Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Carl Gustaf Bloomfield Eric von Rosen (2 June 1879 in Stockholm – 25 April 1948 Skeppsholmen, Stockholm) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

honorary doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

, prominent figure in the Swedish upper class and a leading figure in Sweden's own

national socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

movement in the 1930s.

Family

Von Rosen was married to Baroness Mary Fock (1886–1967) with whom he had six children: Björn (b. 1905), Mary (b. 1906), Carl Gustaf von Rosen (b. 1909), Birgitta (b. 1913), Egil (b. 1919), and Anna (b. 1926). Eric von Rosen's father was Count Carl Gustaf von Rosen and his mother was Ella Carlton Moore of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, a descendant of the Winthrop family. His grandmother was the writer and philanthropist

Clara Jessup Moore Clara Sophia Jessup Bloomfield-Moore (February 16, 1824 – January 5, 1899) was an American philanthropist and philosopher. Biography She was born in Westfield, Massachusetts. She married businessman Bloomfield Haines Moore (1819-1878) and res ...

. He was brother to Count

Clarence von Rosen Count Carl Clarence von Rosen (12 May 1867, Stockholm – 12 August 1955) was a Swedish athlete, military officer, and Crown Equerry to the King of Sweden. He became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1900, and was credited for t ...

. His grandson (through Birgitta) is the film director Peter Nestler, who in 2009 made a film about Rosen called ''Death and Devil'' (''Tod und Teufel'').

Relationship to Hermann Göring

Von Rosen became brother-in-law to

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

when his wife's sister, Carin von Kantzow, married Göring. The pair became acquainted when Göring was flying Eric von Rosen in bad weather from Stockholm to

Rockelstad Castle Rockelstad Castle () is a neo-renaissance manor house in the municipality of Flen in Södermanland, Sweden. Rockelstad, together with Sparreholm and Vibyholm, are all estates situated on Lake Båven. History The old main building, dating from th ...

, at the lake Båven in Sörmland, Sweden. Due to bad weather conditions, Göring had to stay at the castle. There he became acquainted with the sister of von Rosen's wife, Carin von Kantzow. She was at that time married to a Swedish officer, but would be his future wife and greatest love.

The von Rosen swastika

Eric von Rosen had been using a swastika as a personal owner's mark. He originally saw the symbol on

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones d ...

s in Gotland, while at school. Knowing that the symbol signified good luck for the Vikings, he utilized the symbol and had it carved into all his luggage when going on an expedition to South America in 1901. It is also found in the hunting lodge he commissioned

Ivar Tengbom Ivar Justus Tengbom (April 7, 1878 – August 6, 1968) was a Swedish architect and one of the best-known representatives of the Swedish neo-classical architecture of the 1910s and 1920s. Tengbom was born in Vireda in Jönköping County, stu ...

and to build in what is now Jaktstuguskogen Nature Reserve, in 1909. Being a friend of Finland, in March 1918 he gave the newly independent state an aircraft, which signified the beginning of the

Finnish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = 159 , equipment_label ...

. The aircraft, a license manufactured Morane-Saulnier MS Parasol/

Thulin D The Morane-Saulnier L, or Morane-Saulnier Type L, or officially MoS-3, was a French parasol wing one or two-seat scout aeroplane of the First World War. The Type L became one of the first successful fighter aircraft when it was fitted with a sin ...

, was marked with his badge, a blue swastika on a white background. The Finnish Air Force adopted this

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of diff ...

as their national insignia. Göring had noted the swastika during his stay in Sweden and at von Rosens' castle (forged into a metal piece at the fireplace). However, the swastika of the German Nazi party had been adopted already in 1920, two years before Göring met

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

References

External links

Rockelstad castle's home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosen, Eric 1879 births 1948 deaths Politicians from Stockholm Swedish explorers Swedish collaborators with Nazi Germany Swedish Nazis Swedish people of American descent Swedish people of English descent