His Monstrous Father - Frederick the Great - European History - Part 1 - Extra History 

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And don't forget that Frederick's relationship with his father was SO bad that he wrote in his will that he wanted to be buried with his greyhounds, instead next to his father

"This angered his father, who punished him severely."

Frederick William: In order to make my son manly and godly, I will have him tutored only by men and boss around attractive warriors. This will not awaken anything in him.

Frederick the Great introduced us Germans to potatoes, what a fucking legend

"A secret library of 3000 books" *Literal door in the palace with a sign that reads 'Definitely NOT a library '* King: "Well, all seems in order here"

After rewatching the Catherine the Great episode, I can see why him and Catherine did connect well.

"When his mother found out that his sister was being beaten by her tutor, she hired a different tutor. Frederick's father... preferred to do the beating himself." -Jack Rackham, in his own video about Frederick in 2022.

The fact he became such a great reformer, (and he wasnt just a warmongerer) after this childhood and teenage years, is amazing

This reminds me of a Joseon(Korean) prince who was abused by his father for the opposite reasons from Frederick. The prince was fond of martial pursuits and even wrote a book a spear techniques. But his father hated him for not being confucian enough. He was treated in a similar fashion to Frederick, this lead to him cracking under the pressure and going insane. He killed three of his attendants and for this crime the king locked him in a box and starved him to death.

3:12 The story of these "giants" was tragic in its own right. Not only were many of them press ganged and kidnapped from their homes in other countries, Fredrick apparently took a number of them and tried to "make them taller" via a "stretching device." Yep, he literally put his own men on a rack torture device to pop their spines and try to make them a bit taller. He EVENTUALLy ceased the experiment after a few were torn apart, but yeah. Just in case there was any question as to whether or not Fredrick was abusive only towards his family.

No idea how you manage to hide 3000 books but respect on Fredrick's part

Fredrick liked the arts and modern ideas. This angered his father, who punished him severely

This puts a whole new light on how Fritz would treat Sophie and especially her mother years later.

8:09 For anyone wondering, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI personally intervened and insisted that a prince of any imperial estate could only be tried before the Imperial Diet, hence why Frederick wasn’t put to death

How to be a good parent: Look up Frederick William I and do literally everything except that.

you actually forgot that even his own mother tried to escape with him

“Where some states have an army, the Prussian Army has a state.” -Voltaire

Frederick the Great : how to rise from the ashes of your hellish childhood.

Frederick the Great also had an appearance on one of my favorite Epic Rap Battles of History. Hail the flute-busting Prussian!

Ivan the Terrible: "There's no great who could defeat this Russian..." Frederick the Great: "How about a flute busting Prussian?"

Me: “Man, I sure loved that Catherine episode! Such a tragedy, I wonder how she got along so well with Frederick.” Also me, 5 years later after this episode: “Oh…… It is like poetry, it rhymes.”

Fredrick Der Grosse was probably one of the most capable military and political leaders of his period. An authoritarian autocrat who supported the arts, education, and sciences and rightfully deserves the title Enlightened Despot.

The peculiar title "King in Prussia" had nothing to do with the size or importance of the realm. It was about loopholes: 1. Prussia was the one part of the composite realm of Brandenburg-Prussia that actually was not within the boundaries of the HRE, so once it stopped to be a Polish fiefdom, there was nothing stopping the Hohenzollerns from crowning themselves there. 2. Besides the Ducal (or Eastern) Prussia, there was also the other Prussia: Royal Prussia, which was part of Poland. Therefore, calling themselves "Kings of Prussia" would imply making a claim to the lands of Polish Kings.

With Fredrick's history, I'm curious if he did have a personal connected with Catherine the Great because of both having terrible parents.

"Please forgive me dear Katte! In God's name forgive me! " "There's nothing to forgive... I'd die for you with joy in my heart" AAAAH WHY IS THAT SO SWEET!?

This is the part of Frederick II we don't often hear about. We always hear about his time as ruler and the legends he made, but not about how abused he amd his sister were. Likewise for his father. Frederick Wilhelm I, the "Soldier King" is not best remembered for being a monster.

Gotta suck to be the soldiers who forced young Fredrick to watch his lover die. They had to know if they refused: the father would kill them. But they must have also known when Fredrick became king, he'd probably also kill them.

YAAAAAS! One of my heroes! Edit: fun fact, when Napolean visited Frederick's tomb, he told his valet, "If this man were still alive, we wouldn't be here."

Frederick's father: the homophobic bully 3:23 Also Frederick's father: stacks his council with men, smoking foot-long pipes.

"No child of mine will learn the flute!" "specifically the Transverse flute father" "TRANSverse flute?!?!?!"

Regarding those giant soldiers: The frequently hilarious military history podcast Lions Led By Donkeys has an episode on The Potsdam Giants that also covers a lot of Frederick's early life. As it turns out, that story was far, FAR stranger and more disturbing than mentioned here.

one of my fav things are how we're starting to get these lines of history series tied together rather than a bunch of individual series ALSO THAT START WAS REALLY CHILLING

Prussia naming their boys Fredrick. William. Or Both. Apparently there was some type of name shortage.

Fredrick-William in a McDonald's. Person: Yeah can I get a Big Mac with a drink and *french* fries FW: *WHO. SAID. THAT.*

Fredricks the greats life would make for a great Netflix show. It has LGTBQ+ representation, a compelling main character, competent Villans, exciting battles, high stakes political maneuvering, breath taking twists, and a happy ending.

You know what. Knowing what Fred went thro makesme wanna respect him more

His upbringing raises an interesting question: if his interests and pasions were nurtered more, would he have become even greater or was it going through and overcoming the harsh treatment that shaped him to become great?

A lot of European monarchs seem to have terrible parents. Then again a lot of people have terrible parents these days so I guess nothings changed.

I’m sure his tombstone read, “He never bore children.”

What's even more heartbreaking is Katte(Fred's executed lover) called back Katte*in french*: there's nothing to forgive, I die for toy with joy in my HEART!" SERIOUSLY, Fred's dad might have been a "good army man" but he was a INSANE FATHER *glad u guys had this, what these 2 went through was just tragic*

"You must like more MASCULINE things" **Gets a boyfriend** "Off with his head"

“And when he took power he was never beaten again” Chills literal chills🔥

Frederick the Great is one of my favorite historical figures because of his past. He was everything his father hated, imaginative, creative and philosophical. Yet those were the exact traits that made him be known as Frederick *the Great* and not just Frederick II.

Young Frederick was more interested in the arts and boys than military stuff. This enraged Frederick's father, who punished him severely.

Frederick the great is a good boy and I want to give him a hug.

It's quite interesting seeing how each of the three generations of Prussian kings handled the state affairs. Fredrick's grandfather was a great patron of the arts and sciences. Fredrick's father fought corruption, promoted meritocracy and expanded/improved the military. Frederick himself did a bit of both: he used the powerful prussian army his father had built for defending the homeland and even expanding the territory's borders. Not only that but he also improved his father's military reforms. And he did all of this, while at the same time was a great parton of the arts like his grandpa. A really interesting and complete individual

Huh. Didn't expect to be reminded so much of my own childhood in the youth of a long dead monarch

My wife and I got to see Frederick's Sanssouci Palace and his grave while in Germany recently. He has always struck me as a very humble, down-to-Earth man, despite his being one of the most important leaders of his era. Looking forward to this series!

4:20 The most sympathetic thing about Frederick-William

Frederick William was a bad father because his views clashed with his sons. It makes sense he tried to convince his son of his views, but the way he went about it was quite shameful.

i’m kind of surprised it took them this long to cover such a powerful person in history

Out the gate, first servant of state 😭

Fredrick the Great's dad missed judged the usefulness of philosophy and music to a warrior. Philosophy is the discipline of turning knowledge into useful principles. Music has no equal when it comes to learning tempo. Both of which compliment each other and allow for a quick, creative and pragmatic style of warfare.

He deserves a movie

He coresponded with Voltaire, was praised by Kant, and was renound for being the ideal example of an enlightened despot. But he never had children nor did he ever attempt to be serious in a relationship...

If there's ONE THING Frederick William can be forgiven for, it's flying into a violent rage at the mention of France. That's a valid reaction tbf

*describes the saddest thing ever* 2 seconds later: THANKS SO MUCH TO HELLO FRESH-

Give me a second. I'm going to build a time machine to have a *VERY CORDIAL* conversation with Frederick-William.

Napoleon and Fredrick would have been a dream team

I also survived an abusive father, it really is survival horror.

Crazy how many people are defending his father for wanting to do whats best for the nation. Doing what's best for the nation is making sure your heir is educated and not toutering them mentally. Philip II got his son to learn philosphy from Aristotle and Alexander became one of the great conquorers ever. People acomplish great things inspite of bad parents, not because of them.

I'm just surprised the Fred didn't try to kill his dad for the things he did to him

Can I just say getting a living toy soldier set is admittedly very cool if you ignore the whole " holy s*it, where and how did he get those kids, and is their only job to be ordered around by fritz?".

Can't wait for part 2! Even though his father was an ...hole, he loved his soldiers so much that he didn't want to lose them in wars. He left Fritz a well-financed state - "ready" for war. One mistake: at 1:33 you show Prussia 1786 without its major (war) gain Silesia! Maps...

If you ever visit germany and venture around berlin I highly recommend visiting potsdam and all the beautiful remnants we have of Friedrich dem Großen. There are wonderful roman inspired gardens, spires, columns, victory arches and residences you can visit. Especially schloss sanssouci, it is a "small" summer residence with beautiful gardens. He was buried there together with his beloved dogs rather than the traditional burial places. He is also responsible for introducing the potato to germany and the specific story is almost identical to the one told in france about the same plant.

That latin teacher is goated

That beheading must've been super easy considering these characters have no neck and the head just floats🙃

I still remember 4 years ago when I read Christopher Clark’s ‘Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Fall of Prussia’ when he talked about Fredrick’s upbringing. I remember in particular how when he was in his teenage years, his father once dragged him around Berlin wearing literal rages for clothes while in chains. Berating him around the city while onlookers watched the Crown Prince being abused and humiliated. The fact he went on to do great things shows his great character in persistence. Even when in the face of impossible odds, such as after his defeat by a combined Austro-Russian force during the 7 years’ War. (Though as they’ll cover, during that war he was on the brink of mental collapse at times due to how pressed he was).

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! Friedrich has been one of my favourite historical figures since forever. I'm so so so happy he's finally getting a series in extra history 😍😍😍

7:00 Historians: no they were just roommates 😅

I hate to admit it, but I've been waiting for this since I learned of this person on ERB. Should have known Extra History would surpass all my expectations

Oh wow, I'm from Germany and the Depiction I got presented until now of those two Prussian Kings seems rather lackluster. Thank you for more enlightenment.

Its a little comforting to know if he lived in modern day…Frederick’s dad would be jailed

This would heavily explain why he was connected to Catherine

I'm so glad to see you guys finally did an episode on Frederick the Great, he's one of my favourite historical figures, and should be an inspiration to all leaders across the world.

One of the many problems with having a monarchy is that you have to find someone who is healthy enough to be your heir, and then train him for the next 10 to 20 years and on top of that, you Gotta make sure they stay alive until they create an heir for themselves

Really glad you guys covered the part about his lover in the beginning of this video, I’ve seen a lot of people online deny that such things ever happened in Fredericks life.

I only just started this, and have been tearing at a bunch of the content I've only just discovered today. I'm so happy he passed out, started crying when I thought he was forced to watch this which he was, but so happy he passed out. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy

His father is literally homelander.

The most interesting thing about all of this is that his father achieved most of his goal in his son's education. He became a great general and military man, he too wore only military uniforms which were always dirty of tobacco

Guy's dad had so much hate for "sodomites" yet he made his own military unit of tall ripped men and liked to watch said ripped men do drills

I'm excited to see the Frederick series is finally here! I'm looking forward to hearing more about his accomplishments as king after his unfortunately very rough childhood. Thank you guys for this and all your videos! God be with you out there everybody! ✝️ :)

Frederick-William seeing his son from the afterlife: I might not have turned him straight or religious but at least I made a great soldier and general out of him.

I was first introduced to Frederick the Great through Epic Rap Battles of history. I'm so excited to see you covering his story! Looking forward to the next video!

You know, I rewatched your videos' on Catherine the Great and how well Frederick treated her, so now knowing how terrible his own father was to him, it makes sense that he could see that Catherine was in a similar situation, so he did his best to make her feel welcome in his court, to give her a ear and a shoulder. More then that, they actually shared similar interests which, if Europe in those days was less...waring and competing interest, would have made international forums entertaining as the rulers of Prussia and Russia spend hours talking about their favorite literature, musicals and plays , debating the pros and cons of them like modern fans do at conventions, only now when both dress as royals from some fantasy anime, they really are royals

The only problem with these episodes is that they end. I can't describe the joy i feel when a new video is announced on the feed. Thank you Extra History team.

Interesting detail that wasn't explained, the reason he was king "in" Prussia is the Holy Roman Empire law forbids a HRE prince from being a king, with the sole exception of Bohemia (but that's a whole other story). Prussia is not part of the HRE, so it can be a kingdom, but as a HRE prince (of Brandenburg), Frederick may only be called a king while he is in Prussia, i.e outside of the empire.

'This enraged Frederick's father, who punished him severely.'

I know that Frederick William was a terrible person and an awful father. But the idea of Germany becoming united under Prussia's power and prestige is due to him. In addition he created the strongest war machine in the holy Roman empire. Frederick William is really the base of all of it. Poor father, but a strong leader. As a leader he did he's job, but as a person he failed.

Hyped for the next episode, this series will be a really good one

But Fredrick has a plan; he always has a plan 😂

Oooh, looking forward to this one even more than usual. "Der Alte Fritz", as the germans call him nowerdays, is one of my favorite historical figures.

Yes! Thank you! So excited for this new character series! Frederick was such an interesting figure. Very capable and smart

I am so happy you guys are doing frederick the great series! I just want to give young Frederick a hug :(

Frederick earned his “Great” title. I have been waiting for EH to tell his story ever since they told Catherine the Great’s story. It’s nice to see that finally come to be.

I kept waiting to hear "This enraged his father, who punished him severely!" throughout this whole video... then I remembered that was the 'other' history youtube channel.🤣

So looking forward to the coming episodes! Fredrik the great is one of my favourite monarchs of all time and I espresso love Prussian history. So looking forward to see how your videos of him will continue

Frederick's father would deserve a video of his own because he actually was a far more complex character than shown here. Indeed, he could be violent and very dangerous. But he had other sides, too. While he did create a huge army, he never intended to use it offensively because as a deeply religious man he believed that waging war (unless in defence) was a grave sin. The Prussian army was meant to deter would-be invaders and to make the otherwise insignificant country an interesting player in the diplomatic theatre - so you'd want to have Prussia as your well-armed friend and ally. And shortly before he died, Frederick William admitted that his quirk of collecting the famous Giant Grenadiers was basically a ruse, so other monarchs would consider him a bit of a weird eccentric and not pay too much attention at how much he was transforming his kingdom. Also, fueled both by Calvinist and Lutheran ideas he genuinely believed that God wanted kings - and by extension, the civil servants as the king's agents - to be active and to work tirelessly for the welfare of the country. Even as a family man he had two faces: While he was cruel to Frederick, his youngest son Henry remembered him a a rough, but likable man. Frederick William had successfully broken and reshaped his heir, but he had no reason to do the same to Henry and so he didn't. While Henry did get the mandatory military education (and later became a better commander than Frederick himself), he also was allowed to do basically anything he liked - play the violin, read the works of philosophers and enjoy the arts. (This difference in their treatment by their father would become one of the reasons why Frederick was envious of Henry till the end of his life.) Frederick William was a strange sort of sadist who did not even enjoy tormenting others - not that this would have made any difference for those who had to suffer under his brutal behavior.

I've been waiting for you to cover him! Can't wait to see more!