400 years, more or less. That is how long Prussia existed
as an independent political unit. Christopher Clark’s Iron Kingdom: the rise and downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 explores
the history, so full of incident and drama, of this north German state.
So what is Prussia? The dates featured in the title are somewhat
arbitrary. The Duchy of Prussia existed since 1525 morphing in the proceeding
centuries into a modern state that was essentially shattered after World War I
though it took until 1947 (post World War II) for the official abolition. I
mentioned it is located in northern Germany but to be specific it was the lands
in and around Berlin (historically called the March of Brandenburg—a Roman
thing) which united with the Duchy of Prussia. Why did Brandenburg and the Duchy
of Prussia unite? For an explanation I need to introduce another name, the House
of Hohenzollern. The Hohenzollern was a royal dynasty first mentioned in the
record books in 1061. The Hohenzollerns eventually went on to become the hereditary
kings of Prussia and later Emperors of the united German lands (with Austria as
a notable exception). Prussia didn’t have much going for it in the
early days. Impoverished of natural resources and with lots of sandy soil in
and around Berlin making farming a challenge, Prussia had the deck stacked
against it. To add to its national anxiety Prussia also had lots of potentially
dangerous neighbours like Pomerania (another interesting and little known, once
upon a time, country that hugged the Baltic Sea), an aggressive and sometimes expansionist
Sweden, a haughty France and Austria both of whom looked upon the checkerboard
patch of German lands as their military playground and the always massive
Russia to the east.
Part of what makes any country, and Prussia is no
exception, fascinating are the individuals who lead it and the funny quirks of
history that shaped it. Prussia’s history is rich in both famous people and in the
auspicious, almost fated, twists and turns in its national narrative. I will
mention just two events—perhaps national ideas would be a better term—that shaped
the north centre of Europe: the idea of union and the idea of a powerful
military.
The idea of a united Germany was in the air since at
least the Napoleonic age. The major stumbling block was the question of who
would lead the union. Bavaria, Saxony and others mistrusted Prussia. A lot of
Prussia’s history can be told with an eye on this idea of influencing and ultimately
binding all the various small German states under its guiding hand.
Prussia’s keen desire to create a sophisticated and
modern military was a result of its location on the map of Europe. It is this
martial tradition that has bequeathed to the world the stereotypical idea of
the Prussians as a warrior society, something like a modern day Sparta. The
enthusiasm for the art of war would be its downfall. At least this is the common
narrative. What I enjoyed about Clark’s Iron
Kingdom is that it goes some ways in correcting this overly simplistic chronicle.
Prussia was not the whole of Germany, though it was one of its principle
voices. Perhaps one of its great gifts to Germany was its military prowess, but
it would be a mistake to think that this tradition necessarily lead to Germany’s
subsequent involvement as a major protagonist in the two world wars. As Otto
Von Bismarck (one of Prussia’s great statesmen) argued, diplomacy and the ability
to formulate alliances so as not to go to war is the best policy; that is, keep the peace by keeping a healthy
balance of aligned states that can check each other’s aggrandizing desires.
When he died his shrewd advice seemed to die with him. The terrible events that
followed only proved to underscore his very sage advice.
Why read the Iron Kingdom? It is first and foremost a
dramatic story. Here you have the birth, life and death of an entire country in
688 pages. There are big names in this story that someone who prides him or
herself on knowing a thing or two about world history should recognize, names
such as Frederick William ‘the Great Elector,’ Frederick II ‘the Great’ and
Otto Von Bismarck to name a few of the more notable figures. In many ways
countries, nations, states are like people full of hopes and dreams, they
strive to face challenges, succeed sometimes and fail at other times and
because they are big their impact can be big. Prussia had an immense impact on
the history of Europe (and the world) completely out of measure given its smallish size and humble beginnings. Its legacy like a colossal black eagle—an icon featured prominently
on all of its flags—looms large across the heart of that continent. To this day whenever
there is a reorganization of the electoral boundaries in north eastern Germany,
or when a new building or street needs an appellation Germans debate whether to
resurrect the term Prussia. The debates are heated. This book goes a ways
towards explaining why there is still so much oomph behind that name.
No comments:
Post a Comment