Prince Maximilian of Baden

Prince Maximilian was born in Baden-Baden on 10 July 1867 as a member of the House of Zähringen. He was a grandson of Grand Duke Leopold of Baden and a cousin of Emperor Napoleon III. He received a humanistic education at a Gymnasium and studied law and cameralism at the Leipzig University. He served in the Prussian army and became a general during World War I. He was appointed as the chancellor of Germany and the minister-president of Prussia on 3 October 1918 by Emperor Wilhelm II, who hoped that his humanitarian reputation would help to end the war. Prince Maximilian tried to negotiate peace with the Allies based on U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and introduced reforms to transform the government into a parliamentary system. He also supported the creation of an independent Polish state and advocated for the rights of ethnic minorities in Germany. However, his efforts were hampered by the military leaders, who refused to admit defeat and continued to launch offensives against the enemy. As the German Revolution of 1918–1919 spread, Prince Maximilian realized that he had lost control of the situation and decided to resign. On 9 November 1918, he handed over the office of chancellor to SPD Chairman Friedrich Ebert and announced the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II without his consent. Both events marked the end of the German Empire and the beginning of the Weimar Republic. After his resignation, Prince Maximilian retired from public life and devoted himself to his family and his estate in Salem. He died of a heart attack on 6 November 1929 at the age of 62. He was buried in Schloss Salem, where his widow and children also lived. He was succeeded as the head of the House of Baden by his son Berthold, who later married Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, a sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.