Die Helden der Niederlage

'The Heroes of Defeat. Shaping the Prussian statesman. Continuities and Ruptures in the Age of Reform between 1806 and 1820': Napoleons victory over Prussia in 1806 opened up unexpected opportunities for Prussian statesmen who saw themselves and their colleagues as heroes of defeat. The case studies within this collection focus on the reformers respective self-staging - against the background of the contemporary expectation that only men of courage and, especially, science could save the state. Until 1820, such ideas made the careers of many officials (most of whom are less well known today).