Frederick the Great
By Erin “Hildegaard” Hanson
A Royal is Born
• Frederick was born on
January 24, 1712 in
Potsdam.
• His parents were King
Frederick William I and
• Queen Sophia Dorothea of
Hanover.
• He would grow up to be the
third “King in Prussia,” his
grandfather Frederick I and
father Frederick William I
of the Hohenzollern
dynasty being the first two.
Paternal Terror
•As a boy, Frederick was
rather effeminate and
sensitive.
•He was interested in
philosophy, music,
particularly the flute,
and languages.
•This drove his father,
who despised anything
intellectual or artistic,
crazy.
Paternal Terror
•His father would often
terrorize and humiliate
him.
•At the TabaksKollegium(Tobacco
Parliament), a group of
military friends that
Frederick William spent
free time with, young
Frederick was often
publicly humiliated.
•Frederick was publicly
caned by his father at
an army review in
Muhlberg in 1730.
• The public caning was a breaking
point for young Frederick.
• With his close friend, Hans
Herman von Katte, he plotted to run
away to England, but they were
captured.
• This enraged his father, who had
them both were imprisoned at the
fortress at Kustrin.
• Frederick William considered having
his son executed, but decided
against it.
• He originally planned to have von
Katte’s limbs torn with hot irons and
then hang him.
• Instead, he decided to force his son
to watch his good friend’s
beheading.
A Friend’s deAth
• While Frederick’s face
was held to the bars by
guards, Hans Herman
von Katte was beheaded
at 7:00 am.
• His body, head included,
where it lay until 2:00
that afternoon.
• For three days
afterward, Frederick
would not speak and
suffered from
hallucinations
• This was a turning point
for Frederick and his
father.
• Frederick William had
finally broken his son.
A Broken Prince
• This episode changed
Frederick forever and
defined the rest of his
life.
• He remained at the
Kustrin fortress for a
few months, then he
was allowed to live in
the town of Kustrin.
• He submitted to his
father’s will and
focused on
performing the
administrative duties
of the Crown Prince.
Becoming King
• Frederick William died
on May 31, 1740,
leaving Frederick the
King in Prussia.
• Five months after
taking the throne, he
declared war on
Austria and took the
Hapsburg holding
Silesia.
• This caused a rivalry
between Maria
Theresa of Austria,
and later between him
and her son Joseph II.
Prussian Expansion
• The annexation of Silesia
was only the beginning of
Prussian expansion.
• Before Frederick’s reign,
Prussia consisted of
scattered territories. By
the end of his reign, East
and West Pomerania,
Brandenburg, the former
Duchy of Prussia, and
Cleves, Mark, and
Ravensburg of the Holy
Roman Empire all were
joined under Prussian
rule.
King of Prussia
• In 1772, Poland was
partitioned between
Prussia, Austria, and
Russia. This is when the
majority of Prussia’s
territory gains occurred.
• With this annexation,
Frederick crowned
himself King of Prussia.
• His previous title, King
in Prussia, was due to
the fact that much of
their territories lay
outside of Imperial
Territory.
Modernization
• Frederick improved
Prussia’s economy by
imposing tariffs on imported
goods and keeping few
restrictions on internal
trade.
• He drained swamps for
agriculture and introduced
new crops, such as the
potato and the turnip.
• Government storehouses for
grain were built to control
grain prices and provide for
the survival of the civilian
population in times of need.
• 750 schools were built.
Intellectual Endeavors
•
•
•
•
•
Frederick played the flute. He was extremely gifted and composed many
of his own pieces.
Frederick wrote the Hohenfiredberger Marsch, a military march. He
wrote it after his victory in the Battle of Hohenfriedburg in the Second
Silesian War. http://youtu.be/Ntqdy0Gm2zg
He was an intellectual who enjoyed philosophy. He became good friends
with Voltaire, who eventually came to live with him for a while. Their
friendship came to an end over something Voltaire wrote critically of
the President of Frederick’s Prussian Academy of Sciences, Maupertuis.
Years later they became friends once again.
He spoke many languages in addition to his native German, including
French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and he was able to read and write
Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
He disliked the German language even though it was his native tongue.
About German writers he wrote,“they take pleasure in a diffuse style,
they pile parenthesis upon parenthesis, and often you don’t find until
you reach the end of the page the verb on which the meaning of the
entire sentence depends.”
Personal Life
• His terrifying childhood
and the trauma of
watching his friend’s
death caused him to
focus on his work as
King. His personal life
was hampered by his
past experiences. He was
married, but he didn’t
live with his wife.
• His sexuality is
uncertain, but it is
rumored that he was
gay.
Homosexual or Not?
• Despite being married,
rumors spread that he was
gay. He didn’t like his wife,
and he didn’t spend much
time with her. They lived
separtely.
• It’s unclear whether or not he
and Hans Herman von Katte
were more than friends.
• A writer of the time described
their relationship as being
“carried on like a lover with
his mistress”.
• He also had a close
relationship with Voltaire, who
lived with him for a time at his
home in Sans-Soucci.
Final Years
• Frederick became solitary in
his old age. As his circle of
friends died off, they weren’t
replaced. He preferred the
companionship of his pet
greyhounds to the
companionship of humans.
• He died on August 17, 1786
in an armchair of his study.
• His nephew and successor,
Frederick William II, had him
buried next to his father in
the Potsdam Garrison
Church.
Legacy
• Frederick united Prussia
and inspired a love and
devotion to the fatherland
that long outlived him. He
was revered by subsequent
German leaders, such as
Otto von Bismark and Adolf
Hitler.
• Adolf Hiltler had his and
his father’s bodies
exhumed and hidden in a
salt mine to protect them
during the war.
Works Cited
•
•
•
•
Showalter, Dennis. "Frederick The Great: The First Modern Military
Celebrity." History Net: Where History Comes Alive. Weider History Group.
Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.historynet.com/frederick-the-great-thefirst-modern-military-celebrity.htm>.
Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 16001947.
London: Penguin Books, 2007.
Print. Bakshian Jnr, Aram. "Father And Son Fredrick William And Fredrick
The Great." History Today 26.5 (1976): 293. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
• Images
Weidemann, F. W. Frederick the Great as a Child. Bildarchiv Preussischer
Kulturbesitz. Web.
•
Pesne, Antoine. Frederick William I, King of Prussia. Schloss
Charlottenburg, Berlin. Web
•
"Growth of Brandenburg-Prussia(1600-1775)." Map. Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II_of_Prussia>.