Righteous Among the Nations - The Princess Alice of Battenberg

“You can take your troops out of my country”

The Princess Alice of Battenberg

Princess Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Maria of Battenberg was born on February 25th, 1885, at Windsor Castle, England. Her great grandmother, Queen Victoria, was present at her birth.[1] Princess Alice was the first-born child of Princess Victoria of Hesse, and prince Louis of Battenberg. At a young age, Alice was diagnosed as deaf, and with her mother’s devoted care she learned sign languages in English and German, and later Franch, and Greek.[2] 

In 1902, princess Alice met prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. On the following year in October, the couple married in Darmstadt, Germany. After their wedding, the couple resettled in Greece. Prince Andrew continued his military career, while princess Alice started to volunteer in charity organizations. The couple had five children, the youngest was prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. [3]

In October 1928, Alice joined the Orthodox Church in France, and spent most of her time volunteering with the Greek community. In 1930 she suffered a mental breakdown and was diagnosed as a schizophrenic. She was hospitalized in several institutions in Switzerland that helped her deal with her mental illness. At the same time, prince Philip, her youngest son, moved to England, and her daughters were married to German princes, one of them member of the S.S.[4]

In 1938, Alice returned to Athens on her own, where she lived in a small apartment, and continued her voluntary work.[5] During World War II, and the Great Famine in 1941-1942, conditions in Athens were rapidly getting worse. Alice worked with the Red Cross in organizing soup kitchens, and in founding shelters for orphans, while establishing a nursing system for the poor.[6]

  Smith. (2012). Heroes of the Holocaust : ordinary Britons who risked their lives to make a difference. Ebury
 

In 1943 the Nazis conquered Greece and advanced their plans to eliminate the Greek Jews as part of the ‘Final Solution’. The arrival of the Gestapo, that were responsible for deporting the Jews to the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz caused a great fear amongst the Jews in Athens. In an effort to save as many lives as possible, the orthodox Greek community helped the Jews escape Athens equipped with false identity papers, and many hid Jews in their homes.

During the Nazi invasion, Alice hid and protected the Cohen family. Haimki Cohen (the father of the family) was acquainted with the Royal family for many years. During 1943, he passed away, leaving behind his wife Rachel and their five children. Alice heard about their distress and offered them a place to hide in her home. Four of the Cohen family sons planned to escape to Egypt, so Rachel and her daughter Tilde accepted Alice’s offer of shelter. [7] [8]

The Third Reich sought the royal family's approval for a long time, so they sent German officers to princess Alice's home to find out what might be done to satisfy her. During one of the visits, when a Nazi general asked her what he could do for her, she answered: “You can take your troops out of my country”.[9] As a response to Alice’s answer, the Nazis sent Gestapo officers to monitor her actions, and even interrogated her.[10] The princess used the fact that she was deaf, and told the officers that she didn’t understand their German.[11]

In October 1944, Greece was liberated from the Nazi occupation. Nonetheless, the living conditions were still getting worse. Princess Alice continued her voluntary work with the refugees, and even searched for food during curfew hours. When she was asked if she wasn’t afraid to be hit by a gunshot, she answered that she won’t hear the shots anyway.[12]

The Cohen family stayed at princess Alice’s until the liberation. After the war, she sold part of her jewelry to establish a ministry within the ‘Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary’ church, and an orphanage in Athens.[13] In 1967, prince Philip moved his mother to Buckingham Palace, where she lived until her death in 1969. Princess Alice requested to be buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, beside her aunt.[14] Only after her death, the story of her rescue efforts, especially her kindness towards the Cohen family became known to the public.[15]

On March 11th, 1993, princess Alice of Battenberg was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. In 1994, two of her children came to Israel, among them was prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, to plant a tree in Yad Vashem.[16]

 .Royal Support for the Wiener Library. The Wiener Library Newsletter. Vol. 3 NOS.1 & 2. Winter 1987/88