Strensall
01-08-2004, 01:35
The point of this post is what to do with the Russian owned enclave of Prussia, centring around the historic city of Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad).
A map of the area can be found here:
http://www.calguard.ca.gov/ia/images/map-Kaliningrad.gif
East Prussia, with its capital Konigsberg, was captured by the Red Army in the spring of 1945. The area, which is about the size of Northern Ireland, is on the Baltic coast, bordered by Lithuania and Poland and without direct access to Russia.
Once the historic heartland of the most powerful country in mainland Europe, it is now little more than a troubled, drugs-plauged ruin.
The question is, what should be done with this little piece of history?
Should it return to Germany as a state in the federation? How about to Poland, or Lithuania? Should it stay under Russian control, or should it be granted independance and a referendum on it's future?
Most schools teach little of Prussia, but it's place in the world shaped history as we know it. Below is a brief history of Prussia to the present day:
1657: after an invasion by the Swedes, Poland surrendered sovereignity over Prussia and granted it independance under the Hohenzollern line.
1772: Prussia's power grew, and under King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great), it consisted of the provinces of Brandenburg, Pomerania, Danzig, West Prussia and East Prussia (modern day East Germany, northern Poland, and a small portion of Lithuania).
1815: At Waterloo, the Prussian army arrived much to the suprise of Napoleon, who's troops then routed causing the capture of Napoleon and his subsequent imprisonment.
1871: After provocation, France declared war on Prussia. Seeing this as a foreign attack on fellow Germans, nationalist sentiment allowed Germany to be unified under Prussian leadership. The Prussian army swiftly defeated the French, who had problems mobilising. Paris was occupied, and German lands West of the Rhine were given to Germany along with some majority French ethnic lands (Alsace & Lorraine)
1919: After Germany's defeat in WW1, the Danzig Corridor was given to Poland, separating Prussia from mainland Germany.
1945: Prussia was split between Poland and the Soviet Union, the former gaining the South-East and the latter gaining the North-West. Poland's borders were relocated West to allow for Soviet expansion at the expense of Germany rather than Poland.
1990: Since the cold war, the Prussia has remained under Russian rule and has suffered from lack of investment and rife drug problems and the effects of organised crime. Poverty is widespread, and there is little in terms of an economy.
A map of the area can be found here:
http://www.calguard.ca.gov/ia/images/map-Kaliningrad.gif
East Prussia, with its capital Konigsberg, was captured by the Red Army in the spring of 1945. The area, which is about the size of Northern Ireland, is on the Baltic coast, bordered by Lithuania and Poland and without direct access to Russia.
Once the historic heartland of the most powerful country in mainland Europe, it is now little more than a troubled, drugs-plauged ruin.
The question is, what should be done with this little piece of history?
Should it return to Germany as a state in the federation? How about to Poland, or Lithuania? Should it stay under Russian control, or should it be granted independance and a referendum on it's future?
Most schools teach little of Prussia, but it's place in the world shaped history as we know it. Below is a brief history of Prussia to the present day:
1657: after an invasion by the Swedes, Poland surrendered sovereignity over Prussia and granted it independance under the Hohenzollern line.
1772: Prussia's power grew, and under King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great), it consisted of the provinces of Brandenburg, Pomerania, Danzig, West Prussia and East Prussia (modern day East Germany, northern Poland, and a small portion of Lithuania).
1815: At Waterloo, the Prussian army arrived much to the suprise of Napoleon, who's troops then routed causing the capture of Napoleon and his subsequent imprisonment.
1871: After provocation, France declared war on Prussia. Seeing this as a foreign attack on fellow Germans, nationalist sentiment allowed Germany to be unified under Prussian leadership. The Prussian army swiftly defeated the French, who had problems mobilising. Paris was occupied, and German lands West of the Rhine were given to Germany along with some majority French ethnic lands (Alsace & Lorraine)
1919: After Germany's defeat in WW1, the Danzig Corridor was given to Poland, separating Prussia from mainland Germany.
1945: Prussia was split between Poland and the Soviet Union, the former gaining the South-East and the latter gaining the North-West. Poland's borders were relocated West to allow for Soviet expansion at the expense of Germany rather than Poland.
1990: Since the cold war, the Prussia has remained under Russian rule and has suffered from lack of investment and rife drug problems and the effects of organised crime. Poverty is widespread, and there is little in terms of an economy.