Germany in the 18^th century: The Rise of Prussia

Elector Fredrick III crowned himself the King of Prussia in 1701. The country had now been known as Prussia. Followed by Fredrick II “The Great” becoming king in 1740. Fredrick II is known for the large army he had created and was a successful war general. It took only a year after he was crowned king to invade Austria. He had eventually won after a four year battle, enlarging his territory. After that Prussia had invaded Saxony. Russia played a role allying with Saxony which was troublesome for Prussia until Elizabeth of Russia had died and her son made peace. Eventually they had worked together to invade Poland and split up the territory.

Summary: After King Fredrick III had crowned himself King of Prussia, the land had been known formally as Prussia, leading to Fredrick II “The Great” who had made his name out of his successful armies and battles against Austria, Saxony, and Poland.

                                                                Fredrick III "The Great"

Germany in the 19^th Century. The rise and fall of Napoleon. Creating German states.

France had defeated Austria, and some German states had allied with Napoleon. In 1806 Napoleon created the confederation of the Rhine, making up of 16 German states. Not long after, Prussia had gone to war with France, resulting in a defeat. But, in 1813 Prussia had joined with Russia along with Austria, defeating the French in 1815. The Congress of Vienna came together to decide the fate of Europe. A German confederation was made to create a new Holy Roman Empire. It had consisted of 38 states. The German states

began to industrialize in 1830, creating railways throughout Germany. German states and Prussia came together creating a union. In later years, in 1845, series of bad harvests had put them in a vulnerable state with high unemployment and a recession. France had created a revolution that struck throughout Europe causing Prussian and German rulers to make reforms. In 1848 an assembly representing Germany had met up looking for German unity. The revolutionists offered Prussian King to become King of Germany and he declined. European rulers had begun to crack down on the revolting groups. Not long after, the old order returned. Fast forward 30 years, southern German empire had came together of an agreement with Prussia and united under the rule of Prussian King William I.

Summary: When Napoleon created France to be a strong nation, German states had joined a confederation under his ruling. After the fall of Napoleon, German states were given the chance to remake the Holy Roman Empire since Napoleon had ended it. Riots and revolutionist groups had broken out throughout Europe in need of a new system which rulers had agreed to temporarily, only to deny the demands and hunted out the groups. Germany eventually combined with Prussia under command of King William I.

                                                      William I

In regard to the video Berlin Calling, I saw it as in a way a dark, but real film. It was eye opening of how drugs can become such a huge part of your life. To him, his music was his religion and drugs were a way to come closer to his God. In a way, it was similar to his communion like Catholics. Cocaine seemed to be the drug of choice and also MDMT. That did not really surprise me because raves have been known for MDMT and cocaine. The stimulant creates an effect with the music they listen to increasing their high. Imagine a religion where it involved drugs to become holy. The average believers would only have such an effect, but the upper members would be the mostly affected. Which is a good analogy for Ickarus being a priest for his religion, putting him into a psychotic state.
It was very surprising that the producer gave Ickarus another chance after he had demolished her room. In comparison to my life, if something like that were to happen that person would never get another chance no matter how good they are at what they do. I do not know if that was depicted as German culture is more forgiving, but in a way that is what I saw out of it.
A movie this reminds me of is Blow with Johnny Depp as a small town Midwesterner who moves to California and becomes extremely involved in the drug game and changes his life as a whole. It does not remind me just because of the drugs, but because both of the main characters become so manipulated into that lifestyle that it takes over their life and changes them completely.
What I liked about the movie is that it was much different from American Hollywood films. Many viewers in America would not be happy with the ending because it leaves so many unanswered question. But, I think that it gives it a mysterious feeling of you do not know if Ickarus will get better or not. It is up to you to decide.