“with god for king and fatherland!” war and religion in Prussia during the wars of liberation (1813 - 1815)

The article touches upon the significance of the religious factor for the formation of the patriotic ideology in Prussia during the Liberation Wars (1813 - 1815). The author begins with exploring how radically the image of war was changing in the German political thought in the beginning of the 19th century. In Prussia the new image of war was being created under the pressure of constant conflicts with Napoleonic France. The year 1813 turned out to be crucial in this effect since the Prussian government was compelled to mobilize the Prussian society to participate in the new war against Napoleon. The author points out that the newly created patriotic propaganda in Prussia was broadly using religious symbols and sings in order to ascertain effective mobilization of the massep. One of the most popular religious and patriotic symbols became the Holy Crosp. The central figure of the war propaganda was Jesus Christ whose martyr death was stylized as holy sacrifice on the altar of the Fatherland. In order to support the patriotic feelings in the population the Prussian government organized religious celebrations that were supposed to emphasize the victories of the Prussian and allied armies over the French. The image of the enemy (Napoleon Bonaparte, the French nation) was also heavily loaded with religious symbolp. In this interpretation the war against the Napoleonic France was treated as fair and holy. The veneration of those who lost their life on the battlefield fighting for king, nation and fatherland was similar to the cult of the Christian martyrp. The example of Prussia can give strong evidence that religion might have played a key role in the modernization process of the European societies in the beginning of the 19th century.