Participation of the Protestant Clergy in the Second Military Mobilization in Prussia in the Spring and Summer of 1815

The article is dedicated to the organization of the religious and patriotic propaganda in Prussia during the second military mobilization of 1815. In the center of attention are the Prussian Protestant pastors who assumed the role of the propagandists of the mass mobilization on behalf of the state, like they did in 1813 and 1814. As major means of propaganda served religiously motivated patriotic festivities on the occasion of the victories gained over Napoleonic France, royal proclamations read out from the priests’ pulpits, public prayers and primarily political sermons which were used to motivate the population to make sacrifices in the name of God and the King, and for the sake of the Fatherland. Personal motives of the pastors participating in the patriotic propaganda are emphasized, especially of those who preached on the territories liberated by the allied armies from the French occupation. The latter were deeply concerned about exonerating themselves in the eyes of the public and the new Prussian administration. The new war against Napoleon was traditionally construed by the clergy as God’s direct involvement in the earthly politics. At the heart of the sermons was the image of the enemy, i.e. Napoleon Bonaparte, the French soldiers and the French nation on the whole, the clergy’s judgment about them was much more hostile and even aggressive than ever before. As antithesis to the enemy was constructed the image of the Prussian militia soldiers and volunteers who were praised by the preachers as truly Christian warriors and defenders of the Fatherland. Military courage and bravery of the Prussian soldiers had to be maintained by such heroic figures as the Prussian King Frederick William III, the British commander-in-chief Duke of Wellington and Field-Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The latter became a cult figure for the clergy. The sermons addressed not only the Prussian men capable of bearing arms but also the civil population which was urged by the Church to take responsibility for the widows and the orphans of the fallen soldiers. The study suggests that the second military mobilization in Prussia of 1815, previously underestimated or totally ignored by the historical research, was very significant and highly effective, which raises the question about the close interaction between religion and warfare in the early 19th century.