I was clicking around on the infallible Wikipedia last week, as you do, when I read the following sentence on Sebastian Haffner's page:
"In 1960 he had speculated on the future of the GDR as a "Prussian Free State" giving play, perhaps, to the National Bolshevist ideas Ernst Niekisch."
This reminded me of a thesis I had found and read a few weeks ago, The Changing Depiction of Prussia in the GDR: From Rejection to Selective Commemoration by Corinna Munn. Despite the notion of 'Prussian militarism' and the early GDR's hostility to Prussia, (accepted) attitudes progressively changed to the point that when Ingrid Mittenzwei released her sympathetic biography of Frederick the Great in 1979 it 'received praise from politicians in the highest positions.' Although Honecker was at the time insistent that this represented no change in the GDR's treatment of Prussia, that it had always been this way, former culture minister Hans Bentzien disagreed in an interview after reunification and 'saw both the reinstallation of the statue and Mittenzwei's biography of Frederick II as a sign of change in the view of Prussia'
The depiction of Prussia in popular culture had also changed by the 1980s. A medium that had previously been outright condemnatory, critical, and mocking of Frederick the Great had changed to a depiction that, while still moderately critical of his militarism, excused the king with an explanation that he had "acted according to the principles of Staatsräson" and "and assumed the role of 'first servant of the State.'" He is "practically a progressive", and "would even abolish serfdom, if he were able to bypass his nobles."
"Though Frederick’s harshness is never glossed over, the Prussian king ends the film on the moral high ground compared to nearly every other character. Whenever he acts with what might be considered ruthlessness, the film presents it as justifiable. He drives his soldiers to exhaustion, but Frederick himself is shown dirty and nearly asleep on his horse as he leads his army on; he merely expects the same dedication from his subordinates."
"Over the course of the GDR’s existence, the depiction of Prussia changed drastically from unconditionally negative to selectively positive. The attempt to claim the heritage of Prussian culture for the East German people necessitated the integration of significant elements of Prussian history into the Gechichtsbild, which earlier had condemned every trace of the Prussian past. Although the artifacts of Prussian culture stemmed from a mostly conservative historical context, they were, as Honecker said, simply portrayed as depoliticized pieces of heritage. That was the only way in which the GDR could tie itself more closely to its own past. Thus the East German citizenry could be offered a historically grounded identity without contradicting the socialist founding principles of the GDR."
What really made me ask this, though, is the following sentence in Munn's paper: "In the 1980s this extended most notably to Frederick the Great, and had the GDR not ceased to exist, there were indications that even the conservative founder of the German Reich, Otto von Bismarck, may have enjoyed a similar renaissance of public commemoration."
How far could this have gone? Could a surviving GDR have fully embraced (its own version of) Prussianism, fulfilling its desire to exist as a separate German nation through the adoption of an outright Prussian identity? What forms could this take and what might it look like?
Admittedly I am relying on a single source, with all others on or covering the matter either being in German or inaccessible for me, and that is why I am asking here. Although I have no knowledge of the GDR beyond the most basic (though I am aware that the GDR included non-Prussian territories, before someone points that out as an obvious issue (which I would disagree with - see following statement)), I am someone with an interest in how ((a)historical) national identities are revived and shaped for ideological and political goals, and the thought hasn't gone away; so I am putting forward this hypothetical for discussion, in the hope that those with greater knowledge than I could comment on it.
"In 1960 he had speculated on the future of the GDR as a "Prussian Free State" giving play, perhaps, to the National Bolshevist ideas Ernst Niekisch."
This reminded me of a thesis I had found and read a few weeks ago, The Changing Depiction of Prussia in the GDR: From Rejection to Selective Commemoration by Corinna Munn. Despite the notion of 'Prussian militarism' and the early GDR's hostility to Prussia, (accepted) attitudes progressively changed to the point that when Ingrid Mittenzwei released her sympathetic biography of Frederick the Great in 1979 it 'received praise from politicians in the highest positions.' Although Honecker was at the time insistent that this represented no change in the GDR's treatment of Prussia, that it had always been this way, former culture minister Hans Bentzien disagreed in an interview after reunification and 'saw both the reinstallation of the statue and Mittenzwei's biography of Frederick II as a sign of change in the view of Prussia'
The depiction of Prussia in popular culture had also changed by the 1980s. A medium that had previously been outright condemnatory, critical, and mocking of Frederick the Great had changed to a depiction that, while still moderately critical of his militarism, excused the king with an explanation that he had "acted according to the principles of Staatsräson" and "and assumed the role of 'first servant of the State.'" He is "practically a progressive", and "would even abolish serfdom, if he were able to bypass his nobles."
"Though Frederick’s harshness is never glossed over, the Prussian king ends the film on the moral high ground compared to nearly every other character. Whenever he acts with what might be considered ruthlessness, the film presents it as justifiable. He drives his soldiers to exhaustion, but Frederick himself is shown dirty and nearly asleep on his horse as he leads his army on; he merely expects the same dedication from his subordinates."
"Over the course of the GDR’s existence, the depiction of Prussia changed drastically from unconditionally negative to selectively positive. The attempt to claim the heritage of Prussian culture for the East German people necessitated the integration of significant elements of Prussian history into the Gechichtsbild, which earlier had condemned every trace of the Prussian past. Although the artifacts of Prussian culture stemmed from a mostly conservative historical context, they were, as Honecker said, simply portrayed as depoliticized pieces of heritage. That was the only way in which the GDR could tie itself more closely to its own past. Thus the East German citizenry could be offered a historically grounded identity without contradicting the socialist founding principles of the GDR."
What really made me ask this, though, is the following sentence in Munn's paper: "In the 1980s this extended most notably to Frederick the Great, and had the GDR not ceased to exist, there were indications that even the conservative founder of the German Reich, Otto von Bismarck, may have enjoyed a similar renaissance of public commemoration."
How far could this have gone? Could a surviving GDR have fully embraced (its own version of) Prussianism, fulfilling its desire to exist as a separate German nation through the adoption of an outright Prussian identity? What forms could this take and what might it look like?
Admittedly I am relying on a single source, with all others on or covering the matter either being in German or inaccessible for me, and that is why I am asking here. Although I have no knowledge of the GDR beyond the most basic (though I am aware that the GDR included non-Prussian territories, before someone points that out as an obvious issue (which I would disagree with - see following statement)), I am someone with an interest in how ((a)historical) national identities are revived and shaped for ideological and political goals, and the thought hasn't gone away; so I am putting forward this hypothetical for discussion, in the hope that those with greater knowledge than I could comment on it.
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