[citation needed] Unhappy and disillusioned with the state of Germany after World War I, Friedrich Christian turned to the Nazi Party as a solution for the country's ills.

[2] Under the Weimar regime, many of these same princes "abandoned ancient principles of honor and fidelity and accommodated themselves to the egotistical, materialist values of the despised" new government, to Friedrich Christian's further disgust and anger.

"[3] By the mid-1920s, Friedrich Christian was fundamentally convinced that those who still treasured the old values of the nobility needed to break down the ancient barriers separating them from the common people, reach out to the masses, and side with the Nazis and their message.

[8] Like Friedrich and his brother Prince Wolrad, Hitler appointed many of these new members to the Sturmabteilung as stormtroopers, as he wanted the organization to bring together individuals from all levels of society.

[10] As a result, Hitler made various assurances to its new and prospective members, stating the movement had room for republicans and monarchists alike and leading them to believe he intended to restore the monarchy.

[12] In 1938, the prince was sent to Sweden to drum up support for the German government; as is evident from photographs and diaries during that time, Hitler and Goebbels both held Friedrich Christian in high esteem.

[2] As World War II continued with German military defeats, Hitler became increasingly more suspicious of these high-ranking and cosmopolitan members of royal and noble families, questioning their loyalties.

[13] By 1943 he secretly ordered all branches of the Nazi bureaucracies to compile a record of members with "international contacts" (often by way of a spouse), and then personally made the decision as to whether they should be "retired" or allowed to stay.

[15] Goebbels attempted to protect Friedrich Christian from these new demands by trying to obtain a special waiver; Hitler's secretary had doubts about the prince however and refused the request.

[14] Although he was from one of Germany's wealthiest noble families and resided in a villa near Bonn with several servants, Friedrich Christian associated himself with the left wing of the Nazi party, stressing socialist elements in his speeches and writings.

In his 1952 autobiography, Zwischen Krone und Kerker, the prince recalled that Goebbels had reacted favorably to the idea, but Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop did not.

[2] Consequently, like his distant cousin and fellow Nazi party member Princess Marie Adelheid of Lippe, Friedrich Christian was outspoken in his defense of the Third Reich.