On the occasion of the 100th birthday of the great publicist Marion Countess Dönhoff, this book reflects on the land of two short centuries. With the founding of the German Empire in 1871 and the emerging Wilhelminian megalomania, it was forever lost. The Countess dedicates very personal and thought-provoking reflections on the old, true Prussia in this book. Marion Countess Dönhoff was deeply connected to the Prussia of the past, the land of her family and her youth. Yet, its history was for her a Janus-faced one, full of contrasts. Two short centuries of moderation and service, several generations of great monarchs, and epochs of tolerance and knowledge of limits were followed by the megalomania of a German Empire that ultimately proved to be profoundly un-Prussian. The spirit of old Prussia last manifested itself on July 20, 1944, the day of the assassination attempt.