Frederick III

Many German historians regard Emperor Frederick III (1831-1888) as a liberal sovereign who could have saved German history from its tragic course. Recent historians, however, have challenged the long-held view that liberalism's failure in 19th century Germany presaged Hitler's triumph, claiming that earlier scholars have overlooked liberalism's positive contributions to German history. This book reassesses Frederick III's contribution to the liberal movement. Using documents recently made available from the Hessische Hausstiftung, the author considers the question of whether Frederick abetted the liberal movement's successes or was part of its tragic history.As crown prince, Frederick maintained ties with prominent liberals and rejected Otto von Bismarck's conservative domestic and foreign policies. His liberal impulses were strengthened by his marriage to the Queen of England's daughter, Princess Victoria. But when Frederick came to the throne in 1888, he died after only 99 days. Many historians consider his untimely death the swan song of German liberalism. Kollander finds that the documents show Frederick to be a constitutional liberal who fought to preserve the constitution-the basis of liberal political power-from subversion by the conservatives. However, he only condoned liberal reform on the basis of the constitutional status quo, rejecting his wife's wish to see British political institutions adopted in Germany. Although Frederick contributed to the survival of liberalism as a political force, the author concludes, the extent of his liberal views have been exaggerated by many historians.

.,."masterful and easy to comprehend. Kollander's premise is to establish the effect of Fredricks liberal beliefs on late 19th century German politics; she effectively strips away the legend of Fredricks liberal beliefs....Frederick III is one of those rare biographies that sets out with a statement and follows a course to the conclusion. It is nice to be able to add this book to my library."-Royal Book News, ?...masterful and easy to comprehend. Kollander's premise is to establish the effect of Fredricks liberal beliefs on late 19th century German politics; she effectively strips away the legend of Fredricks liberal beliefs....Frederick III is one of those rare biographies that sets out with a statement and follows a course to the conclusion. It is nice to be able to add this book to my library.?-Royal Book News, ?It has been the accepted truth for over a hundred years that the premature death of the Emperor Frederick and, possibly, the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary were two of the primary causes of the Great War....The author of this challenging book sets out to examine just how liberal Frederick was and, in doing so, challenges what is one of the bedrock myths of late 19th century European history....this highly competent book exposes much of his myth as being a fabrication and goes some way towards demolishing the idea that, had he survived, Germany would have taken a totally different path.?-Royal Digest, ?This compact monograph draws on recently released, unpublished correspondence between Frederick and his English wife, Victoria, to illuminate the monarch's commitment to liberalism. A solid piece of scholarship, this book will interest established scholars and graduate students alike.?-Choice, ..."masterful and easy to comprehend. Kollander's premise is to establish the effect of Fredricks liberal beliefs on late 19th century German politics; she effectively strips away the legend of Fredricks liberal beliefs....Frederick III is one of those rare biographies that sets out with a statement and follows a course to the conclusion. It is nice to be able to add this book to my library."-Royal Book News

PATRICIA KOLLANDER is Assistant Professor of History at Florida Atlantic University and has written articles on 19th-century German history.