The films were extremely popular with German audiences and an estimated forty four were produced by the end of the Second World War (twenty-seven of them during the Weimar era).
[1] While there were Prussian-themed films as far back as 1912–1913, the breakthrough came with the release in 1922 of the first two parts of the Fridericus Rex series featuring Otto Gebühr as Frederick the Great.
[2] The success of Fridericus Rex cemented the popularity of the genre and many similar films were produced in following years.
Otto Gebühr became closely associated with Frederick and played him numerous times in both the Weimar and Nazi periods.
The Kaiser Wilhelm II, a member of the Hohenzollern dynasty which had ruled in parts of Prussia since the sixteenth century, was deposed in 1918, and Germany became a Republic.