Alfred Niezychowski
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Alfred
Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...
von Niezychowski (July 28, 1888 – June 13, 1964) was a German
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: ...
of Polish descent, a lieutenant commander of a German
commerce raider Commerce raiding is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging its combatants or enforcing a blockade against them. Privateering is a fo ...
ship during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, an
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
and
lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
, and a
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
political candidate for public office.


Childhood

Niezychowski was born near Posen,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
(now
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
, Poland), the fourth child out of six to Stanisław Nieżychowski (1851-1897) and Lucia (Łucja) Taczanowska (1862-1917). Niezychowski's father died when he was nine years old. Two years later, his mother, now 37 years old, married the 29-year-old Count
Rodryg Dunin Rodryg Dunin (June 26, 1870 – October 26, 1928) was a Polish noble (szlachta), a hrabia (Count), and an industrialist and an agriculturalist.Polski Słownik Biograficzny (the Polish Biographical Dictionary) 1948 - Tome 6, Subtome 1list of tomes) ...
, and had four more children. They lived on the Granówko estate, near
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
. Niezychowski was educated at the German military school at Wahlstadt,
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
, and at the naval schools at Danzig (Gdańsk) and
Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
. His oldest brother, Count Josef von Niezychowski, initially attained high rank in the
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
, but at the outbreak of World War II changed his allegiance and served as a general in the
Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
.


Career

As an adult, Niezychowski joined the German merchant marine of the
Hamburg-American Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent Germ ...
, and was an officer on such ships as the Hamburg-American liner and the
North German Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...
liner in 1914, before being transferred to his most famous assignment, the German passenger liner , where he held the rank of
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
. He was later promoted to lieutenant commander in the German naval reserve and became second in command. The ship was one of the fastest in the world, having won the
Blue Riband The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest Velocity, average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until ...
a few years earlier for the fastest-ever Atlantic crossing, in 5 days, 11 hours, and 57 minutes. Germany entered
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in August 1914, while the ship was in port in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and the ''Kronprinz Wilhelm'' was ordered into service with the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...
as an
auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
. She left port and rendezvoused with the to have deck guns installed, and then spent the next 251 days capturing and sinking commercial vessels off the coast of South America, while simultaneously evading capture by the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
. The ship eventually ran out of supplies, and dozens of the men in her crew had become sick with
beri-beri Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...
from the restricted diet on the long voyage. Her captain headed for
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, and successfully evading the British ships guarding the port, entered safe harbor at
Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...
, in 1915. At the
Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...
, the ship and crew were originally interned as neutrals by the United States, until that country entered the war in 1917. At that time, Niezychowski and the rest of the crew became American prisoners of war and the ship was officially seized by the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. Renamed the USS ''Von Steuben'', she was turned into a
troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...
.


American citizenship

Despite officially being a prisoner of the United States, Niezychowski was evidently quite a popular storyteller among influential Americans, partially because he was the nephew of Baron
Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár Freiherr Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár (; 2 May 1845 – 22 April 1917), was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian diplomat of Hungarian origin who was a long-term Ambassador at Washington D.C., throughout many Presidential administration ...
, who had been
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to the United States for decades, until retiring in 1913. Niezychowski was known as the "jolly Polish count" and after his release from
Fort McPherson, Georgia Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...
in August 1919, he moved to
Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, where he was welcomed into diplomatic and society circles. He was also president of the Polish American Navigation Company of New York. In October 1923, Niezychowski became engaged to marry Nanine H. Ulman (1896-1972), a
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...
and Colonial Dame, daughter of Jacob A. Ulman of Helmore Farms in Green Spring Valley, and great grandniece of President
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
. Having renounced his European titles, Niezychowski became an American citizen in January 1926; the affianced couple married on December 27, 1927, with Admiral
Walter McLean Walter Franklin McLean, (born April 26, 1936) is a former Canadian politician. Born in Leamington, Ontario, he grew up in Victoria British Columbia, the son of James Walter Lewis McLean (1905–1998), a Presbyterian minister, and Frances D. B ...
, commander of the
Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...
(where the groom's ship had been interned ten years earlier) was his
best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...
. After their wedding, Niezychowski and his wife moved to
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, where he entered the business world; He first worked as a salesman with a printing and advertising company, and later with the Seldon & Johnson real estate firm. In 1928, he published a book about the ''Kronprinz Wilhelm's'' 251-day adventure, and gave lectures on the subject. He was known for signing autographs with green ink, and one of his lecture taglines was that of all of the ships that had been sunk during the ship's wartime duty, it had never caused the loss of a single human life. The capturing and sinking had been done in a very civilized, even courteous, manner. Passengers who had been taken aboard from a captured vessel were often given first class accommodations aboard the ex-passenger-liner/commerce-raider (members of the crew until they could be transferred to another ship). In 1932, while in the investment brokerage business, Niezychowski ran as a Democratic candidate for the Michigan First District. He was a staunch Democrat, and wanted to fight for the immediate repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, as well as lowering
tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
laws to restore foreign trade. However, he lost in the primary election to George G. Sadowski. Niezychowski and Nanine had no biological children, though Niezychowski did become guardian for the children of his half-brother Count Antoni Dunin, after both Antoni and his wife, Zofia Werner Dunin (daughter of Polish vice-Finance Minister Edward Werner), had been killed in 1939, during the German offensive in the
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
. According to the ''
Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...
'', Alfred worked with
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Homer Ferguson of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, to obtain visas so that the orphaned children could enter the United States in the 1940s. They were: * Count Stanley Dunin, who later participated in a
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
project, launching the world's first geosynchronous
communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...
* Countess Magda Dunin Hirata, who later married Japanese-American scientist Arthur Hirata * Countess Christine Dunin Zika, later the mother of noted botanist Peter Zika In 1964, Niezychowski died in Michigan, and was buried in Mount Elliott Cemetery in
Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe is a group of five adjacent suburbs in the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area on the shore of Lake St. Clair. From southwest to northeast, they are: *Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Park *Grosse Pointe, Michiga ...
.


Works

* Count Alfred von Niezychowski, ''The Cruise of the Kronprinz Wilhelm'', 1928, Doubleday & Company, with introductions by Admiral Walter McLean (commandant of the Virginia Norfolk Navy Yard where the ''Kronprinz Wilhelm'' was interned), and Count
Felix von Luckner Felix Nikolaus Alexander Georg Graf von Luckner (9 June 1881, Dresden – 13 April 1966, Malmö), sometimes called Count Luckner in English, was a German nobleman, naval officer, author, and sailor who earned the epithet ''Der Seeteufel'' (the ...
.


Notable relatives

*
Rodryg Dunin Rodryg Dunin (June 26, 1870 – October 26, 1928) was a Polish noble (szlachta), a hrabia (Count), and an industrialist and an agriculturalist.Polski Słownik Biograficzny (the Polish Biographical Dictionary) 1948 - Tome 6, Subtome 1list of tomes) ...
, Alfred's stepfather, was a ''
hrabia The hierarchy of noble titles in Poland was relatively uncommon throughout most of its history. Polish nobility ''szlachta'' enjoyed the principle of political equality of all its members. For this reason the idea of introducing the noble / aristoc ...
'' (Count) and listed in the
Polish Biographical Dictionary ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigner ...
, a
Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...
of Poland. * Baron
Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár Freiherr Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár (; 2 May 1845 – 22 April 1917), was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian diplomat of Hungarian origin who was a long-term Ambassador at Washington D.C., throughout many Presidential administration ...
, longtime Austro-Hungarian ambassador to the United States, was Alfred's uncle by one of his father's sisters. * Alfons Taczanowski, hereditary member of the
Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords () in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Representatives (), it formed the Prussian bicameral legislature ...
, was Alfred's great-uncle on his mother's side. * Edward Werner, Polish vice-Finance Minister, was the father-in-law of Alfred's brother, Antoni Dunin. * Antoni Dunin, Alfred's younger half-brother, was a Polish army officer killed in 1939, and recipient of the
Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...
award (similar to the American
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
).


References

* ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. January 9, 1928.
Review of ''The Cruise of the Kronprinz Wilhelm''
in ''The Nation'', Volume 130, Issue # 3365, January 1, 1930. *
Grandes Guerras - Os grandes conflitos do seculo XX
(Major conflicts of the 20th century) * "Polish Nobleman, W.W. I Sea Raider, Dies", June 16, 1964, ''
Detroit Times Six different newspapers called the ''Detroit Times'' have been published in the city of Detroit; the most recent existed for six decades, from 1900 to 1960. Overview *The first iteration of the ''Detroit Times'' was an antislavery bulletin onl ...
'' * "We Congratulate . . .", June 28, 1941, ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'' * Obituary, June 1964, ''Grosse Pointe News'' * "Former Nobleman Runs for Seat in Congress", July 27, 1932, '' Detroiter'' *


External links


Family tree
maintained by great-niece
Elonka Dunin Elonka Dunin (; born December 29, 1958) is an American video game developer and cryptologist. Dunin worked at Simutronics Corp. in St. Louis, Missouri from 1990–2014, and in 2015 was Senior Producer at Black Gate Games in Nashville, Tennes ...
.
"Capital District Kiwanis History"
Baltimore, Maryland, 1930 (includes a mention of Niezychowski in the annual minutes, listing him as "second in command" of the ''Kronprinz Wilhelm'').
Alfred Niezychowski's male line of ancestors
(Polish surname was Nieżychowski) {{DEFAULTSORT:Niezychowski, Alfred 1888 births 1964 deaths People from the Province of Posen Military personnel from Poznań German people of Polish descent Counts in Germany 20th-century Polish nobility Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I German sailors Polish emigrants to the United States Michigan Democrats Businesspeople from Detroit 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers