Nützliche Idioten. Die Hohenzollern und Hitler

Abstract

Hitler needed the support of the Hohenzollern family (the former German ruling house) on a national and an international level. While the national level has been researched in more detail, we do not have much information about the international. The article shows which foreign connections the Hohenzollern had and why they made them available to Hitler. The papers of three Americans offer us new insights: Poultney Bigelow (1855-1954), Henry Ford (1863-1947) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945). The private correspondence helps us understand the mindset of key members of the Hohenzollern family: Resumption of the throne was a decisive driving force for the Hohenzollern family and they therefore hoped to copy Mussolini's arrangement with the Italian monarchy. But the Hohenzollern were not just opportunists. They also shared many beliefs with the National Socialists: anti-Semitism, anti-parliamentarism and anti-communism. They also greatly admired Hitler’s wars of conquest. For the National Socialists, in turn, the Hohenzollerns' eagerness to support them was a very welcome propaganda gift. They saw the family as useful idiots, who helped them into power.