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Prussianism Quotes

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Prussianism Quotes

“the troops were composed of peasant serfs and poor burghers who were forcibly compelled to enlist. Recruiting frequently degenerated into sheer manhunts which led to bloody clashes. The whole system of military training was of a piece with these acts of cruelty and violence. ‘A soldier should fear his officer more than his enemy.’ Such was the principle laid down by Frederick II.”

“Engels’ Conditions in Germany, one of his early works, contains an excellent pen-portrait of this king. ‘The Kingdom of Prussia […] was then governed by Frederick William III, nicknamed The Just, one of the greatest blockheads to ever grace a throne. Born to be a corporal and to inspect the buttons of an army; dissolute, without passion, and a morality-monger”