The movie`s German title - "Hunde, wollt ihr ewig leben ?" - refers to a saying that is attributed to the Prussian Philosopher-King Frederick the Great. During one of the decisive battles of the Seven Years` War., an infantry assault of Frederick`s foot guards was repulsed by the Austrians. For some reason we don`t know, Frederick`s battle-hardened veterans were all of a sudden stricken by panic. Lest their retreat didn`t turn into an all-out flight from the battlefield., the King and his generals obstructed the grenadiers` obvious escape route with their horses and drove them back towards the enemy which eventually did the trick: What had initially looked like an imminent military disaster, turned out as one of the Prussian Army`s finest hours. The question Frederick has been alleged to have shouted at his fleeing soldiers was purely rhetorical in nature (in English: "Do you want to live forever, you dogs ?").: Apart from being a German prince, the Prussian King was an enlightened despot and an atheist who hosted many dozens of exiled French men of letters at his court in Potsdam. Frederick the Great simply didn`t believe his soldiers could earn a place in heaven if they bit the dust fighting for Him and the Prussian cause. As is generally known, it took him more than just a little good fortune to emerge from the Seven Years` War...well...somewhat victorious. Far from thanking Gawd for his deliverance, the filosofer-king set to rebuilding his country which had suffered terribly (and continued suffering for years to come) from the effects of a seven year multi-front war. But Frederick II. knew what he owed to his country: 10 years had elapsed since the Seven Years` War`s final shot had been fired, but thanks to the King`s prudence and diligence the last traces of the war were erased, and the Kingdom of Prussia had shoehorned herself into the prestigious circle of European great powers. The industrious monarch, however, spent his rare hours of leisure doing what he had done since his youth: He wrote essays on politics, literature and art, and he wrote them in French. Mocking religion was one of his favourite pastimes.