Karel VI Schwarzenberg

Karel VI Schwarzenberg, 6th prince of Schwarzenberg (5 July 1911 – 9 April 1986) was a Czech aristocrat, politician, writer and resistance fighter during World War II.

In the 1930s, the Catholic conservative and nationalist convictions of Schwarzenberg led him to play a leading role in the fascist movement Vlajka where he promoted monarchism mixed with fascism. The party failed to gain much support and by 1936 had about 5,000 members. Gradually, thanks to the Munich crisis, Karel completely renounced his earlier anti-Semitic and fascist beliefs and became a lifelong supporter committed of a Jewish state in Palestine but he was still a great supporter of monarchism. He also owned many properties in South Bohemia such Orlík Castle and Čimelice. He was popular among the poor people, but he had enemies in the ranks of the Czechoslovak government and also the German elites of Nazi Germany because of his pro-Czech and anti-Nazi policy.

As a very educated person, he mastered Czech as his main language, as well as Latin, Greek, English, German and a little Russian and French.

His son Karel Schwarzenberg was influential politician in post-communist Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.