Princess Maria Karoline of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

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Princess Maria Karoline of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Maria Karoline Philomena Ignatia Pauline Josepha Michaela Gabriela Raphaela Gonzaga Prinzessin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha; 10 January 1899 – 6 June 1941) was a German princess from the Brazilian branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. She was killed at the Hartheim killing centre as part of the Nazi Aktion T4 program.[1][2]

Early life and family

Princess Maria Karoline was born on 10 January 1899 in Pula, Austria-Hungary (modern day Croatia), a popular vacation site for the Austro-Hungarian imperial and royal family. She was the second daughter of Prince August Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria. She was a great-granddaughter of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and a fourth cousin of King George VI of the United Kingdom. Her family formed what was known as the Brazilian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry.[3]

After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires, the family was able to retain some of their wealth thanks to the Koháry estates. They resided throughout Hungary and in Schladming, Austria.[4]

Hartheim

Maria Karoline had learning difficulties. In 1938, her family placed her in a religious institution.[5] In 1941, she was forcibly removed from the institution by the Nazis and taken to the killing centre at Hartheim Castle where she was killed as part of the Aktion T4 program.[6][7]

There are questions about whether her relatives, including her brother Prince Rainer of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and head of the family, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, did anything to protect her.[8] Charles Edward did not intervene because "he had not been concerned that anything would happen to her". He received a letter of condolence claiming that she had died of natural causes, which he did not believe. Unusually for a man who rarely missed family events, he did not attend the funeral.[9]

Her ashes were returned to her family and interred in the crypt of St Augustine's Church in Coburg.[10]

References

  1. 1.Defrance and van Loon p. 5
  2. 2.Rushton p. 115
  3. 3.Defrance and van Loon p. 4
  4. 4.Defrance and van Loon p. 7
  5. 5.Rushton p. 114
  6. 6.Defrance and van Loon p. 5
  7. 7.Rushton p. 115
  8. 8.Rushton p. 112-115
  9. 9.Rushton p.112-115
  10. 10.Sandner, Harald (2001). Das Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha 1826 bis 2001. Eine Dokumentation zum 175-jährigen Jubiläum des Stammhauses in Wort und Bild. Coburg: Verlagsanstalt Neue Presse. pp. 317–320. ISBN 3-00-008525-4.