Line #35 UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat


1	[[quoteright:286:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Frederick_the_Great_444.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:286: ''Ihr verfluchten Racker, wollt ihr denn ewig leben?'' [[note]](see the RousingSpeech entry for translation)[[/note]]]]
3	->''I am a mirror; reflect personas of those around me.''
4	-> ''A creature who lies, who doesn't dare to be what nature designed.''
5	-> ''But with this new position, a seat upon the Prussian throne.''
6	-> ''I'll lead my men through fields where Austria's fate is sown.''
7	-->--''The Philosopher King'' by Music/{{Judicator}}.
8
9	Friedrich ([[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench or ''Frédéric'', as he preferred to be known]]) II, or, as he has come to be known in English, Frederick the Great (''Friedrich der Große'' in German, 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786), was the [[UsefulNotes/PrussianKings king]] of UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} in the [[TheCavalierYears mid-eighteenth century]].
10
11	Something of a dark horse in the realm of [[GambitPileup dynastic politics]], in his youth he was fond of French culture, to a degree that his boorish and possibly insane father, Frederick William I, thought him effeminate. His father attempted to beat it out of him by giving him TrainingFromHell which included [[ForcedToWatch forcing him to watch]] while his best friend was [[OffWithHisHead beheaded]], after they tried to escape from Prussia together, an incident that scarred him for the rest of his life. If that wasn't enough, his father also physically beat him, humiliated him in front of their subjects, tried to force him to give up his artistic hobbies and made it clear to him he was a disappointment. However, he would grow into a notable figure in German martial history, and as such, became an iconic figure of success in the Prussian-dominated German Reich.
12
13	His reputation is perhaps unfairly stained by imperialists such as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_von_Treitschke Treitschke]] or (far worse) UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, who invoked him to justify their ruthless agenda of conquest and antisemitism. To consider Frederick a proto-Hitler, however, is highly reductive. At best, Frederick would have regarded [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Hitler & Co.]] as typically barbaric Germans overdue for an appointment with [[ATasteOfTheLash the knoutmaster]]. At worst, he would have agreed that their ideas of Eastern Expansion as similar to his policies of state-building (which involved destroying the UsefulNotes/PolishLithuanianCommonwealth whose people he considered to be savages fit for being servants of the advanced Germans) but disagreed with the methods used to support or enforce it. He might also have been persuaded to attack the Low Countries,[[note]]Being rich and close, this region was regularly on the map for Prussia as an opportunity to gobble up territory. However, he might have hesitated to attack the northern provinces given [[UsefulNotes/TheEightyYearsWar the hassle they had given the last foreigners to rule them]].[[/note]] but would have had no truck with trying to conquer France,[[note]]Whose civilization he admired so much, and which he probably would regard as too hard to control even if easily conquered.[[/note]] Britain, [[note]]Which he would have to admit was at least as advanced as Prussia. Also, he would have considered trying to conquer Britain--a populous island nation with a powerful navy and acceptable army--the height of folly.[[/note]] the Nordic countries,[[note]]Which he also would have regarded as reasonably advanced, and which were so economically insignificant and probably hard to control that conquering them wouldn't be worthwhile[[/note]] or Russia.[[note]]Which he wouldn't have regarded as particularly civilized, but which he would have rightly seen as too big to conquer or control--to say nothing of the havoc [[WinterWarfare the climate]] would play with one's supply lines and strategies.[[/note]]
14
15	Frederick began ruling a small kingdom, short on resources with indefensible borders. Therefore he deemed it [[IDidWhatIHadToDo "necessary"]] to invade the rich Austrian province of Silesia and conquer it. This obtained the enmity of the [[UsefulNotes/MariaTheresa Empress]], nominally Frederick's [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire suzerain]], who was unconvinced by Frederick's assurances that it was NothingPersonal. The king also later annexed various other areas, including parts of Poland-Lithuania[[note]]Russia was interested in eastern Poland, and agreed to give Austria and Prussia some of the rest, so they wouldn't object, which became known as The Partitions of Poland[[/note]]. He became well known for his unscrupulous but undeniably skillful foreign policy, for breaking treaties and expanding land, for being a cunning military strategist and for having very good luck.
16
17	In domestic policy Frederick was a great reformer. He was able to rebuild his kingdom due to the fact that he had –- or was at least prepared to exert -- more authority than most of his contemporaries (even though special interests were stronger and [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Obstructive Bureaucrats]] even more obstructive then). He instituted economic reforms and imposed religious toleration. Naturally enough, he also improved the Prussian army and helped give Prussia a recognized place as a great power. He also instituted one of the world's first systems of social welfare, setting up care houses for his injured soldiers; this was progressive in a time when most European leaders considered being horribly injured for one's social betters to be a privilege in itself.
18
19	Frederick's reforms had a lasting effect in one peculiar area: the German diet, specifically the German fondness for potatoes. On hearing about the crop's amazing yield per acre, filling nature, and decent keeping qualities, he began a program to "encourage" (read: force, using the Army if necessary) Prussian farmers to grow potatoes, which were directed to the military stores. This led directly to the popularity of potatoes in Germany and broader Central Europe, and indirectly to its prevalence in France (as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine-Augustin_Parmentier certain French POW]] fed potatoes in Prussian custody went home to evangelize for the crop once released). Given the importance of the potato in defeating hunger in Europe once and for all (there were ''no'' famines in most of Europe not caused by war or deliberate state action after the end of the [[UsefulNotes/IrishPotatoFamine potato blight of the 1840s]], largely because the potato's absurdly high calories per acre made it possible to feed more people with less land), Frederick may (ironically) have ''saved'' more European lives by fast-tracking the potato in Central and Continental Western Europe than he ended in his wars.
20
21	In personality ''Der Alte Fritz'' ("Old Fritz"), as he came to be known, was famous for being dour and curmudgeonly. He has been accused of being inhumane, although he did provide some PetTheDog moments to his men. Certainly he cared for his people's welfare, perhaps rather more than he cared for his people, and successfully weeded out many archaic and unjust practices that oppressed them. His style of strong personal rule was useful as long as he lived, though it left Prussia temporarily helpless during UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars after his death. Though it cannot be denied that his effective use of aggression and conspiracy gave them an unhealthy aura of success, it also cannot be denied that he left Prussia with a strong and competent central government. Frederick the Great was not necessarily the most pleasant monarch, but he is not unworthy of admiration.
22
23	He was very interested in the arts, sciences, and philosophy, and he met many leading intellectuals during his years on the throne. {{Creator/Voltaire}} was his on-again-off-again friend. He was an accomplished flautist, himself wrote several classical pieces, personally invited Music/JohannSebastianBach to play at his palace at Potsdam (and commissioned what would become ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Musical_Offering A Musical Offering]]''), and hired Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel. On the other hand, he famously said that the great German mediæval epic, the ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'', wasn’t "worth a shot of powder" and said he wouldn't have such trash in his personal library. This may be explained for his passionate dislike of old German culture.
24
25	Worth noting is that he is one of history's few leaders confirmed to have been same-sex oriented - though historians are still divided over his legacy, few will deny his martial prowess or his orientation.
26
27	Probably not a good idea to confuse him with the CloudCuckooLander portrayal of him in [[Webcomic/FrederickTheGreat his titular webcomic]]. Though doing so with his ''other,'' more fatherly portrayal in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' is more understandable.
28
29	----
30
31	!!Tropes as portrayed in fiction:
32
33	* HeroWorshipper: UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler gazes on a portrait of him in ''Film/{{Downfall}}'' as he desperately waits for his situation to turn around in the manner of the First and Second Miracles of Brandenburg, where Frederick having overplayed his hand was brought BackFromTheBrink by a stroke of good fortune. Hitler, expects a similar turn-around in that film (and also in life) but unlike Frederick, his luck ran out. On the other hand, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte was also a great admirer of his. After marching into Berlin upon scoring victories in the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, Napoleon visited the tomb of Frederick the Great with his generals and purportedly instructed them, “hats off gentlemen, if he were alive we wouldn't be here today”.
34	* MusicToInvadePolandTo: Apocryphally, he is supposed to be the author of the "Hohenfriedberger Marsch", a quintessential example of this trope. It's so damn good that the German Army still uses it. After years of bombastic re-imaginings and crummy lyrics put in during the 19th and early 20th centuries, its recent performances have been [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcUR6y6Kmkk far closer to Frederick's composition.]]
35	* SignatureHeadgear: He is often depicted wearing a tricorn.
36
37	!!Frederick the Great in fiction:
38
39	* There was a big trend of historical "Prussian Films" in Germany about Prussia's history from the days of Frederick and his father to the days of UsefulNotes/WilhelmII, between the early 1920s and 1945, and many featured Frederick, of course. Actor Otto Gebühr starred as Frederick in ''[[{{Typecasting}} sixteen of them]]'' from 1923 to 1942 (it helped that he looked ''a lot'' like Frederick). Those made in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, culminating with the EpicMovie ''Film/TheGreatKing'' (the final film Gebühr did as Frederick), served as [[PropagandaMachine propaganda pieces]] for the ''Führerprinzip'' (full obedience to Adolf Hitler).
40	** Werner Hinz (who later portrayed Erwin Rommel in ''Film/TheLongestDay'') [[TheOtherDarrin replaced]] Gebühr as ''Kronprinz'' Frederick for ''The Old and the Young King'' (1935), because Gebühr was too old to convincingly portray the royal figure as a younger man. Emil Jannings (''Film/TheBlueAngel'') portrayed Frederick's father, King Frederick William I.
41	* Frederick is one of Germany's leaders in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} I'' and ''IV'', with the latter giving him the "Organized" and "Philosophical" leader traits. This reduces Frederick's civic upkeep, helps him produce lighthouses, courthouses, factories ''and'' universities quicker, and doubles the rate at which Great People emerge under him, making Frederick quite a well-rounded leader. Who gets to build [[TankGoodness Panzers.]]

Context UsefulNotes / FrederickTheGreat