The Rise and Fall of Prussia / Preußen
If you want to know more about
Prussia, feel free to watch part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJW5JATYa78
Prussia was a
German state centred around
Berlin in the era when
Germany existed of many small states. Prussia was also one of the great powers in modern history. Prussia has disappeared completely from the map. The Prussian borders changed very often. Prussia had a great influence on
German and
European history. Its rival was
Austria, because Prussia and Austria both wanted to control the rest of Germany.
FAQ: Why does it say that the
Allies destroyed Prussia? Didn't the Nazis abolish it?
I made this video many years ago and I admit I should have explained the role of the Nazis in the downfall of Prussia. They essentially took control of the government of the
Prussian state (a federal state of Germany) and later partitioned Prussia into smaller territorial units, called Gaue. The Nazis did this because they wanted a stong, unified and unopposed government. However, the "
Free State of Prussia" was never abolished by the Nazis and
Adolf Hitler was a great admirer of Prussia, even if it was now de facto dissolved.
The source of the statement that the Allies destroyed Prussia comes from professor
Christopher Clark's book "
Iron Kingdom:
The Rise and
Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947". The very first words of his introduction are:
"On
25 February 1947, representatives of the
Allied occupation authorities in Berlin signed a law abolishing the state of Prussia. From this moment onward, Prussia belonged to history.
'The Prussian
State, which from early days has been a bearer of militarism and reaction in Germany, has de facto ceased to exist. Guided by the interests of preservation of
peace and security of peoples, and with the desire to assure further reconstruction of the political life of Germany on a democratic basis, the
Control Council enacts as follows:
ARTICLE I
The Prussian State together with its central government and all its agencies is abolished.'
Law No. 46 of the
Allied Control Council [
...]."
FAQ: Why does it say that the Allies blamed Prussia for
World War 2?
This information also comes from Christopher Clark. He explains this in the documentary "
Frederick the Great and the
Enigma of Prussia", which can be found in the following link. At 6:12 he begins his explanation.
https://youtu.be/w5Smg5tmo3c?t=372
FAQ: What music has been used?
First track:
Preußens Gloria, composed by
Johann Gottfried Piefke in
1871.
Second track (from 1:29): unknown. It was used in another
YouTube video which has been removed many years ago.
Last track (from 3:35):
Der treue Husar, an old German folk song, here in its march version.
FAQ: Isn't Prussia a territory outside Germany inhabited by
Baltic people?
The term "Prussia" is somewhat confusing, since its meaning has changed in the course of time. The Prussians were originally a
Baltic (so a non-German) people, who were conquered by German crusaders in the
13th century. They slowly became germanized in the course of the following centuries - not because of ethnic policies, but because the Prussians used the language of their rulers more and more. In 1525, Prussia gained independence from this crusader "
State of the Teutonic Order", but remained formally a fief of
Poland (which was again part of Poland-Lithuania). In 1618, the
Duchy of Prussia was inherited by the monarch of
Brandenburg. In 1657, the Duchy of Prussia (the far eastern part of Brandenburg-Prussia) was no longer a fief of
Poland. In 1701, the monarch of Brandenburg-Prussia raised his royal rank to "king in Prussia" (the title "king
OF Prussia" came later, in 1772), thus all his lands, even those in modern-day Germany, became known as "Prussia".
FAQ:
What is the
difference between
Prussia, Germany and the
German Empire?
A good explanation would be by giving a comparison.
Germany = the
United Kingdom
Prussia =
England
Another example is:
USA = Germany; and
Texas = Prussia.
And just like
England, Scotland and Wales, at one time in history all these countries were independent of one another and even fighting wars. So too was Prussia. In 1871, the
German states unified and the
Prussian king became the
German Emperor ("
Kaiser" in German).