Or is Fritz just bluffing Grumbkow and rewriting history in hopes Grumbkow goes along with it?
The most likely explanation, though also the most boring one, so setting it aside by now. Mind you, pretty much the sole reason not to assume this is happening is that Fritz isn't King yet. If he was, I'd simply assume he's betting on the fact that no one, certainly not experienced courtier Grumbkow, would tell the King "what are you talking about, this never happened!"
But he's still Crown Prince, and Grumbkow might be wishing to build up good will with the future monarch, but Grumbkow is still FW's man first and foremost, and definitely not above showing FW a Fritzian letter if he'd deem it useful. Hence also all the "what kind of son would I be if I would pal around with someone Dad disapproves of ?!?"
So, assuming Fritz isn't entirely inventing things for rethorical purposes. If Grumbkow had been in Küstrin before or during Katte's execution, people would have noticed and remembered. He was so high ranking in FW's government that there was no way no one would later have mentioned him being there. However: as I recall Der Thronfolger gave FW and Fritz two confrontations post flight attempt and pre Fritz being sent to Küstrin, one where FW doesn't know yet Katte was involved, the other when where he did and it makes him additionally furious. All my Fritz bios are back at the library, so you tell me - isn't it true that they met more than once pre Küstrin? And that the seoond one was also when FW tried to intimidate Fritz into giving up his place in the succession and Fritz went "sure, if you declare me a bastard and my mother a whore" in response (getting himself choked as per "Der Thronfolger")? Because if the script didn't entirely make up the fact FW already knew about Katte's involvement during the second confrontation and brought that up to Fritz, there's a tiny room for Fritz to have offered his life for Katte's.
Then again - that "if you declare me to be a bastard" sounds like something I recall from books, and it also sounds more like Fritz full of bravado but certain nothing worse than prison will happen to either of them, not like Fritz aware Katte could and would die for this and ready to offer his life.
Leaving aside actual confrontations; there is the possibility of letters written between November 1 and November 6 which don't exist anymore, possibly due to Fritz having gotten his hand on the entire Katte file and burned some items, as per Catt. But that would assume that Fritz knew about the sentence, when all the descriptions have him unaware Katte would die until the very morning it happened. But even if that wasn't the case and Fritz removed all the relevant pleading letters later, I think some of the other people, Münchow, Pastor Müller, whose testimonies we have independent from Fritz, would have mentioned it.
So unless Fritz is simply rewriting history, which, see above, most likely and easiest explanation, my money is on something that might have happened pre Küstrin. Not least because of the phrasing "I have never denied Katte". (Like Peter denied Jesus, son of Calvinist FW and thus schooled in the bible?) Perhaps FW offered him the out of blaming Katte wholesale for the desertion, the flight plan, everything, early on, and Fritz didn't. I know FW asked him about who seduced whom later, post Katte's death, and that would be what "I have never denied him" relates to, and it's all mixed up in Fritz' mind. But I'm just suggesting the possibility it might have happened before, and Fritz refused to blame Katte, and that is in this letter alluded to and, combined with offering his life on the day of execution, hyperboled into "offered my life a thousand times".
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Re: Grumbkow and Katte
Date: 2020-01-27 08:56 am (UTC)The most likely explanation, though also the most boring one, so setting it aside by now. Mind you, pretty much the sole reason not to assume this is happening is that Fritz isn't King yet. If he was, I'd simply assume he's betting on the fact that no one, certainly not experienced courtier Grumbkow, would tell the King "what are you talking about, this never happened!"
But he's still Crown Prince, and Grumbkow might be wishing to build up good will with the future monarch, but Grumbkow is still FW's man first and foremost, and definitely not above showing FW a Fritzian letter if he'd deem it useful. Hence also all the "what kind of son would I be if I would pal around with someone Dad disapproves of ?!?"
So, assuming Fritz isn't entirely inventing things for rethorical purposes. If Grumbkow had been in Küstrin before or during Katte's execution, people would have noticed and remembered. He was so high ranking in FW's government that there was no way no one would later have mentioned him being there. However: as I recall Der Thronfolger gave FW and Fritz two confrontations post flight attempt and pre Fritz being sent to Küstrin, one where FW doesn't know yet Katte was involved, the other when where he did and it makes him additionally furious. All my Fritz bios are back at the library, so you tell me - isn't it true that they met more than once pre Küstrin? And that the seoond one was also when FW tried to intimidate Fritz into giving up his place in the succession and Fritz went "sure, if you declare me a bastard and my mother a whore" in response (getting himself choked as per "Der Thronfolger")? Because if the script didn't entirely make up the fact FW already knew about Katte's involvement during the second confrontation and brought that up to Fritz, there's a tiny room for Fritz to have offered his life for Katte's.
Then again - that "if you declare me to be a bastard" sounds like something I recall from books, and it also sounds more like Fritz full of bravado but certain nothing worse than prison will happen to either of them, not like Fritz aware Katte could and would die for this and ready to offer his life.
Leaving aside actual confrontations; there is the possibility of letters written between November 1 and November 6 which don't exist anymore, possibly due to Fritz having gotten his hand on the entire Katte file and burned some items, as per Catt. But that would assume that Fritz knew about the sentence, when all the descriptions have him unaware Katte would die until the very morning it happened. But even if that wasn't the case and Fritz removed all the relevant pleading letters later, I think some of the other people, Münchow, Pastor Müller, whose testimonies we have independent from Fritz, would have mentioned it.
So unless Fritz is simply rewriting history, which, see above, most likely and easiest explanation, my money is on something that might have happened pre Küstrin. Not least because of the phrasing "I have never denied Katte". (Like Peter denied Jesus, son of Calvinist FW and thus schooled in the bible?) Perhaps FW offered him the out of blaming Katte wholesale for the desertion, the flight plan, everything, early on, and Fritz didn't. I know FW asked him about who seduced whom later, post Katte's death, and that would be what "I have never denied him" relates to, and it's all mixed up in Fritz' mind. But I'm just suggesting the possibility it might have happened before, and Fritz refused to blame Katte, and that is in this letter alluded to and, combined with offering his life on the day of execution, hyperboled into "offered my life a thousand times".