Did U Know? Frederick II (German: Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was King of Prussia from1740 to 1786. He was of the Hohenzollern Dynasty. He is best known for his brilliance in military campaigning and organization of Prussian armies. He became known as Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Große) and was nicknamed Der Alte Fritz (Old Fritz). He was a grandson of George I of Great Britain, and also a nephew of George II. Interested primarily in music and philosophy rather than the arts of war during his youth, Frederick unsuccessfully attempted to flee from his authoritarian father, Frederick William I, with childhood friend Hans Hermann Von Katte, whose execution he was forced to watch after they were captured. Upon ascending to the Prussian throne, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars, winning military acclaim for himself and Prussia. Near the end of his life, Frederick physically connected most of his realm by conquering Polish territories in the First Partition of Poland. Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism. For years he was a correspondent of Voltaire, with whom the king had an intimate, if turbulent, friendship. He modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and promoted religious tolerance throughout his realm. Frederick patronized the arts and philosophers, and wrote flute music. Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam. Because he died childless, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II of Prussia, son of his brother, Prince Augustus William of Prussia. Frederick died in an armchair in his study in the palace of Sanssouci on 17 August 1786. Frederick had wished to be buried next to his greyhounds on the vineyard terrace on the side of the corps de logis of Sanssouci. His nephew and successor Frederick William II instead ordered the body to be entombed next to his father in the Potsdam Garrison Church. Near the end of World War II, Adolf Hitler ordered the coffins of Frederick and Frederick William I, as well as those of Paul Von Hindenburg and his wife, transferred first to an underground bunker near Berlin, then hidden in a salt mine close to the town of Bernrode, Germany, to protect them from destruction. The US Army discovered the four coffins on 27 April 1945, behind a 6-foot-thick masonry wall deep within the mine, and moved them to the basement of Marburg Castle, a collection point for recovered a Nazi treasure. As part of a secret project dubbed Operation Bodysnatch, the US Army relocated both kings first to the Elisabeth Church of Marburg and then on to Burg Hohenzollern in Zimmern part of the village Bisingen nearby the town of Hechingen. After German reunification, the body of Frederick William was entombed in the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum in Sanssoucis Church of Peace. On the 205th anniversary of his death, on 17 August 1991, Fredericks casket lay in state in the court of honor of Sanssouci, covered by a Prussian flag and escorted by a Bundeswehr guard of honor. After nightfall, Fredericks body was finally laid to rest on the terrace of the vineyard of Sanssouci, without pomp, in accordance with his last will of 1757. Like many leading figures in the Age of Enlightenment, Frederick was a Freemason and his membership legitimized the group and protected it against charges of subversion. FREDERICK THE GREAT HELPS A BROTHERS WIDOW Frederick the Great, a Mason without any doubt, while in a jewelry shop in Potsdam, Germany, observed a middle-aged woman exhibiting an article of silver having certain Masonic symbols, possibly a Past Masters jewel. She was trying to borrow money on it. She said she had come to this particular shop to avoid the usurers and because the owner of the shop was a Mason. The jeweler told her that he was not in the pawnbroking business and couldnt make the loan. Another person in the shop asked her many questions concerning the jewel, whose it was, how she had possession of it, etc. The man offered to buy the jewel and kept raising the price. When he decided to make her the loan, he discovered he had no money in his pocket. He then disclosed to the surprised woman that he was the King. Frederick shook his staff at the jeweler and told him that he was not fit to be a Mason and threatened to file charges against him. The following morning the woman went to see Frederick at the palace and he instructed her to return whenever she was in need of help. WB RICK L. WAITES PM - WHITE SALMON LODGE #163 LYNDEN INTERNATIONAL LODGE #56 FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF WASHINGTON 1 (208) 404-2994
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 02:28:39 +0000