conducted a search on his hunting lodge located near the town of Bad Lobenstein in Thuringia. This lodge was built in 19th Century for Heinrich LXXII.
According to reports, the House of Reuss is not pleased with Henrich for his actions. Heinrich XIV who is a distant relative and serves as the spokesman of the royal family told media that he was shocked by the recent news and that he has not spoken to Heinrich XIII for more than 10 years.
“Of course it rubs off catastrophically on the family,” he said. “I believe we’ve been a tolerant, cosmopolitan dynasty for 850 years in eastern Thuringia, and now we are all around the world, all the way to America, [we’re] ‘terrorists’ and ‘reactionaries’ — it’s really horrible.”
He was hoping to gain enough support to overthrow the Berlin government. The house of Reuss has already disowned Heinrich XIII. Heinrich XIV has described him as a confused old man.
The German government hopes to make more arrests in the coming days. They say this is not the first-time people are forcing a return into the imperial past.
In 1920 there was a coup also known as the Kapp Putsch which tried to overthrow the government in Berlin. Some 100 years later, the dream is still alive among the right-wing conspiracists in Germany.
“If something wasn’t going well, you just went to the Prince,” he said.
“Who are you supposed to turn to today? Your parliamentarian, the local, federal or E.U. level? Good luck!”
“Ever since Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, it has never been sovereign again. It was made into an administrative structure of the Allies … a vassal state,” He added.
Adolf Hitler also attempted to overthrow the then government. He was arrested and jailed for five years in prison for the role he played in Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. He served for nine months and used his time in jail to write his manifesto titled “Mein Kampf.
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