Nowadays we can assume with certainty that a social worker from the Child Protective Services would stand on the steps of Castle King’s Wusterhausen, where Frederic II grew up. Accusingly she would hold up a letter in which the father, King Friedrich Wilhelm, himself had written down the daily routine for his nine year old son, and she might threaten to take away the child.
Which would have been better, anyhow.
The ‚Soldier King‘ was really delighted when at the 24th
January 1712 Friedrich was born: finally a heir to the throne, (both sons
born before died as babies).
But very soon he finds out that his son was not,
as the King himself had said, „a sort of
human dough which can be moulded as one wants.”
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The father loves discipline, frugality, military and
hunting – his artistically inclined, delicate son soon is hated by the
authoritarian, choleric and iracible absolutistic despot, who tries to
exorcise Friedrich’s „effeminate conduct“
by all means. Sleep, he is convinced, makes children stupid, that’s why the
night rest is shortened.
Here – cited but abridged – an original letter by the
King dictating the daily routine for the nine year old crown prince:
Regulations,
how my oldest son Friedrich should do his studies in Wusterhausen. Wusterhausen,
3rd September 1721
Then he was taught in Bible reading, History,
Christendom, Map, Moral, and German letters.
„At five o’clock
p.m. He should wash his hands and go to the King, ride out, diverting himself
in fresh air and not in the chamber and do what He wants, so long as it is not
against God.”
On Tuesday fencing is added to the curriculum, also
letter writing and arithmetics, Wednesday only history „to strengthen memory“, Thursday as Monday, but instead of German
letter writing French and arithmetic, Saturday “everything will be repeated what He has learned in the whole week (…)
to see if He has profited, then the afternoon is for Fritzen, but if He has not
profited, He should repeat everything He had forgotten between two to six o’clock.
You should
get him used to dress as quickly as a human being can. You should also teach
him that he does the dressing himself and that He becomes proper and tidy, and
not so dirty.”
On Sunday poor little Fritz is allowed to rise at 7
a.m. – but has to hurry to dress, wash, comb, powder and pray in a quarter of
an hour.
“Then He should
breakfast in seven minutes time.”
Well, you could say, that is a tough curriculum – but why
the CPS?
Friedrich is often beaten, when twelve years old the
father gives his son slaps in the face in public; often he gets confinement to
his room with bread and water, and Friedrich writes, how his father e.g. gets
berserk about a lesson in Latin („Papa, I
decline mensa, ae“)and yelled at the teacher:
“Oh, you villain,
Latin for my son! Get out of my sight!” and he gave him a beating and kicks (…)
Scared by the blows and by the furious look on my father’s face, I hid under
the table, stiff with fright, (…). I saw my father after the accomplished throw-out come after me – I shake even more, he grips me at my hair, pulls me from
under the table, drags me into the middle of the room and finally gives me some
boxes on the ears: “Come again with your mensa and you will see how I’ll set
your head straight!”
“Books,
flute, documents – when he caught them they were thrown into the fireplace, and
always the burning of my books was accompanied by strokes or very insistent
rebukes.”
But it should get even worse.
(all quotes
from „Allergnädigster Vater“, editor Frank Schumann, Berlin 1968, translated by
me)
