WikiPortallus: Frederick III, German Emperor.html

Frederick III (German: Friedrich III., Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen; October 18, 1831 - June 15, 1888) was German Emperor and King of Prussia for just 99 days in 1888—the Year of the Three Emperors. He was the only son of Emperor William I. Frederick William Nicholas Charles (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl), known informally as Fritz,¹ was raised in his family's tradition of military service and was celebrated for his leadership and successes during the Second Schleswig, Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars,²³ but although praised by friends and enemies alike for his conduct, he professed a hatred of warfare. Following the unification of Germany in 1871 William I, who before was just the King of Prussia, became the German Emperor as well, and on his death at the age of 90 on March 9, 1888, the throne passed to his son. However, the 57 year-old Frederick had already surpassed the average Prussian's life expectancy⁴ and was suffering from larynx cancer. After unsuccessful treatments, Frederick III died on June 15, 1888.

Frederick was married to The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. Princess Victoria was well matched with the Prussian Crown Prince; their shared liberal ideology led them to seek greater representation for commoners in the government. Frederick, in spite of his conservative militaristic family background, had developed liberal tendencies from his ties with Britain and his studies at the University of Bonn. As the Crown Prince he often opposed the conservative Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, particularly in speaking out against Bismarck's policy to unite Germany through force, and in urging for the power of the position of Chancellor to be curbed. Liberals in both Germany and Britain hoped that as emperor, Frederick III would move to liberalize the German Empire; however, his illness prevented him from effectively establishing policies and measures to achieve this, and such moves as he had been able to make were later abandoned by his son and successor, William II.

The timing of Frederick's death, and the length of his reign, are important topics among historians. The reign of Frederick III is considered a potential turning point in German history;⁵ many historians are of the opinion that, had Frederick reached the throne sooner, he would have transformed Germany into a liberal state. This, they argue, would have averted the sequence of events that precipitated World War I. Other historians contend that Frederick's influence and political leanings were greatly exaggerated, noting that he tended to defer to his father and Bismarck when confronted, and would not have dared to challenge their conservatism even as ruler. They further argue that 19th century Germany was a deeply conservative nation, and would have opposed the implementation of liberal policies.

Personal life

Early life and education

Frederick William was born in the New Palace at Potsdam in Prussia on October 18, 1831. He was a scion of the House of Hohenzollern, who were the rulers of Prussia, the most powerful of the German states. Frederick's father, Prince William, was a younger brother of King Frederick William IV, and raised in the military traditions of the Hohenzollerns, he developed into a strict disciplinarian. He fell in love with his cousin Elisa Radziwill, a Princess of the Polish nobility, but his parents felt Elisa's rank was not suitable for the bride of a Prussian Prince, and forced a more dynastically suitable match.⁶ The woman selected to be his wife, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, had been raised in the more intellectual and artistic atmosphere of Weimar, which gave its citizens greater participation in politics and limited the powers of its rulers through a constitution.⁷ Augusta was well known across Europe for her liberal views,⁸ and the pair did not have a happy marriage.⁷ Frederick grew up in a troubled household, which left him with memories of a lonely childhood.⁷⁹ He had one sister, Louise (later Grand Duchess of Baden) who was eight years his junior and very close to him. Frederick's youth was a tumultuous period. Prussia was recovering from the Napoleonic Wars, having been conquered by Napoleon I of France,⁶ and the concept of liberalism, which evolved in Germany during the 1840s, was gaining widespread and enthusiastic support.¹⁰ The liberals sought a unified Germany, and were constitutional monarchists who desired a constitution to ensure equal protection under the law, the protection of property, and the safeguarding of basic civil rights.¹¹ When Frederick was 17, these emergent nationalistic and liberal sentiments sparked a series of political uprisings across the German states and elsewhere in Europe. In Germany, their goal was to protect freedoms such as the freedom of assembly and freedom of the press, and to create a German parliament and constitution.¹⁰¹² Although the uprisings ultimately brought about no lasting changes, liberal sentiments would remain an influential force in German politics throughout Frederick's life.¹³

Despite the value placed by the Hohenzollern family on a traditional military education, Augusta insisted that her son should also be educated in line with the new liberal ideas.⁹ Accordingly, Frederick was thoroughly tutored in both military and liberal subjects. He was a talented student, and particularly good at foreign languages, becoming fluent in English and French, and studying Latin. He also studied History, Geography, Physics, Music and Religion, and excelled at gymnastics; as required of a Prussian Prince, he became a very good rider.¹⁴ Hohenzollern princes were made familiar with the military traditions of their dynasty at an early age; Frederick was ten when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the First Infantry Regiment of Guards, and invested with the Order of the Black Eagle. As he grew older he was expected to maintain an active involvement in military affairs,¹⁵ but at the age of 18 he broke with family tradition and entered the University of Bonn. His time spent at the university, coupled with the influence of his less conservative family members, were instrumental in his embrace of liberal beliefs.¹⁶

Marriage and family

Royal marriages of the 19th century were arranged to secure alliances and to maintain blood ties among the European nations. As early as 1851, Queen Victoria of Great Britain and her consort Prince Albert were making plans to marry their eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland, to Frederick. The royal dynasty in Britain was predominantly German; there was little British blood in Queen Victoria, and none in her husband.¹⁷ The monarchs desired to maintain their family's blood ties to Germany, and Prince Albert further hoped that the marriage would lead to the liberalization and modernization of Prussia. King Leopold I of Belgium, uncle of the British monarchs, also favored this pairing; he had long treasured Baron Stockmar's idea of a marriage alliance between Britain and Prussia.¹⁸ Frederick's father, Prince William, had no interest in the arrangement, hoping instead for a Russian Grand Duchess as his daughter-in-law.¹⁷ However, Princess Augusta was greatly in favour of a match for her son that would bring closer connections with Britain.¹

The betrothal of the young couple was announced in April 1856,¹⁹ and their wedding held on January 25, 1858, in the Chapel of St. James's Palace, London. To mark the occasion, Frederick was promoted to Major-General in the Prussian army. The newlyweds got along very well from the start, and their marriage was a loving one;²⁰²¹ Victoria too had received a liberal education, and shared her husband's views. The couple had eight children: William in 1859, Charlotte in 1860, Henry in 1862, Sigismund in 1864, Victoria in 1866, Waldemar in 1868, Sophie in 1870 and Margaret in 1872. Sigismund died at the age of 2 and Waldemar at age 11,²² and their eldest son, William, suffered from a withered arm—probably due to his difficult and dangerous breech birth, although it could also have been the result of a mild case of cerebral palsy.²³²⁴ William, who would become emperor after Frederick's death, shared none of his parent's liberal ideas and was viewed by his mother as a "complete Prussian."²⁵ This created a rift between William and his parents and relations between them were strained throughout their lives.²⁵²⁶

Political life

Crown Prince

When his father acceded to the Prussian throne as King William I on January 2, 1861, Frederick became the Crown Prince. Already twenty-nine years old, he would be Crown Prince for a further twenty-seven years. The new king was initially considered politically neutral; Frederick and Prussia's liberal elements hoped that he would usher in a new era of liberal policies. The liberals managed to greatly increase their majority in the Prussian Diet, but William soon showed that he preferred the conservative ways. Frederick declared himself in complete agreement with the "essential liberal policy for internal and foreign affairs."²⁷

Because William was a dogmatic soldier and unlikely to change his ideas at the age of sixty-four,²⁸ he regularly clashed with the Diet over policies. In September 1862, one such disagreement almost led to Frederick being crowned; William threatened to abdicate when the Diet refused to fund his plans for the army's reorganization. Frederick was appalled, saying that an abdication would "constitute a threat to the dynasty, country and Crown."²⁹ William reconsidered, and instead appointed Otto von Bismarck as Minister-President. The appointment of Bismarck, an authoritarian who often ignored or overruled the Diet, set Frederick on a collision course with his father and led to his exclusion from affairs of state for the rest of William's reign. Frederick insisted on bloodless "moral conquests", unifying Germany by liberal and peaceful means, but it was Bismarck's policy of blood and iron that prevailed.¹⁶

Frederick was severely reproached by his father for his liberal ideas, and as a result spent much time in England with his family. There, Queen Victoria allowed him to represent her at ceremonies and functions on numerous occasions.³⁰

Military commander

Frederick experienced his first combat in the Second Schleswig War. Appointed to supervise the supreme German Confederation commander Field Marshall Wrangel and his staff, the Crown Prince tactfully managed the disputes between Wrangel and the other officers. The Prussians and their Austrian allies defeated the Danes and conquered the southern part of Jutland. At the conclusion of the war, the two powers politicked to set themselves up as the leader of the German states. Two years of such maneuvering culminated in the Austro-Prussian War. Although Frederick had opposed a war against Austria, he accepted command of one of three armies, fighting the war with General Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal as his chief of staff. The timely arrival of his II Army was crucial to the Prussian victory at the Battle of Königgrätz, which was the decisive battle in winning the war.³¹ After the battle, William presented Frederick with the Order Pour le Mérite, as a mark of personal gallantry on the field. A few days before Königgrätz, Frederick had written to his wife, hoping that this would be the last war he would have to fight. On the third day of the battle he wrote again to her, "Who knows whether we may not have to wage a third war in order to keep what we have now won?"³²

Frederick also fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 against France, in which he commanded the III Army comprised of troops from the southern German states.³³³⁴ He was praised for his leadership after he defeated the French in August 1870 at the battles of Wörth and Wissembourg.³⁴ He also won victories at the Battle of Sedan and during the Siege of Paris. Frederick's respectful treatment for his country's foes brought him respect from them and observing countries.³⁵ After the Battle of Wörth, a London journalist witnessed the Crown Prince's many visits of the wounded Prussian solders and lauded his deeds, extolling the love and respect the soldiers held for Frederick. Post-battle, Frederick also remarked to two Paris journalists, "I do not like war gentlemen. If I should reign I would never make it."³ Although the French lost the war, one of their journalists remarked that "the Crown Prince has left countless traits of kindness and humanity in the land that he fought against."³⁵ For his behavior and accomplishments in this war, the London Times wrote a tribute to Frederick in July 1871, stating that "the Prince has won as much honour for his gentleness as for his prowess in the war."³⁵

Heir to the German Empire

After the wars, the German states united as the German Empire in 1871; William was the Emperor and Frederick the heir to the new German monarchy. Bismarck, now German Chancellor, disliked Frederick and distrusted the liberal attitudes of the Crown Prince and Princess. Often at odds with his father and Bismarck's policies and actions, Frederick sided with the country's liberals³⁶ and opposed his father and Bismarck's attempt to expand the empire's army.³⁷ His protests against William's rule peaked at Danzig; at an official reception in the city, he loudly denounced Bismarck's restrictions on freedom of the press.³⁸ Consequently, Frederick was kept out of any real position of power throughout his father's reign. Retaining his military portfolio, he continued to represent Germany and its Emperor at ceremonies, weddings, and celebrations, such as Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.³⁹ Shut out from high-level politics, the Crown Prince became involved in many public works such as establishing schools and churches in the area of Bornstädt near Potsdam.⁴⁰⁴¹ He was also appointed Protector of Public Museums to help William's efforts in making Berlin, the capital city, into a great cultural center. It was largely due to Frederick's efforts that considerable artistic collections were acquired. These collections were housed in Berlin's new Kaiser Friedrich Museum (later known as the Bode Museum) after his death.⁴²

Illness and brief reign

During the long reign of the elderly and conservative William, liberals and progressives lived in constant hope that his death and Frederick's accession would bring the country into an era governed by liberal lines of thought.³⁷⁴³ William, however, lived a long life and died at the age of 90 on March 9, 1888. By that time, Frederick was 57 years old and suffering from a debilitating cancer of the larynx. He viewed his illness with dismay and cried, "To think I should have such a horrid disgusting illness ... I had so hoped to have been of use to my country."⁴⁴ He sought treatment and received conflicting medical advice.⁴⁵ In Germany, Doctor Ernst von Bergmann proposed to remove the larynx completely, but his colleague, Doctor Rudolf Virchow, disagreed;⁴⁶ such an operation had never been performed without the death of the patient.⁴⁷ The British doctor Sir Morell Mackenzie, who had diagnosed the cancer,⁴⁸ advised a tracheotomy, which was agreed to by Frederick and his wife. On February 8th, a month before his father died, a cannula was fitted to allow Frederick to breathe,⁴⁹ and for the remainder of his life, he was unable to speak and often communicated through writing.⁵⁰ During the operation, Dr. Bergmann almost killed him by missing the incision in the windpipe and forcing the cannula into the wrong place. Frederick started to cough and bleed, and Bergmann placed his forefinger into the wound and enlarged it. The bleeding subsided after two hours, but Bergmann's actions resulted in an abscess in Frederick's neck, producing pus which gave the new Emperor discomfort for the remaining months of his life.⁴⁹ Later, Frederick questioned, "Why did Bergmann put his finger in my throat?"⁴⁹ and complained that "Bergmann ill-treated [him]".⁴⁹

In spite of his illness, Frederick did his best to fulfill his obligations as Emperor. Immediately after the announcement of his accession, he took the ribbon and star of his Order of the Black Eagle from his jacket and pinned it on the dress of his wife. He was determined, though gravely ill, to honor the position of his wife as Empress.⁵¹ As the German Emperor, he officially received Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway, and attended the wedding of his son Prince Henry to his niece Princess Irene. Ruling for only 99 days,⁵² Frederick was unable to effect many lasting changes to Germany.⁵³ He could not put into effect the proclamation he had penned before he ascended to the position—an edict that would limit the powers of the chancellor and monarch under the constitution.⁵⁴ He did, however, force Robert von Puttkammer to resign as Prussian Minister of the Interior on June 8 when evidence indicated that Puttkammer had interfered in the Reichstag elections. Dr. Mackenzie wrote that the Emperor had "an almost overwhelming sense of the duties of his position."⁵⁵ In a letter to Lord Napier, Empress Victoria wrote, "The Emperor is able to attend to his business, and do a great deal, but not being able to speak is, of course, most trying."⁵⁶ Frederick had the fervor but not the time to accomplish his desires, lamenting in May 1888, "I cannot die ... What would happen to Germany?"⁵⁷ On June 15, Frederick III finally passed away, to be succeeded by his 29-year-old son William II. He is buried in a mausoleum attached to the Friedenskirche in Potsdam.⁵⁸ After his death, he was referred to by British Prime Minister William Gladstone as the "Barbarossa of German liberalism."⁵⁹

Legacy

Many historians, including William Harbutt Dawson and Erich Eyck, consider that Frederick's early death put an end to the development of liberalism within the German empire.⁷ They believe that it might have been possible for Frederick, given a longer reign and better health, to transform Germany into a more liberal democratic country and prevent its militaristic path toward war.⁵²⁶⁰⁶¹ Certain authors, such as Dr. J. McCullough, claim specifically that Frederick would have prevented World War I and by extension the resulting Weimar Republic.⁶¹ Other historians, such as Michael Balfour, extend this claim even further and postulate that the liberal German Emperor might have prevented the outbreak of World War II, as the end of World War I directly affected the state of the world's development.⁶² These beliefs were founded on Frederick's long history of liberalism and the ideas he discussed with Victoria and others before his reign. Admiring Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the British parliamentary system,³⁷⁶³ Frederick and his wife planned to rule as consorts and liberalize Germany through the appointment of more liberal ministers.⁶⁴ The office of Chancellor would also be severely limited,⁵⁴ and Germany would be reorganized to include many elements of British liberalism. Frederick believed a country should not act against the popular opinion of its inhabitants.³⁸⁶⁵ However, his father lived over 90 years, and Frederick ascended to the throne as a sick, old man on the threshold of death. The liberal German Emperor, who could not influence policy at the height of his power, popularity, and health just after his military successes, was unable to do so either during his reign. Frederick's life inspired historian Frank Tipton to speculate, "What would have happened had his father died sooner or if he himself had lived longer?"⁶⁶

Other historians, including Wilhelm Mommsen and Arthur Rosenberg, oppose the idea that Frederick could have, or would have, liberalized Germany.⁷ Several believe that he would not dare to oppose his father and Bismarck to change Germany's course. Frederick was a natural soldier; steeped in his family's strong military tradition, he had happily reported to his father since he joined the army at the age of ten.¹ Frederick had complied with most of William's and Bismarck's policies early in his life and was not likely to have changed his behavior.⁶³⁶⁷ Historian Arthur Rosenberg claims that, despite his liberal tendencies, Frederick still firmly believed in Bismarck and his system.⁶⁸ A further argument is that Frederick had too weak and ineffectual a character to have brought about real change in Germany regardless of how long he reigned.⁴³⁶⁹ Historians also state that the political climate and party system of Germany during the reign of Frederick III were too steeped in the old ways for him to overcome with liberalization.⁷⁰ Finally, historian Andreas Dorpalen claims that Frederick's liberal persona may have been exaggerated by liberals after his death to keep the liberal movement strong in Germany.⁷¹ Dorpalen also pointed out that, in retrospect, the many mistakes made by William II helped to paint his predecessor Frederick III in a more favorable light.⁷²

Frederick's children held various political positions and greatly influenced Europe. William II was the most well known son of Frederick III, becoming emperor after his father's death. Unlike his father, William II had not personally experienced the horrors of war. He enthusiastically embraced his family's military traditions and came under Bismarck's tutelage. The Chancellor, disapproving of Frederick and Victoria's liberal ways, felt bound to increase the tensions between William II and his parents.⁷³ William II grew up full of disdain for his parents' opinions on government. Shortly after his father's death, he proclaimed that he would follow the path of his grandfather, William I, and made no reference to Frederick III.⁷⁴ Very militaristic in thought, William II abandoned all of his father's liberal policies and ideas and eventually led Germany into World War I.⁷⁷²

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Honours

Arms

Emperor Frederick III's arms were the Coat of Arms of the German Empire. These arms depicted a black eagle called the Reichsadler (English: Eagle of the Empire) with a crown that hovers over its head.

Ancestry

Issue

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c MacDonogh, p. 17.
^ Kollander, p. 79.
^ ^a ^b The Illustrated London News
^ Dyos, p. 20.
^ Tipton, p.175
^ ^a ^b Van der Kiste, p. 10.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Dorpalen, p. 2.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 11.
^ ^a ^b Van der Kiste, p. 12.
^ ^a ^b Palmowski, p. 43.
^ Sperber, p. 64.
^ Sperber, p. 128-129.
^ Röhl, p. 554.
^ Mueller-Bohn, p. 44.
^ ^a ^b Mueller-Bohn, p. 14.
^ ^a ^b Nichols, p. 7.
^ ^a ^b Van der Kiste, p. 15.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 16.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 31.
^ MacDonogh, pp. 17–18.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 43.
^ Kollander, p. 21.
^ Röhl, p.12.
^ MacDonogh, p. 22.
^ ^a ^b Röhl, p. 101.
^ Röhl, p. xiii.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 68.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 61.
^ Pakula, p. 168.
^ Pakula, p. 69.
^ Lord, p. 125.
^ Pakula, p. 98.
^ Howard, p. 60.
^ ^a ^b Kollander, p. 92.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kollander, p. 109.
^ Dorpalen, p. 6.
^ ^a ^b ^c Dorpalen, p. 1.
^ ^a ^b Dorpalen, p. 11.
^ Van der Kiste, pp. 130–31.
^ Mueller-Bohn, p. 420.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 89.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 128.
^ ^a ^b Sheehan, p. 217.
^ Pakula, p. 448.
^ Pakula, p. 479.
^ Sinclair, p. 195
^ Sinclair, p. 206
^ Judd, p. 13.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Sinclair, p. 204
^ Dorpalen, p. 27.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 193.
^ ^a ^b Kitchen, p. 214.
^ Cecil, p. 110.
^ ^a ^b Kollander, p. 147.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 195.
^ Van der Kiste, p. 196.
^ Pakula, p. 484.
^ Wanckel
^ Kollander, p. xi.
^ Chalat, p. 1307.
^ ^a ^b McCullough, p. 403.
^ Balfour, p. v.
^ ^a ^b Dorpalen, p. 3.
^ Farago, p. 264.
^ Dorpalen, p. 22.
^ Tipton, p. 176.
^ Dorpalen, p. 18.
^ Rosenberg, p. 34.
^ Dorpalen, p. 4.
^ Sheehan, p. 216.
^ Dorpalen, p. 30.
^ ^a ^b Dorpalen, p. 31.
^ Feuchtwanger, p. 243.
^ Kollander, p. 178.

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