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rheinsbergIntroduction
Dieudonné Thiébault was secretary to Friedrich from 1765 to 1784. He was born in 1733 and died in 1807. He was obviously not an eyewitness to any of the events of 1730.
His memoirs, from which his account of the Katte affair is taken, were published in 1804 in 5 volumes. I use the copy available on archive.org (vol. 1, pp. 184-185). Translation mine.
C'est sous cet habit qu'il fut conduit à la forteresse de Custrin, en Poméranie, où le malheureux de Catt fut aussi mené, mais à pied, n'ayant qu'un simple sarrau de soldat, et les mains garrotées derrière le dos. Ce dernier appartenoit à famille nombreuse, puissante et très considérée à la cour. Il étoit fils unique de feld-maréchal de ce nom. Toute cette famille vint à plusiers reprises, et toute fondante en larmes, se jeter aux genoux du roi, demandant grâce pour un jeune homme auquel toute la ville et toute la cour preneient lu plus vif intérêt. La désolation étoit générale, et Guillaume fut inéxorable. Le jeune de Catt fut déclaré déchu de tous titres militaires et autres; il fut dégradé et décapité sous les yeux du prince pour lequel il mouroit. On dressa pour lui un échafaud sur la place, devant l'appartement de Frédéric, et au niveau de sa fenêtre. On força le prince de se tenir à cette fenêtre, afin de lui faire en quelque sorte et autant qu'on le povoit, partager le supplice de son ami. Dès que ce dernier parut sur l'échafaud, Frédéric, saisi de douleur et d'effroi, s'écria d'une voix déchirante: mon ami! et tomba sans connoissance sur le fauteuil qu'on avoit avancé pour lui faire voir le supplice. On fut long-temps à pouvoir le rappeler à lui-même; et ce ne fut que pour verser sur son ami les larmes abondantes de la plus amère douleur, qu'il rouvrit enfin les yeux.
It was in this coat that he was led to the fortress of Custrin, in Pomerania, where the unfortunate Catt was also led, but on foot, having only a simple smock of a soldier, and his hands tied behind the back. The latter belonged to a large, powerful and highly regarded family at court. He was the only son of a field marshal of that name. This whole family came several times, all bursting into tears, to throw themselves at the king's feet, asking for mercy for a young man in whom the whole town and the whole court took the liveliest interest. The desolation was general, but (Frederick) William was inexorable. The young Catt was declared stripped of all titles, military and otherwise; he was degraded and beheaded before the eyes of the prince for whom he died. A scaffold was erected for him in the square, in front of Frederick's apartment, and at the level of his window. The prince was forced to stand at this window, in order to make him in some way, and as much as he could, share in the torture of his friend. As soon as the latter appeared on the scaffold, Frédéric, seized with pain and dread, cried out in a heartbreaking voice: my friend! and fell unconscious on the armchair, which had been brought forth to make him see the torture. It was a long time before he came back to himself; and it was only to shed abundant tears of the bitterest pain for his friend, that he finally opened his eyes.
The memoirs were then condensed into two volumes, with passages rewritten, by Jean-François Barrière in 1860. We did not realize this at first, and relied on the 1860 memoirs, the copy available on the Bayerische StaatsBibliothek website, in which there is an account of Katte's execution on pages 81-83 of volume 1, which differs greatly from the same account of 1804. Translation mine.
M. de Sekendorff voulut aussi sauver de Katt, et il fut secondé par une foule de personnes du plus haut rang. De Katt appartenait en effet à une famille nombreuse, puissante et très-considérée. Il était fils unique du feld-maréchal de ce nom. Toute cette famille revint à plusieurs reprises, et fondant en larmes, se jeter aux pieds du roi, demandant grâce pour un jeune homme auquel la ville et la cour entières prenaient le plus vif intérêt; mais Guillaume fut inexorable. On lut à de Katt sa sentence. Il l'entendit sans changer de couleur. «Je me soumets, dit-il, aux ordres du roi et aux décrets de la Providence. Je meurs pour une belle cause, et j'envisage le trépas sans frayeur.» Le major Schenk l'informa que son exécution devait se faire à Custrin, et que le carrosse qui devait l'y conduire l'attendait. Il y monta d'un air riant, et fut accompagné par ce major et deux autres officiers des gendarmes, et escorté par un gros détachement de ce corps. En arrivant, Schenk lui dit: «Vous allez soutenir une terrible épreuve: vous allez revoir le prince royal.--Dites plutot, répondit de Katt avec véhémence, que je vais avoir la plus grande consolation qu'on pût m'accorder;» et en disant ces mots il descendit de voiture et monta sur l'échafaud.
Cependant Frédéric venait d’être conduit par M. Municho et par le général Lepel dans un chambre au niveau de laquelle l'échafaud était dressé; et au moment où de Katt arriva on leva le rideau de la fenêtre, qui jusque-là avait été baissé. Quelque chose que l'on eût pu faire pour préparer le prince à cet horrible spectacle, inventé pour l'associer au supplice de son ami, rien n'égala son désespoir: il voulut se jeter par la croisée, à laquelle on l'obligea de se mettre. On le retint: «Au nom de Dieu, s'écria-t-il, retardez l'exécution. Je veux écrire au roi que je suis prêt à renoncer à tous mes droits à la couronne, s'il veut pardonner à de Katt! Que je suis malheureux, mon cher de Katt: je suis cause de votre mort; plût à Dieu que je fusse à votre place! – Ah! monseigneur, répondit de Katt, si j'avais mille vies je les sacrifierais pour vous.» En disant ces mots, il se mit à genoux, sans permettre qu'on lui bandât les yeux. Il s'écria: «Mon Dieu, je mets mon âme entre vos mains.» Et comme il achevait, sa tête, tranchée d'un seul coup, roula sur l'échafaud.
A ce terrible moment, Frédéric était sans connaissance. Il ne reprit ses sens qu'au bout de plusieurs heures, et le premier objet qui frappa sa vue fut, par un raffinement atroce, le corps sanglant de son ami, placé de manière à ce qu'il ne pût éviter de le voir. Un second évanouissement succéda au premier, et il ne revint à lui qu'avec une fièvre violente. Malgré les ordres du roi, M. de Municho fit fermer les rideaux de la fatale croisée, et envoya chercher les médicins, qui trouvèrent le prince en grand danger. Il ne voulut rien prendre de ce qu'ils lui ordonnèrent. Il était hors de lui, et dans de si violentes agitations, qu'il se serait tué si on ne l'en eût empêché. Ses convulsions ne se calmèrent que lorsque les forces furent épuisées. Les larmes succédèrent alors aux plus terribles transports. Ce fut avec une peine indicible, et en lui représentant qu'il causerait la mort de la reine et celle de sa soeur Wilhelmine, s'il persistait à vouloir mourir, qu'on vint à bout de lui faire prendre quelques remèdes. Il conserva longtemps une profonde mélancolie, et fut trois fois vingt-quatre heures à toute extrémité.
Seckendorf also wanted to save Katte, and he was joined by an assortment of people of the highest rank. Katte belonged to a family numerous, powerful, and highly regarded. He was the only son of the field marshal of the same name. The entire family returned many times, and dissolving into tears, cast itself at the foot of the king, seeking mercy for a young man in whom the whole city and the entire court took the greatest interest; but Wilhelm was inexorable. Katte's sentence was read to him. He listened without changing color. "I submit," he said, "to the orders of the king and to the decrees of Providence. I die for a beautiful cause, and I anticipate death without fear." Major Schenk informed him that his execution would be carried out at Küstrin, and that the carriage that was to take him there awaited. He ascended with a cheerful air, and was accompanied by the major and two other officers of the Gens d'Armes, and escorted by a large detachment of this body. On arriving, Schenk said to him: "You are about to undergo a terrible trial: you are going to see the Crown Prince.--"Say rather," responded Katte vehemently, "that I am going to have the greatest consolation that could have been granted to me," and in saying these words, he descended from the carriage and mounted the scaffold.
However, Friedrich had just been led by Münchow and by the general Lepel into a chamber on the level at which the scaffold was erected; and at the moment when Katte arrived, the curtain on the window was raised, which until then had been lowered. This had been done to prepare the prince for this horrible spectacle, devised in order to associate him with the torture of his friend; nothing equaled his despair: he wanted to throw himself out the window, at which he had been forcibly placed. He was prevented. "In the name of God," he cried, "delay the execution. I wish to write to the King that I am ready to renounce all my rights to the crown, if he is willing to pardon Katte! How unhappy I am, my dear Katte: I am the cause of your death; would to God I were in your place!" "Ah! Your Royal Highness," responded Katte, "if I had a thousand lives I would sacrifice them for you." Saying these words, he knelt, without permitting his eyes to be blindfolded. He cried: "My God, into your hands I place my spirit." And as he finished, his head, cut off by one blow, rolled on the scaffold.
At this terrible moment, Friedrich lost consciousness. He did not regain it for several hours, and the first object that struck his view, by an excruciating refinement, was the bloody body of his friend, placed in such a manner that he couldn't avoid seeing it. A second fainting fit followed the first, and he only returned to himself with a violent fever. Against the orders of the King, Münchow caused the curtains to be closed on the fatal sight through the window, and sent for doctors, who found the prince in great danger. He was not willing to take anything that they prescribed for him. He was beside himself, and in such violent agitation, that he would have killed himself if he had not been prevented. His convulsions did not subside until his strength was exhausted. Tears followed these agitation. It was with unspeakable difficulty, and only through conveying to him that he would cause the death of the queen and of his sister Wilhelmine, if he persisted in wanting to die, that he finally agreed to some treatments. He stayed a long time in a profound depression, and was for three times twenty-four hours on the brink of death.
Some history of the editions these memoirs went through:
Before the memoirs even reached Barrière, they had already gone through four editions. Two at the hands of Thiébault père, one at the hand of another editor, whom Barrière disapproves of greatly, saying that he considered the work his property, the author subject to his censorship, and Fritz as brought before his tribunal. Finally, one edition at the hands of Thiébault fils (who btw was a famous French general). Barrière, the condenser into 2 volumes guy, uses the fourth edition, that of Thiébault fils, for his text.
Now, it seems Thiébault fils did a certain amount of research for his edition, and it was observed by various parties that Thiébault père did not always have all the facts correct. So without having editions 2-4 at my disposal, I'm not actually sure *who* rewrote the Katte episode based on Wilhelmine's memoirs as published in 1810, whether it was Thiébault fils or our 1860 editor (Barrière), or even the rewriting editor. It's not clear to me whether the rewriting editor of the 3rd edition was working before or after 1810. All I can see is that it's after 1807, so Thiébault père is dead, and the Napoleonic wars are on, so Thiébault fils is really really busy and has to delegate.
Dieudonné Thiébault was secretary to Friedrich from 1765 to 1784. He was born in 1733 and died in 1807. He was obviously not an eyewitness to any of the events of 1730.
His memoirs, from which his account of the Katte affair is taken, were published in 1804 in 5 volumes. I use the copy available on archive.org (vol. 1, pp. 184-185). Translation mine.
C'est sous cet habit qu'il fut conduit à la forteresse de Custrin, en Poméranie, où le malheureux de Catt fut aussi mené, mais à pied, n'ayant qu'un simple sarrau de soldat, et les mains garrotées derrière le dos. Ce dernier appartenoit à famille nombreuse, puissante et très considérée à la cour. Il étoit fils unique de feld-maréchal de ce nom. Toute cette famille vint à plusiers reprises, et toute fondante en larmes, se jeter aux genoux du roi, demandant grâce pour un jeune homme auquel toute la ville et toute la cour preneient lu plus vif intérêt. La désolation étoit générale, et Guillaume fut inéxorable. Le jeune de Catt fut déclaré déchu de tous titres militaires et autres; il fut dégradé et décapité sous les yeux du prince pour lequel il mouroit. On dressa pour lui un échafaud sur la place, devant l'appartement de Frédéric, et au niveau de sa fenêtre. On força le prince de se tenir à cette fenêtre, afin de lui faire en quelque sorte et autant qu'on le povoit, partager le supplice de son ami. Dès que ce dernier parut sur l'échafaud, Frédéric, saisi de douleur et d'effroi, s'écria d'une voix déchirante: mon ami! et tomba sans connoissance sur le fauteuil qu'on avoit avancé pour lui faire voir le supplice. On fut long-temps à pouvoir le rappeler à lui-même; et ce ne fut que pour verser sur son ami les larmes abondantes de la plus amère douleur, qu'il rouvrit enfin les yeux.
It was in this coat that he was led to the fortress of Custrin, in Pomerania, where the unfortunate Catt was also led, but on foot, having only a simple smock of a soldier, and his hands tied behind the back. The latter belonged to a large, powerful and highly regarded family at court. He was the only son of a field marshal of that name. This whole family came several times, all bursting into tears, to throw themselves at the king's feet, asking for mercy for a young man in whom the whole town and the whole court took the liveliest interest. The desolation was general, but (Frederick) William was inexorable. The young Catt was declared stripped of all titles, military and otherwise; he was degraded and beheaded before the eyes of the prince for whom he died. A scaffold was erected for him in the square, in front of Frederick's apartment, and at the level of his window. The prince was forced to stand at this window, in order to make him in some way, and as much as he could, share in the torture of his friend. As soon as the latter appeared on the scaffold, Frédéric, seized with pain and dread, cried out in a heartbreaking voice: my friend! and fell unconscious on the armchair, which had been brought forth to make him see the torture. It was a long time before he came back to himself; and it was only to shed abundant tears of the bitterest pain for his friend, that he finally opened his eyes.
The memoirs were then condensed into two volumes, with passages rewritten, by Jean-François Barrière in 1860. We did not realize this at first, and relied on the 1860 memoirs, the copy available on the Bayerische StaatsBibliothek website, in which there is an account of Katte's execution on pages 81-83 of volume 1, which differs greatly from the same account of 1804. Translation mine.
M. de Sekendorff voulut aussi sauver de Katt, et il fut secondé par une foule de personnes du plus haut rang. De Katt appartenait en effet à une famille nombreuse, puissante et très-considérée. Il était fils unique du feld-maréchal de ce nom. Toute cette famille revint à plusieurs reprises, et fondant en larmes, se jeter aux pieds du roi, demandant grâce pour un jeune homme auquel la ville et la cour entières prenaient le plus vif intérêt; mais Guillaume fut inexorable. On lut à de Katt sa sentence. Il l'entendit sans changer de couleur. «Je me soumets, dit-il, aux ordres du roi et aux décrets de la Providence. Je meurs pour une belle cause, et j'envisage le trépas sans frayeur.» Le major Schenk l'informa que son exécution devait se faire à Custrin, et que le carrosse qui devait l'y conduire l'attendait. Il y monta d'un air riant, et fut accompagné par ce major et deux autres officiers des gendarmes, et escorté par un gros détachement de ce corps. En arrivant, Schenk lui dit: «Vous allez soutenir une terrible épreuve: vous allez revoir le prince royal.--Dites plutot, répondit de Katt avec véhémence, que je vais avoir la plus grande consolation qu'on pût m'accorder;» et en disant ces mots il descendit de voiture et monta sur l'échafaud.
Cependant Frédéric venait d’être conduit par M. Municho et par le général Lepel dans un chambre au niveau de laquelle l'échafaud était dressé; et au moment où de Katt arriva on leva le rideau de la fenêtre, qui jusque-là avait été baissé. Quelque chose que l'on eût pu faire pour préparer le prince à cet horrible spectacle, inventé pour l'associer au supplice de son ami, rien n'égala son désespoir: il voulut se jeter par la croisée, à laquelle on l'obligea de se mettre. On le retint: «Au nom de Dieu, s'écria-t-il, retardez l'exécution. Je veux écrire au roi que je suis prêt à renoncer à tous mes droits à la couronne, s'il veut pardonner à de Katt! Que je suis malheureux, mon cher de Katt: je suis cause de votre mort; plût à Dieu que je fusse à votre place! – Ah! monseigneur, répondit de Katt, si j'avais mille vies je les sacrifierais pour vous.» En disant ces mots, il se mit à genoux, sans permettre qu'on lui bandât les yeux. Il s'écria: «Mon Dieu, je mets mon âme entre vos mains.» Et comme il achevait, sa tête, tranchée d'un seul coup, roula sur l'échafaud.
A ce terrible moment, Frédéric était sans connaissance. Il ne reprit ses sens qu'au bout de plusieurs heures, et le premier objet qui frappa sa vue fut, par un raffinement atroce, le corps sanglant de son ami, placé de manière à ce qu'il ne pût éviter de le voir. Un second évanouissement succéda au premier, et il ne revint à lui qu'avec une fièvre violente. Malgré les ordres du roi, M. de Municho fit fermer les rideaux de la fatale croisée, et envoya chercher les médicins, qui trouvèrent le prince en grand danger. Il ne voulut rien prendre de ce qu'ils lui ordonnèrent. Il était hors de lui, et dans de si violentes agitations, qu'il se serait tué si on ne l'en eût empêché. Ses convulsions ne se calmèrent que lorsque les forces furent épuisées. Les larmes succédèrent alors aux plus terribles transports. Ce fut avec une peine indicible, et en lui représentant qu'il causerait la mort de la reine et celle de sa soeur Wilhelmine, s'il persistait à vouloir mourir, qu'on vint à bout de lui faire prendre quelques remèdes. Il conserva longtemps une profonde mélancolie, et fut trois fois vingt-quatre heures à toute extrémité.
Seckendorf also wanted to save Katte, and he was joined by an assortment of people of the highest rank. Katte belonged to a family numerous, powerful, and highly regarded. He was the only son of the field marshal of the same name. The entire family returned many times, and dissolving into tears, cast itself at the foot of the king, seeking mercy for a young man in whom the whole city and the entire court took the greatest interest; but Wilhelm was inexorable. Katte's sentence was read to him. He listened without changing color. "I submit," he said, "to the orders of the king and to the decrees of Providence. I die for a beautiful cause, and I anticipate death without fear." Major Schenk informed him that his execution would be carried out at Küstrin, and that the carriage that was to take him there awaited. He ascended with a cheerful air, and was accompanied by the major and two other officers of the Gens d'Armes, and escorted by a large detachment of this body. On arriving, Schenk said to him: "You are about to undergo a terrible trial: you are going to see the Crown Prince.--"Say rather," responded Katte vehemently, "that I am going to have the greatest consolation that could have been granted to me," and in saying these words, he descended from the carriage and mounted the scaffold.
However, Friedrich had just been led by Münchow and by the general Lepel into a chamber on the level at which the scaffold was erected; and at the moment when Katte arrived, the curtain on the window was raised, which until then had been lowered. This had been done to prepare the prince for this horrible spectacle, devised in order to associate him with the torture of his friend; nothing equaled his despair: he wanted to throw himself out the window, at which he had been forcibly placed. He was prevented. "In the name of God," he cried, "delay the execution. I wish to write to the King that I am ready to renounce all my rights to the crown, if he is willing to pardon Katte! How unhappy I am, my dear Katte: I am the cause of your death; would to God I were in your place!" "Ah! Your Royal Highness," responded Katte, "if I had a thousand lives I would sacrifice them for you." Saying these words, he knelt, without permitting his eyes to be blindfolded. He cried: "My God, into your hands I place my spirit." And as he finished, his head, cut off by one blow, rolled on the scaffold.
At this terrible moment, Friedrich lost consciousness. He did not regain it for several hours, and the first object that struck his view, by an excruciating refinement, was the bloody body of his friend, placed in such a manner that he couldn't avoid seeing it. A second fainting fit followed the first, and he only returned to himself with a violent fever. Against the orders of the King, Münchow caused the curtains to be closed on the fatal sight through the window, and sent for doctors, who found the prince in great danger. He was not willing to take anything that they prescribed for him. He was beside himself, and in such violent agitation, that he would have killed himself if he had not been prevented. His convulsions did not subside until his strength was exhausted. Tears followed these agitation. It was with unspeakable difficulty, and only through conveying to him that he would cause the death of the queen and of his sister Wilhelmine, if he persisted in wanting to die, that he finally agreed to some treatments. He stayed a long time in a profound depression, and was for three times twenty-four hours on the brink of death.
Some history of the editions these memoirs went through:
Before the memoirs even reached Barrière, they had already gone through four editions. Two at the hands of Thiébault père, one at the hand of another editor, whom Barrière disapproves of greatly, saying that he considered the work his property, the author subject to his censorship, and Fritz as brought before his tribunal. Finally, one edition at the hands of Thiébault fils (who btw was a famous French general). Barrière, the condenser into 2 volumes guy, uses the fourth edition, that of Thiébault fils, for his text.
Now, it seems Thiébault fils did a certain amount of research for his edition, and it was observed by various parties that Thiébault père did not always have all the facts correct. So without having editions 2-4 at my disposal, I'm not actually sure *who* rewrote the Katte episode based on Wilhelmine's memoirs as published in 1810, whether it was Thiébault fils or our 1860 editor (Barrière), or even the rewriting editor. It's not clear to me whether the rewriting editor of the 3rd edition was working before or after 1810. All I can see is that it's after 1807, so Thiébault père is dead, and the Napoleonic wars are on, so Thiébault fils is really really busy and has to delegate.
