In 1894, von Hülsen-Haeseler was named military attaché at the German embassy in Vienna. In 1897, now a colonel, he returned to Berlin as commander of a guards regiment. In 1899 he was promoted to major general, made chief of general staff in the Guards Corps, and then given command of the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade.
On 14 November 1908, Dietrich Graf von Hülsen-Haeseler died of a heart attack while on a hunting trip in honor of the Kaiser. The hunting party was staying at Donaueschingen Castle in Donaueschingen, Baden; the Black Forest country estate of Prince Max von Furstenberg. During a formal evening function, von Hülsen-Haeseler appeared dressed in the pink tutu and rose wreath of a ballerina, dancing for the Kaiser and his assembled guests.[1] The performance included pirouettes, jumps, capers and flirtatious kisses to the audience.[2] Apparently exhausted by his exertions, the general bowed, collapsed and was pronounced dead after hasty medical attention.[3][4] The circumstances were covered up by the officer corps so as not to further inflame public pressure over the homosexually themed Harden–Eulenburg affair. Ironically, it was von Hülsen-Haeseler who had organized the cover-up of that scandal.
^ abHandbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908, p. 38
^"Königliche Kronen-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1895, p. 105 – via hathitrust.org
^"Königliche Orden", Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (in German), 1908, p. 90
^Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogthums Braunschweig für 1908. Bd. 1908. Braunschweig: Meyer, 1908. p. 10
^"Verdienst-Orden Philipps des Großmütigen", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1907, p. 170 – via hathitrust.org
^Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. p. 170 – via hathitrust.org.
^"Königliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg, Stuttgart: Landesamt, 1907, pp. 51, 124
^"Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1908, pp. 70, 104, 166, retrieved 14 January 2021
^Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1908) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1908 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1908] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 10 February 2021 – via da:DIS Danmark.
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