Officers and their visitors, German navy

In the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights, an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders, conquered the Polish region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk (Danzig). For centuries, Prussia successfully expanded its size by way of an unusually well-organized and efficient army. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers and exercised most influence. Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 moved to Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire. In this imperial federation, the Prussian king was also the Emperor of Germany. The term "Prussian" has often been used, especially outside of Germany, to emphasize the professionalism, aggressiveness, militarism and conservatism of the Junker class of landed aristocrats in the East who dominated first Prussia and then the German Empire. In 1918, the monarchies were abolished, and the nobility lost its political power. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance, however, from 1918 to 1932 it was a most promising democracy in German territories. Beginning January 1945, in a period of 15 weeks, about 1,000 vessels, including Germany's largest remaining naval units, transported 900,000 refugees and 350,000 soldiers across the Baltic Sea to Germany and occupied Denmark. The MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a German military transport ship which was sunk on 30 January 1945 by Soviet submarine S-13 in the Baltic Sea while evacuating German civilians, Nazi officials, and military personnel from Gdynia (Gotenhafen) as the Red Army advanced. At least 7,000 people died, which makes it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. The Gustloff was 13 miles off the coast of Pomerania. Barely 1,100 survived. The total number of Prussian 1945’s casualties is estimated 2 to 4 million, including those who fled the Soviet army during the last months of the war before the 1945 Treaty. The Prussian population fled, mostly to the Western zones. With the end of the Nazi regime in 1945, the areas east of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, Eastern Prussia, Western Prussia, and Silesia were handed over to Poland, including Danzig, Breslau, and Stettin.

In 1225, the Teutonic Knights, a military order of crusading knights, headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Acre transferred their operations to the Baltic Sea where Order engaged in numerous armed conflicts until Order's lands came into the hands of a branch of the Hohenzollern family, who already ruled the Brandenburg. The resulting state, known as Brandenburg-Prussia, commonly known as "Prussia", consisted of geographically disconnected territories in Prussia, Brandenburg, and the Rhineland. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), armies repeatedly marched across the territories so Hohenzollerns had to build a powerful military to protect disconnected lands. "Prussia" developed one of the most powerful armies in Europe. Mirabeau said: "Prussia, is not a state with an army, but an army with a state." More than 20,000 Protestant refugees from Salzburg settled in thinly populated eastern Prussia. Prussia engaged in wars with Poland, Lithuania, numerous German States, Habsburg Austria, France, and Russia proving Prussia's status as one of the great powers of Europe. By 1813, Prussia could mobilize almost 300,000 soldiers. Prussian troops contributed crucially in the Battle of Waterloo - the final victory over Napoleon. Prussia invited the immigration of Protestant refugees (especially Huguenots). For protestants, Prussia was a safe haven in much the same way that the United States welcomed immigrants seeking freedom in the 19th century. Frederick the Great, the first "King of Prussia" introduced a general civil code, abolished torture and established the principle that the Crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He promoted an advanced secondary education which prepares the brightest pupils for university studies. The Prussian education system was emulated in various countries, including the United States. The first half of the 19th century saw a prolonged struggle between those who wanted a united Germany and others who wanted to maintain Germany as a patchwork of independent, monarchical states with Prussia and Austria competing for influence. In 1862 Prussian King Wilhelm I appointed Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister. Bismarck guided Prussia through a series of wars resulting in a formation of the North German Confederation that united all German-speaking peoples, excluding Austria, which remained connected to non-German territories. On 18 January 1871, William was proclaimed "German Emperor". World War I ended Prussia’s supremacy. The abolition of the political power of the aristocracy transformed Prussia into a region strongly dominated by the left-wing of the political spectrum. Prussia lost territories and became a Land under the Weimar Republic. After the rise to power of Adolf Hitler in 1933, the Prussian constitution was set aside and the legislature abolished. World War II led to the abolition of Prussia with most the land ceded over to Poland. The German population was expelled and fled to the Western occupation zones. The number of casualties is estimated at 2 to 4 million, including those who fled during the last months of the war. 25 February 1947, Prussia was officially proclaimed to be dissolved.

This image dataset is generated from the world's largest public domain image archive. Made in two steps (manually curated set, and following image recognition), it comprises of more than 100,000 images of military ceremonies from different countries and times. All media is in the public domain, so there is no limitation on the dataset usage - educational, scientific, or commercial. Please contact us if you need a dataset like this, we may already have it, or, we can make one for you, often in 24 hours or less.

This is an attempt to see World War 2 through the eyes of people who lived or fought on the territories controlled by the Axis powers, originally the Rome–Berlin Axis. Axis' principal members in Europe were Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy, Hungary, and Spain. During World War II, Nazi Germany and Axis powers occupied or controlled a number of countries in Europe and beyond. At its zenith in 1942, the Axis presided over large parts of Europe, North Africa, and East Asia, either through occupation, annexation, or puppet states. The collection is made with an image recognition aid, so a small percentage of images may be wrongly attributed as European & 1939-1945. Here is a list of some of the countries that were occupied or allied with Nazi Germany during the war: Austria: Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, after the Anschluss, which was the union of Austria and Germany. Czechoslovakia: Nazi Germany occupied the western and southern regions of Czechoslovakia in 1938, after the Munich Agreement. The rest of the country was occupied in 1939, after the invasion of Poland. Denmark: Nazi Germany occupied Denmark in 1940, after the invasion of Norway. France: Nazi Germany occupied France in 1940, after the fall of Paris. The French government set up a collaborationist regime in the unoccupied zone of Vichy. Greece: Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Greece in 1941, after the fall of Crete. Italy: Italy was an ally of Nazi Germany during World War II, but was also occupied by German forces after the fall of Mussolini in 1943. Netherlands: Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in 1940, after the invasion of Belgium. Norway: Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Norway in 1940. Poland: Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Poland in 1939, at the start of World War II. Belgium: Nazi Germany occupied Belgium in 1940, after the invasion of the Netherlands. Luxembourg: Nazi Germany occupied Luxembourg in 1940, after the invasion of Belgium. Ukraine: Nazi Germany occupied parts of Ukraine during World War II, after the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Belarus: Nazi Germany occupied Belarus during World War II, after the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Russia: Nazi Germany invaded and occupied parts of the Soviet Union during World War II, after the invasion in 1941. Yugoslavia: Nazi Germany occupied parts of Yugoslavia during World War II, after the invasion in 1941. Albania: Nazi Germany occupied Albania in 1943, after the fall of Mussolini. Hungary: Hungary was an ally of Nazi Germany during World War II, but was also occupied by German forces after the fall of the Hungarian government in 1944. Romania: Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany during World War II, but was also occupied by German forces after the fall of the Romanian government in 1944. Bulgaria: Bulgaria was an ally of Nazi Germany during World War II, but was also occupied by German forces after the fall of the Bulgarian government in 1944. Finland: Finland was an ally of Nazi Germany during World War II, but was not occupied by German forces.