SOPOT - Hohenzollerns. 3 photos in the form of postcards: 1) photo of the eldest sons of Wilhelm II on the beach in Sopot - Wilhelm and Ludwig Ferdinand; 2) photo on the beach of four children, including two younger ones: Hubert and Frederick; 3) photo of Wilhelm's villa in Sopot from the publication of Klara Gonschorowska. St. bdb. VERY RARE.
Wilhelm II, also known as "The Last", was to be succeeded on the throne of Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia by his eldest son, also Wilhelm (1882-1951). However, the reign of Wilhelm III did not take place - Germany's defeat in World War I thwarted these plans. Wilhelm, as Kronprinz (i.e., heir to the throne), received preparations intended for his future function. Among them was the command of a military unit at the regimental level. The choice fell on the 1st regiment of the Hussar advance guard in Danzig. He took his entire family and settled in Sopot at Hauptstrasse 98 (today Grunwaldzka Avenue 114; Kronprinz's villa has not survived). By then he had four children with the Princess of Mecklenburg: Wilhelm (1906-1940), Ludwig Ferdinand (1907-1994), Hubert (1909-1950), and Frederick (1911-1966). Kronprinz's favorite place for children to play was the beach in Sopot. A well-known Danzig photographer A. G. E. Gottheil (1867-1943), then owner of Gottheil & Sohn, which had been in existence since 1890, had his branch at Seestrasse (today Bohaterów Monte Cassino). It fell to him to photograph Wilhelm's family.
