Prussia - Chronicle of a German State - DVD

Content: 2001 was celebrated as part of the Prussian Year, the three hundred year history of Prussia. And to celebrate this occasion in a fitting manner, ARD had commissioned a six-part documentary series whose aim was to present the history of the German state in an informative, but at the same time entertaining way. While Prussia experts were responsible for the content of the individual episodes, Katharina Thalbach was the presenter responsible for the entertainment value. With her typical Berlin snout and in a charmingly humorous way, Thalbach presented various interesting anecdotes and revealed, among other things, why there are so many terms of French origin in the German vocabulary. At the same time she slipped again and again into different roles and led the spectator for example as old Fritz by the history.

Get filmed at many original locations, which gives Prussia - Chronicle of a German state a high show value. So in addition to the moderations and game scenes, the viewer gets to see many of the locations so important to the story and other historical material. The historical facts are conveyed by Otto Sanders, whose narrative voice quickly captivates the viewer. This mixture of documentary knowledge transfer and entertaining entertainment is what makes the series so worth watching, even more than ten years after its initial broadcast.

From the rise of Prussia from an electorate to a kingdom under Frederick William, I., through the reform period and the revolution to the German Empire and the final downfall after the rule of the Nazis, the series visits all the important events in contemporary history and thus creates a comprehensive and highly interesting overall picture, which is also accessible to viewers who have not yet dealt with the subject matter. Preussen - Chronik eines deutschen Staates (Prussia - Chronicle of a German State) is therefore absolutely recommendable not only for those interested in history, but also for open-minded laymen. If you have travelled through world history with Hape Kerkeling and had great fun doing so, you should definitely also take a detour through the history of Prussia with Katharina Thalbach and Otto Sander. It's worth it!

Picture + Sound: The fact that the journey through history is a TV production more than 10 years old, is quite noticeable in the technical implementation. In the picture are slight weaknesses in the overall sharpness to make out, in the coloring, however, there is nothing to complain about. The sound, which is only available in mono, conveys the information well, but is a bit muffled at times. However, on balance, this is quite adequate for a format such as this.

Extras: Bonus material, apart from a detailed booklet, is none.

Conclusion: Prussia - Chronicle of a German State is an entertaining as well as informative history lesson. Otto Sander's pleasant narrative voice and the very special charm of Katharina Thalbach prevent the series from coming across as too dry. The not always perfect technical implementation and the lack of bonus material tarnish the overall picture a little, but who is interested in entertainingly presented history, which can access here confidently.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp