Peasants' War | Thomas Müntzer: "That Germany will not become a murder den"

On May 27, 1525, twelve days after the princely army had ambushed and massacred the rebels gathered near Frankenhausen, the radical reformer Thomas Müntzer was executed. He and his fellow monk Heinrich Pfeiffer were beheaded at the execution site near Mühlhausen. Their bodies were impaled on stakes and "screwed into the felt." Their display on Rieseninger Berg, the victors intended, was intended to serve as a warning to all who might still consider rebellion against their superiors.

Who was the preacher so hated by his opponents that they did everything in their power to demonize and eradicate his teachings and work? Originally a follower of Martin Luther, Müntzer developed into a young, independent theologian, a compassionate pastor, and an effective preacher who radically demanded a reorganization of ecclesiastical and secular relations. Müntzer saw himself as a willing messenger of God. He signed letters as "a servant of God" or called himself "Thomas Müntzer with the hammer" in memory of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. One of his few personal statements was written down in 1521 in a version of the Prague Epistle. He could credibly assure us that, unlike all other people, he had exerted the utmost diligence to understand how the holy, invincible Christian faith came to be.

Müntzer's conviction to show people the path to true faith was linked to the demands of rebellious peasants and townspeople during the German Peasants' War. His arguments were rooted in theology, not social or political in nature. As one of the most prominent representatives of the early Reformation in the Thuringian-Saxon region, he left the pulpit to fight with the rebels in Frankenhausen against tyrannical authorities and for a life pleasing to God, in imminent anticipation of the apocalyptic judgment of God. The "time of harvest," Müntzer was convinced, had come. "That Germany should not thus become a profanely murderous den," he wrote to the council in Sondershausen on May 8, 1525, calling for readiness for the march to Frankenhausen.

On May 11, 1525, Müntzer arrived in Frankenhausen with the Mühlhausen levy he had mobilized. There were 300 men, carrying eight cart guns. He urgently sought reinforcements and also appealed to the congregation in Erfurt: "Help us with everything you propose, my people, protected, so that we may fulfill what God himself has commanded... power shall be given to the common people." He encouraged the people of Allstedt to be fearless and to hesitate no longer: "Begin and fight the Lord's fight." He further urged: "Go on, go on, because the fire is hot. Do not let your sword grow cold with blood. Forge a tinderbox on Nymrod's anvil, and throw him to the ground." Now, according to Friedrich Engels, Müntzer was fully the prophet of the revolution. Müntzer preached in the camp, motivated doubters, defended himself against accusations, and resolutely defended the armed popular uprising: "God Almighty now wanted to purify the world and take power away from the rulers and give it to the subjects." God be with them. Their flag bore the sign of the covenant with God, the rainbow.

On the eve of the battle, Thomas Müntzer was considered by friends and foes alike to be the spiritual leader of the rebels. While the rebels had informed the princes, "We are not here to do anything, ... but to preserve divine justice. Nor are we here because of bloodshed," the besiegers responded that the authorities alone were the ones "whom God commands to draw the sword," and that they had come "to punish you as blasphemers of God." Their ultimatum was to "hand over the false prophet Thomas Müntzer and his followers alive" and that they "surrender to our mercy and disgrace." The majority rejected this demand. As a ring formed around the sun, Müntzer preached that this was a divine sign from the heavens. "They should only argue heartily and be bold." The congregation began singing the Pentecost hymn. The princely troops took advantage of this situation and fired into the wagon fort with their positioned cannons. Horsemen entered the camp. Panic broke out. Some 6,000 insurgents lost their lives in the carnage.

Müntzer managed to escape and hide in the city, where he was soon discovered by mercenaries and handed over to Count Ernst von Mansfeld, his worst enemy. The interrogation began in Heldrungen Castle on May 16, 1525. Intending to denounce Müntzer's teachings and actions as heretical and illegal, the victors ensured that transcripts of statements he had made during the interrogation were quickly disseminated. With the misleading title "Confession of Thomas Müntzer" (Bekentnus Thomas Muntzers), it was immediately printed several times in a variety of variations. When questioned about the purpose of the rebellion, Müntzer is said to have said under torture: "He had made this declaration so that all Christianity would be equal, and that princes and lords who refused to support the Gospel would be driven out and killed." The principle of his alliance was that all goods should be distributed to each according to their needs: "omnia sundt communia." Müntzer was willing to radically follow the norms and commandments of the Gospel, which included the elimination of social inequality. When Luther read the interrogation text, he saw in it Müntzer's devilish obstinacy and delusion. For him, Müntzer remained a "tool of Satan" and a "destroyer of all order."

No longer able to write with his broken hands, Müntzer dictated his last letter on May 17, 1525, addressed to the Christian community and the council in Mühlhausen. He urged them to beg the princes for mercy, "so that no further innocent blood may be shed." He blamed the failure of the uprising on the fact that the people had not fully understood him, but above all on the fact that "everyone sought their own interests more than the justification of Christianity." In this farewell letter, he also asked for his books and household goods to be handed over to his wife, Ottilie von Gersen, but this did not happen. The fate of his widow and their child is unclear.

In 1531, Luther complained that many "unscrupulous people" were making pilgrimages to Müntzer's place of execution on the Rieseninger Berg, not just from nearby Mühlhausen. He demanded that such veneration cease. Over the centuries, the execution site became a site of changing commemorative culture. In 1901, a Peasants' War memorial stone was erected on the Rieseninger Berg. Its inscription was dedicated to the Peasants' War of 1525, the year of Mühlhausen's misfortune, in which a punitive trial was held against the center of the radical Reformation movement.

More than 50 leading figures were executed in and around Mühlhausen, and the city lost its imperial freedom for decades. In 1975, the Peasants' War was commemorated in Mühlhausen as the culmination of the early bourgeois revolution. The site was rededicated as the Thomas Müntzer Memorial and partially redesigned. After 1990, the area became overgrown, but recently it was officially renamed the "Peasants' War Memorial."

As part of the commemorative year "2025: Year of Freedom," the city of Mühlhausen has implemented extensive measures at Rieseninger Berg to enhance this special place for people and nature. These include newly renovated stairs, railings, bench cushions, signposts, and trash cans.

The two historical monuments – the Thomas Müntzer Memorial and the Theodor Wiesenthal Memorial – were also extensively renovated. The new information column at the Müntzer Memorial aroused particular interest. It provides interesting information about the history of the Peasants' War memorial stone, erected in 1901, and the various inscriptions it has carried over time. Thanks to targeted pruning, an impressive panoramic view of Görmar and the Forstberg mountain now opens up again.

The Peasants' War 500 years ago is the occasion for the recently opened Thuringian State Exhibition "freiheyt1525," which is being held in Mühlhausen and Bad Frankenhausen. It also commemorates the radical reformer Müntzer, who, in the early revolutionary times of the 16th century, resolutely fought for freedom and justice based on the Gospel and paid for it with his life.

Dr. Marion Dammaschke, Vice-Chair of the Thomas Müntzer Society in Mühlhausen, has published books including "Signatures of an Era: Contributions to the History of the Early Modern Period" (2012), "Thomas Müntzer: Not a Marginal Remark on History" (2017), "Peasant Warriors in Gowns: Thomas Müntzer in Fiction" (2021), and "Thomas Müntzer in Focus" (2023).