Fuehrer: lets bring Federal Republic of Germany to an end

[Ben Kenobi]

Uni:

I would love to visit Allenstein someday. The old family farm is still there, I've seen pictures of it.

[Heresson]

That being said, the war with Austria was realpolitik. He needed Silesia to make Prussia a viable state. He was able to catch Maria Theresia by surprise and managed to keep his state in the 7 years war.

He attacked someone completely defenceless and surrounded by other enemies, and the same he did with Poland. He acted as a vulture, but of the kind that's eating flesh of still alive person, and says it's for his own good.

That is true, but you have to remember he defeated France, Sweden, Austria and Russia, something which Poland was unable to do when faced with similar concerns.

Tzarine Elisabeth captured Prussia and Berlin, and the end was near for young Old Fritz. Had Elisabeth not died at this vital point, Frederic would have been completely finished, and you'd live in Poland, as Elisabeth had the idea of keeping Prussia and exchanging it for something from Poland actually.
This is so-called "miracle of the house of Brandenburg": the Russians after the death of Elisabeth not only did not fight with Frederic anymore, but were told by Peter III to help him. He simply had an incredible luck in that case.
Again, he was a brilliant general, but it's another matter. He inherited a prime class army from his father, and the money for it he was receiving from England, from pillaging other states and from issuing false polish money.

[Heresson]

Ben, if You visit Olsztyn oneday, don't even mention your views on this subject, especially to the owners of the farm, or you may get into real trouble.

[Unimatrix11]

Bebro, certainly Thuringia wasn't completely slavic at X century, like f.e. Brandenburg or Meklemburg, and it was in german hands, but there were some slavic tribes living there. There are slavic name-places even further west.
There probably were germanic - but not german - tribes living in the territory of eastern Germany before Slavs, but it's not completely sure.

Unimatrix, I'm polish, am from Upper Silesia, and my mother's family before ww2 lived in modern-day Ukraine.

When it comes to Frederic, he was a remarkable person, and I was very impressed by his ability to control his own life, limit the pleasures and devote himself almost entirely to his own state, especially after his troubled youth. But he was definitely ruthless and didn't have any scrupples. His attitude towards Austria, which he attacked "to protect Maria Theresa", or "to ensure peace in Europe", clearly shows, not to mention his attitude towards Poles. It's not only about partages, calling Poles the Iroquis of Europe,
etc, but also his very precise deeds. In Saxony. he pillaged not only the saxonian property, but also the polish mints, which he used later to issue false polish coins, getting richer at polish expense.
Always in need of recruits for the army, he allowed his men to cross polish border to kidnap local peasants. He was kidnapping his own citizens as well, and I do recall a sad
story of some philosopher whom he invited, and who came with his young son. Frederic's men saw him, and took him by force to the army, and Frederic didn't do anything to stop that. When Poland introduced a tariff duty on the border, Frederic placed cannons in the Marienwerder/Kwidzyn castle and was sinking ships on Vistula. He enabled petty skirmishes against Gdansk/Danzig and blocade of the city after the first partage (Gdansk became a polish enclave then) in hope it would surrender to him then. During the partage itself he - but his admirer, Joseph of Austria as well - he broke the partage deeds itself, stretching his rule further than he was supposed to. Etc.

Now I know he was a very wise man, a very talented ruler, military leader, friend of Voltaire etc, but he wasn't a man of pure conscience.

Yeah, he think we both agree: He felt forced to do evil things, and he probably felt bad for them - yet did them nontheless.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben, if You visit Olsztyn oneday, don't even mention your views on this subject, especially to the owners of the farm, or you may get into real trouble.

My family is still there.

They refer to us as the Canadian branch. Yeah, they would be so pissed to be inside Germany again.

[Ben Kenobi]

Tzarine Elisabeth captured Prussia and Berlin, and the end was near for young Old Fritz. Had Elisabeth not died at this vital point, Frederic would have been completely finished, and you'd live in Poland, as Elisabeth had the idea of keeping Prussia and exchanging it for something from Poland actually.
This is so-called "miracle of the house of Brandenburg": the Russians after the death of Elisabeth not only did not fight with Frederic anymore, but were told by Peter III to help him. He simply had an incredible luck in that case.

Yeah, and he loved the Germans too, probably because he was one. Miracle or no, Old Fritz won in the end.

Again, he was a brilliant general, but it's another matter. He inherited a prime class army from his father, and the money for it he was receiving from England, from pillaging other states and from issuing false polish money.

He is still studied for his logistical abilities.