The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg
- The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg
The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg refers to the death of Russia's Empress Elizabeth (at the age of 52) at the beginning of 1762.
After six years of the Seven Years' War, the Prussian army was greatly weakened and Russia's armies had occupied Berlin. Frederick II of Prussia considered himself lost and was on the verge of suicide. [The disaster at Kunersdorf "temporarily reduced him to despair and thoughts of suicide; if it had been effectively followed up by his adversaries, he could not have continued the struggle." — 2004 Encyclopaedia Britannica.] On January 5, the Tsaritsa Elizabeth died, and her nephew came to the throne as Peter III. Peter was notoriously pro-German; on his accession, he withdrew his troops and ended the war to no Russian advantage.
At the close of World War II, Berlin was again encircled by Russian armies. Recalling the "miracle" of two centuries earlier, Adolf Hitler hoped Germany would be saved by some unexpected accident such as the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt and resultant disagreements between Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. [Hitler "likened the situation to that of Frederick the Great in 1761, and awaited the deliverance which, he felt, would follow the inevitable break-up of the Alliance opposing him". — Stephen J. Lee. "Aspects of European History, 1789-1980". Routledge (UK), 1988. Page 279.]
Notes
References
*Chapter on "The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg" in: Russell Frank Weigley. "The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo". Indiana University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-253-21707-5.
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