Prussia: Difference between revisions

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	The national name '''Prussia''' (in ]: ''Prusa'', Preussische & ]: ''Preußen'', ]: ''Prusy'', ] ''Prusai'', ]: ''Pruthenia'' or ''Borussia'') was used by a wide variety of political factions during the 2nd millennium. At different times it has denoted a geographical region, a dukedom, a Polish province, a Polish fief, a kingdom under ]'s rule which became the leading kingdom of the ], comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the Empire's area.		A kingdom under ]'s rule which became the leading kingdom of the ], comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the Empire's area.

	Though rapidly losing its sense of identity and with no political unity, Prussia still exists as a dispersed nation in exile following the decision to "delete" Prussia after ]. For the vast majority however, Prussia is remembered only in History for its role in uniting ] and is still, especially abroad, often wrongly perceived as a synonymous term for Germany. In a good light, some emphasise Prussia's role in ], when it was a land of religious & ethnic tollerance home to artists and intellectuals. In a less flattering light the Term "Prussia" also conjurs images of militarism since its ancient militaristic traditions and culture which were decisive in making it Germany's most powerful kingdom. Thus it must be stressed that the use of the term "Prussia" today therefore depends much on context which a reader should try to deduce from the individual materials being studied.		Though rapidly losing its sense of identity and with no political unity, Prussia still exists as a dispersed nation in exile following the decision to "delete" Prussia after ]. For the vast majority however, Prussia is remembered only in History for its role in uniting ] and is still, especially abroad, often wrongly perceived as a synonymous term for Germany. In a good light, some emphasise Prussia's role in ], when it was a land of religious & ethnic tollerance home to artists and intellectuals. In a less flattering light the Term "Prussia" also conjurs images of militarism since its ancient militaristic traditions and culture which were decisive in making it Germany's most powerful kingdom. Thus it must be stressed that the use of the term "Prussia" today therefore depends much on context which a reader should try to deduce from the individual materials being studied.
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	The eastern parts of the pre-war Prussian state had been made parts of ] and the ] at the ], when the ] was established as the new border between ] and ]. The remaining area of the former kingdom of Prussia is today distributed among many of Germany's sixteen ''] (federal states)'', among them ], ], ], and ].		The eastern parts of the pre-war Prussian state had been made parts of ] and the ] at the ], when the ] was established as the new border between ] and ]. The remaining area of the former kingdom of Prussia is today distributed among many of Germany's sixteen ''] (federal states)'', among them ], ], ], and ].

			Southern Germans described all Northern German as Prussians, while Rheinlander call people from ], ] or ] Prussians.
	Poland offered Prussians a chance to become Polish if they could speak Polish and pass a nationality examination. The Stalinists were much more harsh and deported every last person (prussian or other), who had not managed to flee to Germany, in trains to Central Asia & Siberia. Some parents however did managed to leave their younger children with simpathetic neighbouring Lithuanians. Many descendants of Prussians from the areas now known as Warmia, Mazury, Memel-Klaipedia, & Kaliningrad live today primarily in Siberia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania or Germany while some have returned to Kaliningrad.


	==Notable Persons of Prussian History==		==Notable Persons of Prussian History==
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	== Conrad invaded and conquered ==		== Conrad invaded and conquered ==
	"Conrad invaded and even conquered Prussian land". Ziemia Chelminska (culmerland) is territory with mixed population since ealry medieval times. It's hard to say who started invasions, but definetely they started much earlier than in times of Conrad. ]		"Conrad invaded and even conquered Prussian land". Ziemia Chelminska (culmerland) is territory with mixed population since ealry medieval times. It's hard to say who started invasions, but definetely they started much earlier than in times of Conrad. ]

			==Origins of the therm Prussia==

			The national name '''Prussia''' (in ]: ''Prusa'', Preussische & ]: ''Preußen'', ]: ''Prusy'', ] ''Prusai'', ]: ''Pruthenia'' or ''Borussia'') was used by a wide variety of political factions during the 2nd millennium.
			see ]

Revision as of 13:27, 18 November 2003

A kingdom under Brandenburg's rule which became the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the Empire's area.

Though rapidly losing its sense of identity and with no political unity, Prussia still exists as a dispersed nation in exile following the decision to "delete" Prussia after World War II. For the vast majority however, Prussia is remembered only in History for its role in uniting Germany and is still, especially abroad, often wrongly perceived as a synonymous term for Germany. In a good light, some emphasise Prussia's role in the Enlightenment, when it was a land of religious & ethnic tollerance home to artists and intellectuals. In a less flattering light the Term "Prussia" also conjurs images of militarism since its ancient militaristic traditions and culture which were decisive in making it Germany's most powerful kingdom. Thus it must be stressed that the use of the term "Prussia" today therefore depends much on context which a reader should try to deduce from the individual materials being studied.

In 1688, Frederick William I died and his possessions passed to his son Frederick III (ruled 1688-1713). With the exception of Prussia, all of Brandenburg's lands were a part of the Holy Roman Empire, by this time under the all but hereditary nominal rule of the House of Habsburg. Since there was only one King of the Germans within the Empire, Frederick gained the assent of the Emperor Leopold I (in return for alliance against France) to his adoption (January 1701) of the title of "King in Prussia", based on his non-Imperial territories, and the title came into general acceptance with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). Though Brandenburg was far richer and more important than Prussia proper, it was gradually subsumed into the Kingdom of Prussia. The change was understood by all to be a shell game with titles, and the new nation was commonly called Brandenburg-Prussia.

Sweden's defeat by Russia, Saxony-Poland, Denmark-Norway, Hannover and Prussia in the Great Northern War (1700-1721) marked the end of Swedish power on the southern shores of the Baltic Sea. In the Prusso-Swedish peace treaty of Stockholm (January 1720), Brandenburg-Prussia regained Stettin and Sweden's holdings in Pomerania, most of which had been a part of Hohenzollern Brandenburg since 1472 (Outer Pomerania was annexed to Brandenburg-Prussia in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia).

During this time the trends set in motion by the Great Elector reached their culmination, as the Junkers - the landed aristocracy - were welded to the army which had gained so much influence in the previous fifty years.

In 1740, Frederick II (more commonly known as Frederick the Great) came to the throne and invaded Silesia, a province of Austria which was in turmoil after the death of the Emperor Charles VI. The invasion was the first shot of the War of the Austrian Succession (Silesia was to have passed to the rulers of Brandenburg on the extinction of its Piast dynasty according to a bilateral arrangement of 1537, subsequently vetoed by the Emperor Ferdinand I). After rapidly occupying Silesia, Frederick offered to protect the new Austrian Archduchess, Maria Theresa if the province were turned over to him. The offer was rejected, but Austria faced several other opponents, and Frederick was eventually able to gain formal cession with 1742's Treaty of Berlin.

To the surprise of many, Austria managed to renew the war successfully, and in 1744 Frederick invaded again to forestall reprisals and to claim, this time, the province of Bohemia. This time he failed, but French pressure on Austria's ally Britain led to a series of treaties and compromises (culminating in the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that restored peace and left Prussia still in possession of Silesia.

Humiliated by the cession of Silesia, Austria worked to secure an alliance with France and Russia, while Prussia drifted into the United Kingdom's camp (the "Diplomatic Revolution". When Frederick pre-emptively invaded Saxony and Bohemia over the course of a few months in 1756-1757, a general conflict broke out: the Seven Years' War.

This war was a desperate struggle for the Prussians, and the fact that they managed to fight much of Europe to a draw bears witness to Frederick's military skill. Facing Austria, Russia, France and Sweden simultaneously, and with only Hanover (and the non-continental British) as notable allies, he managed to hold off serious invasion until October 1760, when the Russian army briefly occupied Berlin and Königsberg. The situation became progressively grimmer, however, until the death of the Tsarina Elizabeth and the accession of the prussophile Peter III relieved the pressure on the eastern front. Sweden also dropped out of the war at about the same time. Defeating the Austrian army at the Battle of Burkersdorf, and relying on continuing British success against France in the war's colonial theatres, Prussia was finally able to force a status quo ante bellum on the continent. This result confirmed Prussia's major role in Germany and Europe as a whole. Frederick, appalled by the near-miss for his country, lived out his days as a much more peaceable ruler.

Prussia continued to grow through diplomatic means, however. To the east and south, Poland had gradually become weakened, and in 1772 Frederick was unable to resist the first of the Partitions of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The Kingdom of Prussia thus gained full sovereignty of Warmia and the Polish Royal Prussia, henceforth (until 1824, and again in 1878-1918) the province of West Prussia. After Frederick the Great died (in 1786), his nephew Fredrick William II continued the partitions through military and diplomatic force, gaining a large part of western Poland in 1793 and a large area (including Warsaw) to the south of East Prussia in 1795, when the Polish kingdom ceased to exist.

(History 1795-1871 up to Prussia's incorporation into the German Empire will follow.)

After World War II

After World War II, Prussia as a state was formally dissolved by the Allied Control Council Decree No. 46 of February 25, 1947, which simply declared: "The state of Prussia, which has forever been the carrier of militarism and reaction in Germany, shall herewith be dissolved."

The eastern parts of the pre-war Prussian state had been made parts of Poland and the Soviet Union at the Potsdam Conference, when the Odra-Nysa line was established as the new border between Poland and Germany. The remaining area of the former kingdom of Prussia is today distributed among many of Germany's sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), among them Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Southern Germans described all Northern German as Prussians, while Rheinlander call people from Brandenburg, Meklemburg or Berlin Prussians.

Notable Persons of Prussian History

Joseph-Louis LaGrange (mathematician)

Also see :

Brandenburg-Prussia

List of Kings of Prussia

List of Prime Ministers of Prussia

External links

Maps of Prussia

Conrad invaded and conquered

"Conrad invaded and even conquered Prussian land". Ziemia Chelminska (culmerland) is territory with mixed population since ealry medieval times. It's hard to say who started invasions, but definetely they started much earlier than in times of Conrad. szopen

Origins of the therm Prussia

The national name Prussia (in Prussian: Prusa, Preussische & German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian Prusai, Latin: Pruthenia or Borussia) was used by a wide variety of political factions during the 2nd millennium. see Prussia_(disambiguation)

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