Early Life
Strachwitz was born in Groß Stein, in the District (Kreis) of Groß Strehlitz in Silesia (present-day Kamień Śląski, a part of Gogolin in Opole Voivodeship). His family were members of the Silesian old nobility (Uradel), and held large estates in Upper Silesia, including the family Schloss at Groß Stein. According to family tradition, being firstborn and heir to the title Graf (Count) Strachwitz, he was christened Hyazinth after the 12th century Saint Hyazinth.
When he came of age, Strachwitz was sent to Berlin to partake in a Prussian military education. After several years intense training and study, Strachwitz was admitted to the élite Gardes du Corps cavalry regiment. The Gardes had been established by Prussian King Frederick the Great in 1740, and was considered the most prestigious posting in the Imperial German Army, it was even patroned by Emperor Wilhelm II.
Strachwitz continued his studies at the Groß Lichterfelde Military Academy, placing an emphasis on sporting activities, particularly equestrian, fencing and track and field athletics. Strachwitz excelled as a sportsman, and became a prospective candidate for the 1916 Olympic Games. The outbreak of World War I destroyed this opportunity as Strachwitz, along with the rest of the Imperial Army, was mobilized and began the march west.
Read more about this topic: Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz Von Gross-Zauche Und Camminetz
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)
“I remember my youth and the feeling that will never come back any more—the feeling that I could last for ever, outlast the sea, the earth, and all men; the deceitful feeling that lures us on to joys, to perils, to love, to vain effort—to death; the triumphant conviction of strength, the heat of life in the handful of dust, the glow in the heart that with every year grows dim, grows cold, grows small, and expires—and expires, too soon, too soon—before life itself.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)