HOW EX-KAISER LIVES AT DOORN

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 154, 25 March 1939, Page 6 (Supplement)

HOW EX-KAISER LIVES AT DOORN

Now 21 Years Since He Gave Up His Sword

It is now 21 years since the Kaiser arrived, a fugitive, in Holland at Eysden, the little Belgian-Dutch frontier station, handing his sword to the first soldier (he met with the words: “I am the German Emperor.”

These years of exile have calmed down the exuberance of his temperament and left him a calm and dignified observer and onlooker at the great drama of history in which he has ceased to be an actor, writes Helga Lindhorst in the Johannesburg “Star.” But though the Kaiser has given up his rights as a monarch, he is and will always remain “His Imperial Majesty to his large family and his small court at Doorn. All visitors and local residents address him that way and his notepaper, silver and linen have the Imperial arms inscribed on them. The Emperor’s health is excellent. His hair and beard are white now, but he carries himself erect and proudly, walks with a firm step, and his calm look and peaceful countenance are proof of the serenity of his mind. The Princess Hermine is now. 51 years old. Her marriage to the Kaiser took place in November, 1922, after the death of the Kaiserin Augusta in April, 1921. The union proved to be a very happy one and the calm and even temperament of his consort has had a soothing influence on the Kaiser, who once remarked to a friend: “Her love saved my reason, if not my life 1” They understand each other perfectly and have many interests in common. Princess Hermine is a highly cultured woman, widely read, and she and the Emperor keep in touch with all movements in the intellectual field of human endeavour.

Life in Doorn House is far from being monotonous. The family are hardly ever alone. Visitors are very numerous. All the members of the Kaiser’s and Princess Hermine’s family call constantly, many of the former rulers of German Principalities come to pay their respects, men of letters, painters, musicians, distinguished statesmen, theologians find their way to Doorn and stay there a few days or even a few weeks, and keep the Royal exile in touch with all that is going, on in the outside world. All the gentlemen attendants who stay with the Emperor, do so of their own free will and very few of them accept remuneration for their services. They take it in. turn to stay for a few months at Doorn. The Kaiser’s favourite studies are economics, world politics and archaelogy. His interest in the .last-named subject is as vivid and lively now as it was at the time when Schlieman and Dorpfeld excavated the ruins of Troy, a task in which they were greatly encouraged by William 11. The Royal exile is not any longer restricted in his movements. He can travel where he likes, but does not wish to go to Germany; he wishes onlv to find a last resting-place one day in his old, beloved home at the side of his first wife, the Empress Augusta, on whose grave a fresh

wreath is laid down in the Emperors name every day. The Kaiser’s immense wealth dwindled more and more with the fall of the mark, and many of his enormous estates, which would have kept their value in land and forest properties, 'were confiscated during the Revolution. Later on a settlement was made by Hitler which assured the Emperor and his family an income according to their former rank, but strict economy has to be exercised, for the expenses, the upkeep of the estates and royal castles are great.. The Kaiser always sends flowers and small gifts to the sick and aged among his servants. When films are shown, as is often the case, or an artist gives a concert, etc., everyone down to the simplest scullery maid is invited, and all the inmates of Doorn sit in the same room to listen. The Royal household and . their guests were delighted with the NeagleWilcox film, depicting the life of the Emperor’s grandparents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, which was shown recently. The Kaiser sent a letter to the producers to tell them what great pleasure it had given him. The Emperor’s days are always strictly and methodically planned. He rises early and takes a long walk, generally accompanied by some of his guests. At 9 o’clock the whole household unites in religious service, conducted by the Emperor. After breakfast, which the Imperial couple always take in private, the Kaiser works in the garden for three hours to keep physically fit. Almost all the plants were given by friends and admirers, many of them American, and each plant bears a label inscribed with the name of the donor; the Emperor himself planted more than 1000 trees, which are now tall and beautiful. After a sandwich and a glass of port he reads many German, English and French newspapers, and attends to his extensive correspondence. Lunch and dinner are always very simple meals, after which the family and-guests withdraw to the comfortable smoking-room, which is dedicated to Frederick the Great and contains many interesting souvenirs of him. The afternoon is spent by the Kaiser in study, the writing of his own books and reading. There is hardly a work of literary or scientific interest that does not find its way to Doorn, to be read and discussed by the Royal couple and their friends. In the evenings the Emperor reads aloud a digest of the daily news in the different papers written by himself. These digests are numbered and filed daily in the archives. The Kaiser also keeps a diary, which ought to be of historical interest in the future. So the Emperor spends the evening of his once so turbulent life in the calmness of this haven. ' His days pass by in peaceful contemplation, and only the fringes of the waves that stir the passions of the outside world readh his quiet home at Doorn.