Batthyány, Margit von (1911-1989)

Batthyány, Margit von

HORSE BREEDER, NAZI (AUSTRIA)

BORN 22 Jun 1911, Rechnitz, Burgenland: Schloss - DIED 15 Sep 1989, Castagnola, Ticino (near Lugano)
BIRTH NAME Thyssen-Bornemisza, Margit
GRAVE LOCATION Lugano, Ticino: Cimitero di Castagnola, Piazza San Giorgio

Margit von Batthyány was the daughter of the German industrialist Heinrich Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon. In 1933 she married count Iván von Batthyány-Strattmann (1910-1985) and she lived with him at Rechnitz castle in Burgenland in Austria. During the Second World War this castle was a place of recuperation from members of the Waffen-SS. During a party on 25 March 1945 at Rechnitz castle it was decided to kill Jewish-Hungarian forced labourers and subsequently 180 forced labourers were killed. There were rumours that Margit was among the murderers, but she was never prosecuted.

When the Red Army marched in she managed to flee to Switzerland. After the war she settled at the Villa Favorita in Castagnola near Lugano and she successfully bred racing horses at Bad Homburg. She had also properties in France and in the USA. She died in 1989 in Castagnola.

Images
The grave of Margit von Batthyány at the Cimitero di Castagnola in Lugano, Ticino. Picture by Androom (15 Feb 2019)	The grave of Margit von Batthyány at the Cimitero di Castagnola in Lugano, Ticino. Picture by Androom (15 Feb 2019)