Georg , Crown Prince of Saxony Georg , Crown Prince of Saxony , ( " commonly called Crown Prince George " ) , ( 15 January 1893 – 14 May 1943 ) the last Crown Prince of Saxony , was the heir to the King of Saxony , Frederick Augustus III , at the time of the monarchy ' s abolition on 13 November 1918 . He later became a Roman Catholic priest and a Jesuit . Life . Family . The prince was born on 15 January 1893 in Dresden , Saxony , Germany . He was the son of Prince Frederick Augustus , the later King Frederick Augustus III and his wife , Louise , née Archduchess Louise of Austria - Tuscany . His siblings were the Princes Friedrich Christian and Ernst Heinrich and the Princesses Margarete , Maria Alix and Anna Monika Youth and education . After his parents divorced in 1902 , his father took sole parental responsibility for his children . He emphasized the Christian faith and a Catholic lifestyle . The children were educated by private tutors in a " prince ' s school " established by their father at the Saxon court . Most of the teachers were Protestants ; this contributed to his later ecumenical attitude . Georg became Crown Prince at age eleven , when his father acceded to the throne in 1904 . After graduating from high school in 1912 , Georg studied political sciences for three months at the University of Breslau . He then began to study economics . During this time , he joined the " KDSt . V . Winfridia " . First World War . After completing his studies in 1912 , Georg joined the 1st Royal Saxon Lieb - Grenadier Regiment No . 100 . His friend and fellow officer Ludwig Renn also served in that regiment ; at the time , Ludwig still used his birth name " Arnold Friedrich Vieth von Golßenau " . Georg held the rank of Captain when he was sent to the front at the start of World War I . He suffered a serious leg injury during the first months of the war . In 1915 , Kaiser Wilhelm II granted him the Iron Cross first class " in recognition of the services he rendered in the recent battles . " . On 27 July 1916 , he was added to the staff of army group Gallwitz . On 30 August 1916 , he received the Military Order of St . Henry for his services in this staff . On 30 November 1917 , he was promoted to major and made commander of the 5th Royal Saxon Infantry Regiment " Crown Prince " No . 104 . He commanded this regiment on both the Eastern and the Western Front . He held this command until 22 May 1918 . Engaged to be married . In the spring of 1918 , newspapers announced the prince ' s engagement to Duchess Marie Amelia , daughter of Albrecht , Duke of Württemberg , the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Württemberg . The end of the Saxon monarchy and the prince ' s desire to become a priest apparently led to the end of the engagement . The duchess died unmarried in 1923 . Jesuit priest . When Germany lost the war , the monarchies in Germany collapsed . Georg ' s father on 13 November 1918 . This marked a fundamental turning point in his career planning . In 1919 , he decided to renounce his rights on the Saxon throne , and become a Catholic priest instead . This decision was very controversial among people who hopen that the monarchy might one day be restored , and also met with significant concerns from the side of the Catholic Church . For example , Franz Löbman , the Apostolic Vicar for Saxony and Lusatia , and Archbishop Adolf Bertram of Breslau initially held that Georg should continue to hold political responsibility for Saxony . Nevertheless , Georg entered the Franciscan Order . After his ordination , the prince was generally known as " Vater Georg " ( Father George ) and used the last name " von Sachsen . " Finding the Franciscan life too intellectually limiting , Georg soon applied to transfer to the Jesuits instead . In the winter semester 1919 / 20 , he studied philosophy at the University of Tübingen . During this period , he joined the " A . V . " Guestfalia Tübingen " . In the next semester , he studied at the University of Breslau . In the winter semester 1920 / 21 , he began studying theology at the University of Freiburg . He joined the KDSt . V . " Hohenstaufen " and Saxo - Thuringia . He completed this study in 1923 . In the same year , he formally renounced his rights to the Saxon throne and became a Jesuit priest . He worked in Berlin where he was credited with protecting Jews from the Nazi regime in notable contrast to his pro - Nazi brothers - in - law , Prince Frederich of Hohenzollern and Prince Franz Joseph of Hohenzolllern - Emden . He was ordained as priest in Trzebnica on 15 July 1924 by Bishop Christian Schreiber of Meissen . The next day , he celebrated his first mass at the royal palace in Szczodre ( . His uncle Maximilian gave homily during this service . After his ordination , Georg worked as an auxilliary priest in his native Diocese of Meissen . He then continued his studies at the Jesuit Collegium Canisianum in Innsbruck . In the fall of 1925 , he joined the Upper German province of the Society of Jesus , however , in 1927 , he switched to the East German province , which included his native Saxony . From 1928 to 1930 , he studied at a Jesuit college in Valkenburg . From 1933 , he did pastoral work in Berlin . He helped building the Jesuit residence " Canisius College " with the Catholic " Gymnasium at Lietzensee " . He took his final vows in Berlin in 1936 . He gave lectures and spiritual exercises all over Germany . In his lectures , he promoted ecumenism and in particular the movement . Among his friends were spiritual leaders of different religions . Opponent of Nazism . During one of his many lectures , he said in Meissen in 1929 , referring to the increasing antisemitic agitation by some right - wing parties : " Love is the order of the day in the relationship between Catholics and Protestant , and also to our Jewish fellow citizens " . So he opposed Nazism from the beginning . He was unbearable for him that the Nazi Party and after 1933 the state vilified and sought to destroy core values that were important to him personally — monarchical and dynastic Saxon traditions and fundamental values of Western Christianity . He felt that his family honor was offended and his work as a pastor was significantly impeded . As crictic of the regime and a member of the former Saxon royal family , but in particular as a Catholic priest and a member of the Jesuit order , he was seen as highly suspect by the Nazi regime . He was shadowed by the Gestapo because he helped Jews leaving the country and he helped opposition politician hiding for the regime . Sometimes , he had to go into hiding himself , and the police searched his home several times . He knew some of the people who later attempted the failed 20 July plot , in particular Ulrich von Hassell and general Paul von Hase . It is not clear whether he actually participated in the resistance . Death . The former prince died on 14 May 1943 apparently while swimming in the Groß Glienicke Lake in Berlin , Germany . Georg ' s diary was found on the lakeshore with a final Latin entry reading , which is the Latin version of a phrase Jesus frequently spoke to his disciples in the Gospel of John and means " I go to the Father " or " I go to my Father . " His body was found several weeks after his death . Some people , including his brother Ernst Heinrich expressed doubts that his death had been an accident . Nevertheless , the autopsy determined that he died after suffering a heart attack . He was buried in the Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony , today known as the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity , in Dresden on 16 June 1943 . His grave was disturbed by Russian soldiers in 1945 and later by the floods of August 2002 . Works . " Prinz Georg , 15 . Januar 1893 – 1943 " , type - written memoirs