Resurrecting Prussia on German TV
BERLIN (Own report) - Channel 1 television in Germany (ARD) is preparing a prime time drama production which will portray ,,the world of the Estates East of the Elbe"in the year 1900. The series will present ,,the every day life of a Prussian Manor House". Those interested in playing ,,Serving girls, maids or Lady's maids"are asked to apply to the ARD, a public service television company. The popularising of the life of the Prussian aristocracy is one of the darkest chapters in the history of German expansionism.
The prime time series which could be seen by several million viewers will be set in the former Prussian provinces (East of the Elbe). That includes Polish and Russian territories like the former Pommerania, East Prussia and Lower and Upper Silesia. Filming will take place in inter alia Mecklenburg-Pommerania.
Anti-Slav Avant-Garde
The ,,East Elbers"were owners of large estates who enjoyed life as the controllers of Polish, Russian and German farm labourers. During the rule of the German Kaisers the ,,East Elbers"were renowned for their barbaric exploitation of their servants. Their agricultural domination of of Polish and Russian dependents gave them the reputation of being in the avant-garde of anti-Slav racism. The political representation of the aristocratic class East of the Elbe ensured a consistent anti-Polish strategy of expansion.
The ,,Junkers"
In numerous analyses which concern themselves with the rise of National Socialism, sociologists and historians have established that the aristocracy East of the Elbe had an enormous influence on the course of German history. It was the declared aim of the international anti-Hitler coalition to destroy once and for all the social and political basis of the Junker but it is just this very Junker class which experiences its resurrection in the forthcoming ARD epic ,,1900 - Life in the Manor House".
See also earlier article Prussia to be resurrected?
Sources:
,,Leben im Gutshaus"; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 05.07.2003