Text by Tasos Malesiadas
Cover photo: Der König überall (The King everywhere) by the German painter Robert Müller 1886. Frederick the Great of Prussia examines the potato harvest. Frederick was keenly interested in land use, especially draining swamps and opening new farmland for colonisers who would increase the kingdom’s food supply, the Peuplierungspolitik (peopling policy). German Historical Museum

The Frederickian era was particularly important for Prussia and is considered the foundation of Germany itself. During the Seven Years’ War, a small and newly established state found itself defending its existence against the established powers and almost all the forces of the time. Austria, France, Russia all descended upon Prussian territories to tear them apart; however, they failed. While the establishment endured, from that point onward, nothing would be the same for Europe.

After the Seven Years’ War (some historians argue it is indeed the first world war as it occurred in Europe, Asia, and America), the King of Prussia, who had nearly lost one-third of his male population, attempted to rebuild a devastated state and a demoralized population. He disbanded his cavalry, giving the horses to farmers; heavily taxed cities as centers of wealth to strengthen the rural areas that had been devastated and to provide men for war.

Frederick the Great’s economic policy was conservative, but austerity did not equate to poverty. Nothing was wasted. Not a penny. The Prussian Academy of Sciences continued its research, technical schools doubled their student intake, illiteracy was eradicated with a clever move: no Prussian could serve in the army without knowing how to read and write. In the psyche of a Prussian subject, not serving the Fatherland was a disgrace. So men learned to write and read to avoid being labeled cowards.

Frederick himself slept after midnight and rose in the early hours of the morning, working tirelessly and studying to establish laws, decrees, and rejuvenate his kingdom. He also studied philosophy, composed music, and literature.

This was remarkable in an era when the aristocracy was characterized by widespread ignorance and indolence. Indeed, Frederick was the only king in Europe who did not criminalize satire directed at himself. Freedom of expression and thought, as well as freedom of religious beliefs, were guaranteed by royal decrees.

Once, he walked the streets of Berlin, on Jägerstraße¹, accompanied only by one follower, and encountered a gathered crowd in front of a wall. When the subjects noticed their king, they stopped laughing.

Frederick asked his follower to see what was happening, and he did so. He reported that they were laughing at a satirical poster depicting the king stirring coffee with one hand and picking up remaining coffee beans with the other, mocking his austerity.

Then Frederick ordered his follower to place the poster at a better height and more prominently, so that people wouldn’t strain their necks to see it if it remained hidden.

All the subjects erupted into applause and cheers at this gesture from the man who took a third-rate power of the Baltic coast and transformed it into one of the mightiest kingdoms in Europe.

Footnotes:

1. The Jagerstraβε is a street in the Berlin district of Mitte. It is interrupted by the Gendarmenmarkt and is named after a hunting lodge built in 1690 for the Oberjagermeister von Hertefeld. ↩︎