Mémoire raisonné

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June 30, 2026

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The M\u00e9moire raisonn\u00e9 was a significant document authored by Ewald Friedrich, count von Hertzberg, a Prussian statesman and foreign minister. This "Reasoned Memorandum" served to justify Prussia's attack on Saxony at the outset of the Seven Years' War in 1756. Hertzberg's primary aim was to expand Prussia's influence and establish it as a major European power through alliances. While the term "memoir" generally refers to a historical account based on personal experience, the M\u00e9moire raisonn\u00e9 was a specific political justification rather than a personal reminiscence.12

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Ewald Friedrich, count von Hertzberg
…the author of the famous Mémoire raisonné (“Reasoned Memorandum”) that justified Prussia’s attack on Saxony at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War (1756). Elevated to undersecretary of state in 1757, he negotiated Prussia’s peace treaties with Russia (1762) and Austria and Saxony (1763). As minister for foreign affairs from…
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…the author of the famous Mémoire raisonné (“Reasoned Memorandum”) that justified Prussia’s attack on Saxony at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War (1756). Elevated to undersecretary of state in 1757, he negotiated Prussia’s peace treaties with Russia (1762) and Austria and Saxony (1763). As minister for foreign affairs from…
Read More