“To my people”

Frederick William III appeals to the people of Prussia

A shattering Prussian defeat at the hands of Napoleon at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806 shocked the world. Shortly before fleeing Berlin, the King informed his people that he had lost a battle and reminded them that “their primary civic duty was the maintenance of public order”. The peace treaty of 1807 reduced Prussia to half of its former size.

Five years later, Prussia joined with Napoleon in his invasion of Russia. After the French armies were forced into headlong retreat, Prussia switched sides in an attempt to regain its independence. With its military depleted, the King needed the help of ordinary citizens and called on “Prussian and German” men to join a newly formed People’s Army or a number of Free Corps (Freikorps) in order to defeat the French. Addressing Prussian women, the King’s sister-in-law, Princess Marianne, asked them as patriots to “swap their gold rings for iron”, donating their jewellery to buy weapons for the patriotic cause.