Great Lives

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Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

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Great Lives: Frederick the Great of Prussia

Frederick the Great of Prussia

BBC Radio 4 - Great Lives, Frederick the Great of Prussia

Frederick the Great, the most surprising king of Prussia.

Nicknamed Old Fritz, Frederick the Great of Prussia is associated with a particular type of military proficiency. But there's much more to him than that.

Frederick the Great had a brute of a father. When young Frederick was captured trying to run away, he was locked up and forced to watch his friend - possibly his lover - being beheaded in front of his eyes. King of Prussia from 1740, Frederick was also a musician, a composer, a writer and a chancer who took extraordinary military risks to secure his place in Europe. Adolf Hitler thought the world of Frederick the Great, but how do Germans view him today?

Joining Matthew Parris to discuss a really extraordinary great life is Christopher Clark, regius professor of history at Cambridge University and Frederick's nominator. He recalls crossing into East Berlin in the eighties and being thrilled to discover Frederick's cultural legacy was still largely intact.  Also in studio is Katja Hoyer, author of Beyond the Wall who grew up with the spectre of Frederick looming large both at school and at home.

The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

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