French Emigres in Prussia

Abstract

The French emigres who came to Prussia during the revolutionary era were watched very closely both by the Prussian government and regional administrations. A vast source of material, primarily administrative correspondence (e.g. that in the secret archives of Prussia in Berlin—Dahlem), exists and as a result provides the basis for this brief study. From these sources it is possible to draw some conclusions relating firstly to the of ficial policy of the Prussian government towards the French emigres and the reasons behind it and, secondly, to some aspects of the culture which developed in exile and the hopes and fears of the emigres themselves. They clearly hoped for a show of solidarity from the European nobility and were bitterly disillusioned by the reality which confronted them.