Schwerhoff, Gerd Der Bauernkrieg. Geschichte einer wilden Handlung

The Peasants' War of 1525 is considered the largest uprising in Europe before the French Revolution. It has been interpreted as an uprising for German unity, an early bourgeois revolution and a revolution of the common man. Gerd Schwerhoff uses a wide range of sources to describe what really happened 500 years ago. Anyone who wants to have a say about the Peasants' War in the future will not be able to avoid this account. Autumn 1524: Fuelled by the message of the reformers, an uprising began in the south-west of Germany, which spread to almost the entire south of the empire in spring 1525. Everywhere, the peasants and the townspeople who sympathised with them organised themselves into large "mobs". They destroyed monasteries, burned down castles and forced lords, counts and even princes into their "fraternal union". Almost everywhere, they demanded the elimination of the church as a secular power factor. The rulers are initially divided, but then the military machinery of the powerful Swabian League starts up ... The peasants lose decisive battles, many are mercilessly massacred, but it also dawns on some rulers that pure repression is not enough. Contemporaries perceived the events as a "savage act". Gerd Schwerhoff knows how to do justice to the very different settings and paint a new, colourful overall picture. The events, which have been glossed over with far-reaching interpretations, thus appear in a completely new light.