After the fall of the Nazi regime, Prussia was abolished by decree of the Allied commanders in 1947, permanently ending a story that stretched for nearly a thousand years. From a small pagan tribe, the Borrusi, it grew into a state that would become the nucleus for uniting the German states. Like all European powers, Prussia fought wars, expanded, and sometimes faced defeat – but it survived.

Yet today, the common image of Prussia is narrow: militaristic, rigid, joyless, forever poised to dominate its neighbors. This view misses the full picture. Prussia shaped the modern world not primarily through conquest, but through education, science, law, and culture. It pioneered compulsory public education and the Humboldtian research university model, which remains foundational to higher learning. Thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and G. W. F. Hegel reshaped ethics, law, and political philosophy, while scientists like Alexander von Humboldt and Hermann von Helmholtz laid cornerstones of modern natural science.

Prussia promoted a merit-based civil service, rule of law, religious tolerance, the abolition of slavery in 1763, and later dismantled serfdom. Its contributions to music, literature, and architecture were decisive: the rediscovery of Bach, Mendelssohn’s compositions, Schinkel’s buildings, and Lessing’s writings reflect the enduring cultural impact of Prussian institutions.

The reason the military image dominates is historical and strategic. Prussia was geographically vulnerable: small, surrounded by stronger powers, with no natural barriers to protect its borders. Frederick William I (1688–1740) recognized that survival required discipline, organization, and a highly capable army. These measures were not for conquest – they were for security. Military efficiency was a necessity, not an ideology. Like other European powers at the time, Frederick the Great used the army to expand Prussia’s territories, but his successes were often aided by luck as much as strategy: Only the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia in 1762 spared Prussia from total defeat.

In the Napoleonic era, Prussia’s initial defeats in 1806 reflected an outdated structure, confirming again the need for an effective military. The subsequent reforms under Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Boyen, and Clausewitz created a modern, flexible army, capable of defending the nation and restoring its territories. Even then, Prussia recognized its limits: as a small state in central Europe, it could not be safe from the ambition of our powers.

The idea of a German unification was mostly borne out of the 1848 revolutions, creating a sense of patriotism and nationalism, which provided the fuel for Otto von Bismarck’s policy of “blood and iron” to engineer the North German Confederation (1867) and later the German Empire (1871).independent without alliances and, eventually, unification.

French nationalism and pride led to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. A cleverly manipulated telegram inflamed French public opinion, and crowds demanded war. Prussia did not start the war but it was prepared and responded decisively, and through the war, Germany was unified under Prussian leadership.

World War I brought catastrophe, but responsibility was complex. Four terrible years of warfare resulted in almost 40 Million casualties. It is now the most common consensus, that the cause of the war was multi-causal; though German and Austro-Hungarian policies were crucial, Britain, France, Russia also have to share the blame (Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson), In his 2012 Book “Sleepwalkers”, historian Christopher Clark argues that no sole country is to blame for starting the First World War, rather, each country unwittingly stumbled into it.

But the penalties for Germany were brutal. Germany had to accept the sole responsibility for the war, she also was also required to pay reparations: initially set at 132 billion gold marks (~$33 billion USD at the time; modern estimates ~$400–500 billion in today’s money relative to GDP), lost Alsace-Lorraine to France, Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, parts of Prussia to Poland and all of her colonies. Her armies reduced to less than 100,000 men, without air force, tanks or a capable navy.

With the Kaiser now in exile and Germany a Republic, this is were the original story of Prussia ends.

The Nazis co-opted Prussian symbols (like the “Day of Potsdam”) and ideals (duty, national community) for legitimacy, twisting the Prussian virtues for their nationalist agenda. While the Nazis adopted some Prussian aesthetics and concepts, they rejected its liberal and democratic elements, ultimately aiming for a totalitarian state that subsumed Prussian identity into the broader National Socialist vision.

Prussia may be gone as a state, but its historical significance endures. It was not an inherently militaristic or aggressive power; it was a small, prudent state navigating a dangerous continent. Its contributions to law, education, science, and culture shaped Germany and Europe.

Germany is a modern, democratic country in the heart of Europe. It has replaced the ideology of peace through strength with strong bonds and friendship among her neighbors. The European Union has been founded to foster cooperation and mutual respect among their member states, providing peace and stability on a continent that has seen conflict and suffering for two thousand years. But the role of Prussia is greatly misunderstood, even misrepresented in the public eye. It was but a country among many others, but her significance to the development of Germany should not be underestimated.