The figure of Frederick II, known as the Great, and the history of relations between Poland and Prussia are of particular importance to Polish readers. Frederick was one of the initiators of the partitions of Poland, and at the same time, one third of the territory of modern Poland is land that once lay within the borders of Prussia.

How did the Prussian king perceive the First Polish Republic? To what extent do German opinions about Poland, often critical, have their roots in Frederick II's views? Has the cult surrounding him in Germany become an obstacle to Polish-Prussian rapprochement and continues to hinder Polish-German understanding to this day? The authors analyze the ambivalent attitudes towards Frederick visible in Germany and Poland, oscillating between adoration, criticism, and condemnation.

The aim of this book is to present a different, Eastern and Central European image of Frederick, and thus to bring to light forgotten threads of Polish-Prussian history, as well as the history of the Prussian-German reception of this figure.

Bömelburg and Barelkowski's book is not only a return to the mid-18th century, with a reminder of Frederick II's role, but above all a presentation of the process of constructing the Frederick legend against the backdrop of Polish-German relations up to the present day.

Now, Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg's book “Friedrich II. als Erinnerungsort im deutschen und polnischen Bewusstsein: Preußische Geschichte und deutsch-polnische histoire croisée is available in Polish language. 

Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg, professor of history specializing in the history of Central and Eastern Europe, works at Justus Liebig University in Giessen. He lived in Poland for almost ten years. He is doing research on the history of Poland, Prussia, and Polish-German relations in the 15th–21st centuries.

Matthias Barelkowski is a Berlin-based historian, editor, and translator from Polish. He specializes in the history of Polish-German-Jewish relations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Since 2017, he has been the second chair of the Commission on the History of Germans in Poland.