Prussia

Prussia, state in north central Europe that became the foundation of the modern state of Germany. At the height of its strength it stretched from west of the Rhine to Poland and Russia. The Baltic territory later known as East Prussia was Germanized by the Teutonic Knights in the 1200s and later became the duchy of Prussia. In 1618 it came under the rule of the Electors of nearby Brandenburg, the Hohenzollerns; and Frederick I declared himself king of Prussia in 1701. Under his successors, particularly Frederick the Great, the Prussian state expanded to become the strongest military power in northern Europe. In 1862 Bismarck became premier, and as a result of a planned series of wars and skillful diplomacy conducted under his direction, King William I of Prussia was declared Emperor of Germany in 1871. Prussia was the largest and most powerful of the states of the united Germany until 1934, when by a decree of Hitler the separate German states ceased to exist as political entities. After World War II former Prussian territory was divided among East Germany, Poland, and the USSR.

See also: Germany.