In this edition of Knyzka Corner: Timothy Snyder’s The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke.
Who can resist a romantic Hapsburg hero who openly embraces the cause of Ukrainian nationalism in the early 20th century?
Wilhelm von Habsburg was such a man.
As the son of Archduke Stefan and Archduchess Maria Theresia, Wilhelm led a very privileged life along with his five brothers and sisters. Wilhelm’s parents had castles on a peninsula called Istria on the Adriatic Sea and in Poland. His father believed that Poland would eventually become a separate entity and would need a Habsburg king. He hoped to be that king!
Wilhelm became interested in the idea of a Ukrainian state during his time at military school in Moravia. Perhaps he could eventually rule Ukraine for the Hapsburg monarchy.
Readers will be surprised by Wilhelm’s role as a promoter of the Ukrainian nation at a time when such a concept was considered remote at best. It is truly fitting that Snyder concludes his book with an examination of the independent Ukraine which Wilhelm helped to build.
Read the full transcript here.
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