Austria
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Otto von Habsburg
Reichenau an der Rax, Austria
Archival Overview
The last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary who renounced his claim to the imperial throne, fiercely opposed Hitler, and served as a Member of the European Parliament for two decades, co-organizing the 1989 Pan-European Picnic.
Biographical Record
Archduke Otto of Austria was the eldest son of Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Following the collapse of the monarchy in 1918, he lived in exile. In the 1930s, he fiercely resisted the Nazi Anschluss of Austria, prompting Hitler to issue a personal arrest order against him.
Habsburg spent his adult life promoting a united, democratic Europe, serving as President of the International Paneuropean Union and a Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1999. In August 1989, he co-organized the historic Pan-European Picnic on the Austro-Hungarian border, where hundreds of East Germans broke through the Iron Curtain, precipitating the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Key Life Milestones
Elected to European Parliament
Elected to the first direct European Parliament elections representing Bavaria, serving with distinction for twenty years.
The Pan-European Picnic
Initiated and patronized the border picnic that triggered the first mass breach in the Iron Curtain.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialVienna, Austria