The Dark History of Witch Persecutions in Germany

The persecutions of alleged witches in Germany were a dark period in history characterized by fear, paranoia, and mass hysteria. Occurring primarily between the 15th and 18th centuries, thousands of people, mostly women, were accused of practicing witchcraft and subsequently tortured, interrogated, and executed. The belief in witchcraft and the existence of witches had been prevalent in Europe for centuries, fueled by superstition and religious beliefs. However, it was during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period that the witch hunts reached their peak, particularly in Germany. Accusations of witchcraft were often based on hearsay, rumors, and personal vendettas. Many aspects of daily life, such as infertility, crop failure, and illness, were attributed to the work of witches.

Rowlands, Alison, ‘Not “the Usual Suspects”? Male Witches, Witchcraft, and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe,’ in Alison Rowlands (ed.), Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, pp. 1-31.

Much of the book offered hints to judges and prosecutors, such as the authors suggestion to strip each suspect completely and inspect the body to see whether a mole was present that might be a telltale sign of consort with demons, and to have the defendants brought into court backwards to minimize their opportunities to cast dangerous spells on officials. Due to the Reformation and Counter Reformation, even convents had grown smaller in number and the nuns who lived there experienced increasing restrictions on their mobility and contact to the outside world.

Many aspects of daily life, such as infertility, crop failure, and illness, were attributed to the work of witches. In this climate of fear and uncertainty, the belief in witches and their association with the devil was deeply ingrained in society. The accused "witches" were subjected to horrendous acts of torture and humiliation in order to extract confessions or implicate others.

Persecutions of alleged witches in Germany

Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit , or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them. (KJV)

Exodus and Leviticus, two Old Testament books that make up part of the "Law of Moses" and the primary history of the Jewish people, were written in the sixth century B. C by a Jewish writer —whose name we do not know. The books, which include the passages quoted above that assume the existence of witches and urge that they be killed, were most likely written in what is present-day Iraq during the reign of Evil Merodach, a dark time of Jewish exile, around 560 B.C. The author was most likely a priest, and might have been assisted in his work by other priests and scribes.

The word "witch" in Exodus is a translation of the Hebrew word " kashaph ," which comes from the root meaning "to whisper." The word as used in Exodus probably thus meant "one who whispers a spell." In context, the Exodus passage probably was intended to urge Jews to adhere to their own religious practices and not those of surrounding tribes.

Saint Augustine of Hippo, an influential theologian in the early Christian Church, argued in the early 400s that God alone could suspend the normal laws of the universe. In his view, neither Satan nor witches had supernatural powers or were capable of effectively invoking magic of any sort. It was the "error of the pagans" to believe in "some other divine power than the one God." Of course, if witches are indeed powerless, the Church need not overly concern itself with their spells or other attempts at mischief.

1208
3. Satan becomes sinister following
Pope Innocent III's attack on Cathar heretics.

In 1208, Pope Innocent III opened an attack on Cathar heretics who believed in a world in which God and Satan, both having supernatural powers, were at war. The Church attempted to discredit the Cathar belief by spreading stories that the heretics actually worshiped their evil deity in person. Propagandists for the Church depicted Cathars kissing the anus of Satan in a ceremonial show of loyalty to him. As a result of the Church's sustained attacks, the public's understanding of Satan moved from that of a mischievous spoiler to a deeply sinister force.

1273
4. Thomas Aquinas argues that demons exist that try to lead people into temptation.

Many adherents of Catharism, fleeing a papal inquisition launched against their alleged heresies, had migrated into Germany and the Savoy. Torture inflicted on heretics suspected of magical pacts or demon-driven sexual misconduct led to alarming confessions. Defendants admitted to flying on poles and animals to attend assemblies presided over by Satan appearing in the form of a goat or other animal. Some defendants told investigators that they repeatedly kissed Satan's anus as a display of their loyalty. Others admitted to casting spells on neighbors, having sex with animals, or causing storms. The distinctive crime of witchcraft began to take shape.

Pope Innocent announced that satanists in Germany were meeting with demons, casting spells that destroyed crops, and aborting infants. The pope asked two friars, Heinrich Kramer (a papal inquisitor of sorcerers from Innsbruck) and Jacob Sprenger, to publish a full report on the suspected witchcraft. Two years later, the friars published Malleus maleficarum ("Hammer of Witches") which put to rest the old orthodoxy that witches were powerless in the face of God to a new orthodoxy that held Christians had an obligation to hunt down and kill them. The Malleus told frightening tales of women who would have sex with any convenient demon, kill babies, and even steal penises. (The friars asked, "What is to be thought of those witches who collect. as many as twenty or thirty members together, and put them in a bird's nest or shut them up in a box, where they move themselves like living members and eat oats and corn?") Over the next forty years, the Malleus would be reprinted thirteen times and come to help define the crime of witchcraft. Much of the book offered hints to judges and prosecutors, such as the authors' suggestion to strip each suspect completely and inspect the body to see whether a mole was present that might be a telltale sign of consort with demons, and to have the defendants brought into court backwards to minimize their opportunities to cast dangerous spells on officials.

Over the 160 years from 1500 to 1660, Europe saw between 50,000 and 80,000 suspected witches executed. About 80% of those killed were women. Execution rates varied greatly by country, from a high of about 26,000 in Germany to about 10,000 in France, 1,000 in England, and only four in Ireland. The lower death tolls in England and Ireland owe in part to better procedural safeguards in those countries for defendants.

Scotland's witch-hunting had its origins in the marriage of King James to Princess Anne of Denmark. Anne's voyage to Scotland for the wedding met with a bad storm, and she ended up taking refuge in Norway. James traveled to Scandinavia and the wedding took place in at Kronborg Castle in Denmark. After a long honeymoon in Denmark, the royal newlyweds encountered terrible seas on the return voyage, which the ship's captain blamed on witches. When six Danish women confessed to having caused the storms that bedeviled King James, he began to take witchcraft seriously. Back in Scotland, the paranoid James authorized torture of suspected witches. Dozens of condemned witches in the North Berwick area were burned at the stake in what would be the largest witch-hunt in British history. By 1597, James began to address some of the worst prosecutorial abuses, and witch-hunting abated somewhat.

1606
9. Shakespeare's Macbeth performed

Banquo and Macbeth are greeted by the three witches.

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Cauldron boiling. Thunder. Enter the three witches.
1 W ITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2 W ITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
3 W ITCH. Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!
1 W ITCH. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
A LL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

1640s
10. Witch-hunting, after a major outbreak in France, begins to decrease.

In 1643-1645, the largest witch-hunt in French history occurred. During those two years there were at least 650 arrests in Languedoc alone. The same time was one of intense witch-hunting in England, as the English civil war created an atmosphere of unrest that fueled the hunting, especially under Matthew Hopkins. The Thirty Years War, a conflict that raged in several European states from 1618-1648 following an attempted rebellion by Protestants in Bohemia from the Roman Catholic Hapsburg rulers, produced slaughter and suffering that sparked additional witch hunts.

The number of trials began to drop sharply, however, in the late 1640s. Holland, for example, was by 1648 a tolerant society that had done away with punishments for witchcraft.

1682
11. England executes its last witch

Dass sie mit Ampt eyn Mort begon. (Ibid 123)

Methods such as the strappado, water torture, and the infamous thumbscrews were commonly employed to extract the desired information. Once a confession was obtained, the accused were then typically burned at the stake or hanged. The witch hunts were not confined to any particular social class or region, affecting people from all walks of life. Even influential and respected women were not safe from accusations. This wave of persecution decimated entire communities, causing widespread social unrest and trauma. The witch hunts gradually declined in the 18th century, as Enlightenment ideals and rational thinking began to take hold. People started questioning the validity of the accusations and the reliability of the evidence, leading to a decline in convictions and executions. Eventually, laws were enacted to protect individuals from groundless accusations of witchcraft. The persecution of alleged witches in Germany left a lasting scar on the country's history. It serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of mass hysteria, the consequences of religious extremism, and the importance of safeguarding the principles of justice and reason..

Reviews for "Women on Trial: Persecution of Alleged Witches in Germany"

1. John - 2/5 - While I appreciate the historical significance of "Persecutions of alleged witches in Germany," I found the content to be incredibly dry and lacking in depth. The author seems to only scratch the surface of the subject matter, providing brief descriptions of cases without delving into the societal and cultural context of the time. Additionally, the writing style is quite academic and difficult to follow, making it a tough read for anyone without a background in history. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to those seeking a comprehensive understanding of witch trials in Germany.

2. Sarah - 1/5 - I found "Persecutions of alleged witches in Germany" to be a tedious and uninteresting read. The author's writing style is overly verbose, making it challenging to stay engaged with the content. Furthermore, the book lacks a coherent structure, jumping from one case to another without providing any context or analysis. I was hoping for a more nuanced exploration of the subject matter, but instead, the book felt superficial and rushed. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an insightful examination of witch trials in Germany.

3. Alex - 3/5 - While "Persecutions of alleged witches in Germany" does provide detailed accounts of various witch trials, I found the lack of analysis to be a drawback. The author simply presents the facts without offering any interpretation or insight into the social and political factors that contributed to the persecution of alleged witches. Additionally, the writing style is quite dry, making it difficult to stay engaged with the content. Overall, I believe this book could have been more impactful if it had delved deeper into the motivations behind the witch trials and their implications for German society at the time.

4. Emily - 2/5 - As someone who is interested in history, I was excited to read "Persecutions of alleged witches in Germany." However, I found the book to be disappointingly lacking in depth and analysis. The author briefly describes various witch trials but fails to provide any significant context or explore the societal factors that led to the persecution of alleged witches. The writing style is also quite academic and dry, making it difficult to stay engaged with the content. Overall, I was left wanting more from this book and would not recommend it to those seeking a comprehensive understanding of witch trials in Germany.

Germany's Grim Witch Trials: Uncovering a Dark Chapter in History