A new perspective on the process of German nation state building: The Prussian royal couple Wilhelm I and Augusta between the New Era and the founding of the German Empire (1857–1871). A digital edition

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Jansen
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 524872982

Prussian Queen Consort Augusta and Prussian King Wilhelm I are historiographically marginalized. To this day, analyses and portrayals of German history in the second half of the 19th century follow a narrative that is explicitly and implicitly Bismarck-centered. This research project aims to fundamentally revise this perspective through a complete, annotated, digital edition of the correspondence of the monarchical couple between 1857 and 1871. With the end of the reign of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia in 1857, his younger brother Wilhelm moved to the center of the governmental complex of the Hohenzollern-Monarchy - and with him Augusta, who as a decidedly political actor moved outside the misogynous-restrictively defined boundaries of female interest and action of the 19th century. Their correspondence is unique compared to other dynastic actors yet so far largely ignored by researchers. Its analysis allows for a detailed reconstruction of Augusta's and Wilhelm's possibilities of experience, opportunities of action and decision-making processes in a time of profound social and political upheaval, as well as a revision of traditional narratives of the founding of the German Empire and the historical background against which it took place. The multifaceted questions of modern monarchy research - political history, cultural history, history of ideas and gender history - are taken account of in the editing and commenting process. In addition, the manual transcription of the approximately 2,500 letters is supported by the technically innovative use of an AI-supported platform for handwriting recognition. The extensive archival original correspondence of the 1857-1871 period is to be made available to researchers and to the public completely digitized and scholarly edited for the first time.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants