Abolition of Prussia

The abolition of Prussia took place on 25 February 1947 through a decree of the Allied Control Council, the governing body of post-World War II occupied Germany and Austria.

The rationale was that by doing away with the state that had been at the center of German militarism and reaction, it would be easier to preserve the peace and for Germany to develop democratically.

Prussia was for many centuries a major power in north-central Europe, based around the cities of Berlin and Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia).

By that time, the large Prussian landowners known as Junkers had a virtual monopoly on the kingdom's officer corps, a position that they would for the most part maintain throughout the remainder of Prussia's existence.

[2] Under Otto von Bismarck, who was chancellor of the Empire from 1871 to 1890, the military imperatives of punctuality, orderliness and discipline became civilian virtues as well.

46: The Prussian State which from early days has been a bearer of militarism and reaction in Germany has de facto ceased to exist.Guided by the interests of preservation of peace and security of peoples and with the desire to assure further reconstruction of the political life of Germany on a democratic basis, the Control Council enacts as follows: Article I The Prussian State together with its central government and all its agencies are abolished.

This law is in the nature of a confirming action; the eleven provinces and administrative districts of prewar Prussia have since the beginning of the occupation been split up among the Soviet, British, and American Zones and Poland.