Our Fritz : Emperor Frederick III and the political culture of imperial Germany /
Müller, Frank Lorenz, 1970-
Our Fritz : Emperor Frederick III and the political culture of imperial Germany / Frank Lorenz Müller. - Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2011. - 1 online resource (340 pages, 14 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The Hohenzollern monarchs -- Shaping a prince's life -- Liberalism and empire -- A national treasure -- The politics of succession -- Illness and reign -- Contested memory.
In the first comprehensive life of Frederick III, Müller reconstructs how the beloved persona of "Our Fritz" was created and used for various political purposes before and after the emperor's tragic death from throat cancer. Frederick III served as a canvas onto which different political forces projected their hopes and fears for Germany's future. On June 15, 1888, a mere ninety-nine days after ascending the throne to become king of Prussia and German emperor, Frederick III succumbed to throat cancer. Europeans were spellbound by the cruel fate nobly borne by the voiceless Fritz, who for more than two decades had been celebrated as a military hero and loved as a kindly gentleman. A number of grief-stricken individuals reportedly offered to sacrifice their own healthy larynxes to save the ailing emperor. Frank Lorenz Müller, in the first comprehensive life of Frederick III ever written, reconstructs how the hugely popular persona of "Our Fritz" was created and used for various political purposes before and after the emperor's tragic death. Sandwiched between the reign of his ninety-year-old father and the calamitous rule of his own son, the future emperor William II, Frederick III served as a canvas onto which different political forces projected their hopes and fears for Germany's future. The book moves beyond the myth that Frederick's humane liberalism would have built a lasting Anglo-German partnership, perhaps even preventing World War I, and beyond the castigations and exaggerations of parties with a different agenda. Surrounded by an unforgettable cast of characters that includes the emperor's widely hated English wife, Vicky--daughter of Queen Victoria--and the scheming Otto von Bismarck, Frederick III offers in death as well as in life a revealing, poignant glimpse of Prussia, Germany, and the European world that his son would help to shatter.
In English.
9780674062696 (electronic bk.) 0674062698 (electronic bk.) 0674266196 9780674266193
10.4159/harvard.9780674062696 doi
22573/ctt1j3p2h JSTOR
Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888.
Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888 --Public opinion.
Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888.
1871-1918
Emperors--Germany--Biography.
Princes--Germany--Biography.
Political culture--History.--Germany
Memorialization--History.--Germany
Empereurs--Allemagne--Biographies.
Princes--Allemagne--Biographies.
Commémorations--Histoire.--Allemagne
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY--Historical.
HISTORY--Europe--Germany.
Emperors.
Kings and rulers.
Memorialization.
Political culture.
Politics and government
Princes.
Public opinion.
Politisk kultur--historia--1800-talet.--Tyskland
Germany--Kings and rulers--Biography.
Prussia (Germany)--Kings and rulers--Biography.
Germany--Politics and government--1871-1918.
Germany--History--Frederick III, 1888.
Allemagne--Politique et gouvernement--1871-1918.
Allemagne--Histoire--1888 (Frédéric III)
Germany.
Germany--Prussia.
Tyskland--kungar och härskare--1800-talet--biografi.
Tyskland--politik och förvaltning--historia--1800-talet.
Tyskland--historia--1800-talet.
Electronic books.
collective biographies.
Biographies.
History.
Biographies.
Biographies.
DD224 / .M79 2011eb
943.08/4092
Our Fritz : Emperor Frederick III and the political culture of imperial Germany / Frank Lorenz Müller. - Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2011. - 1 online resource (340 pages, 14 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The Hohenzollern monarchs -- Shaping a prince's life -- Liberalism and empire -- A national treasure -- The politics of succession -- Illness and reign -- Contested memory.
In the first comprehensive life of Frederick III, Müller reconstructs how the beloved persona of "Our Fritz" was created and used for various political purposes before and after the emperor's tragic death from throat cancer. Frederick III served as a canvas onto which different political forces projected their hopes and fears for Germany's future. On June 15, 1888, a mere ninety-nine days after ascending the throne to become king of Prussia and German emperor, Frederick III succumbed to throat cancer. Europeans were spellbound by the cruel fate nobly borne by the voiceless Fritz, who for more than two decades had been celebrated as a military hero and loved as a kindly gentleman. A number of grief-stricken individuals reportedly offered to sacrifice their own healthy larynxes to save the ailing emperor. Frank Lorenz Müller, in the first comprehensive life of Frederick III ever written, reconstructs how the hugely popular persona of "Our Fritz" was created and used for various political purposes before and after the emperor's tragic death. Sandwiched between the reign of his ninety-year-old father and the calamitous rule of his own son, the future emperor William II, Frederick III served as a canvas onto which different political forces projected their hopes and fears for Germany's future. The book moves beyond the myth that Frederick's humane liberalism would have built a lasting Anglo-German partnership, perhaps even preventing World War I, and beyond the castigations and exaggerations of parties with a different agenda. Surrounded by an unforgettable cast of characters that includes the emperor's widely hated English wife, Vicky--daughter of Queen Victoria--and the scheming Otto von Bismarck, Frederick III offers in death as well as in life a revealing, poignant glimpse of Prussia, Germany, and the European world that his son would help to shatter.
In English.
9780674062696 (electronic bk.) 0674062698 (electronic bk.) 0674266196 9780674266193
10.4159/harvard.9780674062696 doi
22573/ctt1j3p2h JSTOR
Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888.
Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888 --Public opinion.
Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888.
1871-1918
Emperors--Germany--Biography.
Princes--Germany--Biography.
Political culture--History.--Germany
Memorialization--History.--Germany
Empereurs--Allemagne--Biographies.
Princes--Allemagne--Biographies.
Commémorations--Histoire.--Allemagne
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY--Historical.
HISTORY--Europe--Germany.
Emperors.
Kings and rulers.
Memorialization.
Political culture.
Politics and government
Princes.
Public opinion.
Politisk kultur--historia--1800-talet.--Tyskland
Germany--Kings and rulers--Biography.
Prussia (Germany)--Kings and rulers--Biography.
Germany--Politics and government--1871-1918.
Germany--History--Frederick III, 1888.
Allemagne--Politique et gouvernement--1871-1918.
Allemagne--Histoire--1888 (Frédéric III)
Germany.
Germany--Prussia.
Tyskland--kungar och härskare--1800-talet--biografi.
Tyskland--politik och förvaltning--historia--1800-talet.
Tyskland--historia--1800-talet.
Electronic books.
collective biographies.
Biographies.
History.
Biographies.
Biographies.
DD224 / .M79 2011eb
943.08/4092