Thirty Years’ War: The Horror Of Europe’s Bloodiest Conflict | Holy Wars | Chronicle

this channel is part of the history hit network [Music] [Music] war in the name of god the great world religions preach peace and mercy history even modern history shows that religion and violence are not contradictions in the 16th century there emerges a new christian denomination latin christianity already separated from the orthodox church of the east splits once more into catholics and protestants and in the name of christ they go to war against each other in the bloodiest conflict that europe has ever known [Music] [Music] a new age has dawned in europe a new image of

the world the renaissance everything is in a state of flux astronomy and other natural sciences art and architecture the way in which people see each other and their world is radically transformed the perspective becomes naturalistic realistic courageous seafarers especially the portuguese venture out into strange unknown worlds with new instruments of navigation new maps in 1522 mcgowan's ships proved that the world is round a time of upheavals in matters of belief too the bible whose latin was inaccessible to the common people becomes the book of books and a dissatisfied german monk unintentionally changes the world martin

luther does not want a reformation he only wishes to reform but that is not how it turns out it is as though his time is ripe for more a new invention the printing press a technical revolution which makes possible a spiritual one as gutenberg with the and improves communication to an extent that was previously not just unknown but unimaginable the moral authority of the church of the popes has reached its nadir in the company of the borgias the children of pope alexander vi lucretia and cesare rule like their father through intrigue murder and violence when

this pope dies open jubilation breaks out in the streets of rome the augustinian friar martin luther despairs at the intolerable situation the corruption of the church he is not a revolutionary only a medieval monk but a stubborn one who wrestles with theological problems in all probability he never nailed up his 95 theses composed in latin to the church door in wittenberg however popular the image after all who would have been able to read them what is true is that he sent them in the form of a letter to the archbishop of mainz history it is

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be sure to use the code chronicle at checkout his handwritten theses reached nuremberg in manuscript form there they are translated from they are printed and copies are distributed in vast numbers throughout the empire the result is uproar luther is excommunicated in 1521 after a stage kidnapping the prince elector frederick iii of saxony hides luther in wartburg castle where he translates the new testament into german his forceful style has a profound influence on the german language one year later his text is printed with far-reaching consequences luther isn't the first to translate the bible into german in

the 15th century we already have translations i can't just recall how many into other national languages including german but luther's translation his translation of the bible into german is the one that really takes off really catches fire a fire that luther has not intended his religious texts are understood as an inspiration to revolution thomas munson debates with luther and summons up forces that he can no longer control i do not come bringing peace but the sword he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword matthew 26 initially sympathetic towards the insurgents luther then

calls on the ruling princes to adopt stern measures in his tract against the thieving and murderous hordes of peasants he does not wish to be associated with the brutalities of the peasants and unlike munsa he does not want a revolution pawan creek [Music] these presence revolts constitute a tradition going back into the 14th and 15th centuries but what the princes actually do is also not what luther intended luther suffers under the reformation as much as he influences it he has no control over events the reformation attracts fanatics revolt against the clergy spreads like wildfire iconoclasts

attack churches in munster for a few bizarre months anabaptists rule a totalitarian state they demand common ownership of property and prohibit marriage when the riots are suppressed the corpses of the ringleaders are displayed in cages [Music] reformation spreads throughout europe dividing into ever new factions spingley in zuri calvin in geneva even scotland has its own local hero in the form of john knox [Music] and in london henry viii seizes the opportunity and founds the anglican church principally in order to secure himself a divorce reformation also means a reallocation of power 1546 the catholic emperor is

at war with protestant princes the first into interdenominational war after the emperor's victory a process begins which finally leads to a peacemaker's compromise subject citizens must adopt the faith of their ruler the oxford rally a level where the king and the imperial estates work together as supreme arbiters or referees responsible for safeguarding peace and the rule of law within the empire peace among christians a frightful era in 1572 in france the saint bartholomew's day massacre actually a royal marriage between the denominations is intended to bring about peace but then betrayal protestant huguenots gathered for the

wedding are slaughtered in tens of thousands by catholics christians against christians the denominations are at war again it's about religion but also about power the new religious faith is an opportune means for ambitious princes to pursue their aims of dominion against the emperor the kings and the church then in 1618 the prelude to a european catastrophe the prague defenestration actually the second protestants against catholics that too in fact a long smoldering power struggle the revolt of the estates against the emperor is a bohemian tradition this time they immediately elect a king of their own liking

the success of the prague defenestration can best be understood if we look at the bohemian act of confederation of 1619. here we have a document in which the bohemian estates define what they want in terms that we will later call a state they don't abolish the monarchy they need the king to legitimize their own positions but they reduce his role to such an extent that this bohemian king in the concept of a corporate state as defined by the bohemian nobility ends up as nothing more than a master of ceremonies in bohemia the protestant union musters

its troops alliances are made maximilian of bavaria calls on the catholic league to fight vienna bohemian protestants refuse to recognize the newly elected emperor war breaks out decades of conflict now explode emperor ferdinand fights for catholicism [Music] valentine a brilliant general and entrepreneur as yet there is no such thing as a national army valenstein recruits an army of mercenaries and fights on the side of the catholic league for money einstein when the emperor asks can you provide me with an army and here valenstein sees himself as ideally suited as a private individual a businessman to

offer this service the first catholic victories the bohemian rival king is defeated the protestants lose a series of bloody battles in bohemia catholic successes are followed by brutal suppression of the new denomination but now the danes fear for the security of their power in europe they enter the war against the catholic habsburgs the fortunes of war are fickle but valenstein is almost always victorious again the emperor triumphs over the protestants the right creek it's fair to say that in the 1620s the 30 years war is mainly a religious war with powerful political groupings already getting

involved in which religion still plays a role albeit no longer a dominant one creek field length a war which perpetuates itself the powers take up their positions no one dominates for long a power which achieves a short-term advantage is soon brought down by the others and everywhere the armies of mercenaries who take what they need from the civilian population war feeding on war people say soldiers are seen as the brutal scum of the earth who kill for money or the mercenaries only money counts these mercenaries were simply plying their trade above all they made sure

they were paid on time and if they weren't they changed sides 1630 gustavus adolphus king of sweden enters the war his power base the baltic region is claimed by the catholics a mistake the swedish monarch is now the standard bearer for the protestant cause and luck is on his side an irony of fate valenstein has just been dismissed by the emperor a concession to the jesuits the spaniards and the estates who hate him in 1631 catholic forces besiege and then storm the city of magdeborg what happens there is without parallel even for the 30 years

war an orgy of brutality the city is raised to the ground the population virtually completely slaughtered gustavus adolphus the protestant from the north is set on revenge his victorious troops pushed southwards augsburg a protestant stronghold a city where once the peace between the denominations was ratified there the soldiers of the swedish king are now greeted like angels of salvation a hysterical hope in a land laid waste but these men too will only bring death misery and devastation the swedish soldiers are also mercenaries war is their trade what the bavarians suffer only a short time later

comes close to the accounts of the few survivors of magdeburg the mercenaries are all alike [Music] for the first time in the 30 years war the peasants resist the mercenaries the soldiers leave behind them a trail of devastation no matter whether there is fighting or not no matter what cause they serve in this hour of peril the call goes out for valencia there are many who distrust this vain and unscrupulous general but he alone is capable of putting a stop to the swedish advance desperate times demand desperate measures [Music] the two commanders clash directly in

southern germany a battle of the titans valenstein against the army of gustavus adolphus the result a victory for sweden but a victory bought at the price of disaster in the battle of lutsen gustavus adolphus is killed a shock the messianic leader gone rumors spread he isn't really dead the swedes are now losing battles but they believe they can still secure their influence by negotiation they are deceived at this time nothing is stable balenstein's officers have to swear personal allegiance to him even if this conflicts with orders from the emperor um he was always successful in

his business ventures but when it came down to it maybe it wasn't the money that mattered after all the lab formulas but rather for instance becoming the duke of mecklenburg a promotion in social rank which put him on a par with the princes of the holy roman empire has grown too powerful what are his real aims among other things he is negotiating with the swedes for a peace agreement does the commander want to become something more than a duke not only the jesuits would like to be rid of him [Music] the emperor orders him captured

dead or alive the irish captain who stabs him in aeger is only the long arm of the numerous enemies in his own camp an inglorious end for this notorious commander of armies [Music] the war continues at the beginning the habsburg dynasty had sought war to secure their dominion by now they are fighting to retain their existence as a power [Music] then in 1635 at the urging of cardinal richelieu france enters the war once again the fighting lays waste to south germany and bohemia [Music] not before 1648 do people finally grow tired of the slaughter sweden

and france the remaining great powers guarantee the end of hostilities the peace of west failure is signed the basis for the religious articles of the document is the piece of augsburg of 1555 after 30 years of devastating war a bitter truth it's back to square one and yet everything has changed however for the ordinary people the signing of the treaty did not bring about peace [Music] earth saxon and because this doesn't happen in saxony until 1650 documentary sources there refer to the end of the 32 years war until [Music] finally an end to the killing

the cost of the war the destruction of a continent the conflict over the right interpretation of christianity leads to an orgy of cruelty which takes human beings to the brink of the abyss the accepted worldview is damaged forever a symbol of this is the gallows tree from which even wounded comrades now useless as soldiers are hanged for the first time there is something resembling war reportage ruthless brutal realistic [Music] dimension since the middle of the 17th century the 30 years war has never ceased to be of interest because it confronts us with an unimaginable range

and intensity of cruelty what people experienced at the time was handed down to those who came after in writings and illustrations illustrations which have no inhibitions about depicting cruelty in all its hideous details or the civilian population the presence of the soldiery no matter under whose flag they are serving means misery and death plundering mercenaries sees what they need marauding troops lay waste to the land even where there is no fighting there is no mercy no restraint this war is seen as an awful event perhaps something like a natural disaster which devastates a village and

against which there is no protection war feeds on war the civilian has a greater chance of dying than the mercenary so men from the starving pestilential ravaged villages volunteer for military service in order to live a little longer medical care is negligible the wounded have little chance of survival but it's still better than starving to death or being slaughtered in your own village a european catastrophe most severely affected is the region which will later become germany how many deaths has the war cost insurance in some areas population losses could go as high as 70 80

judging by the large number of deserted settlements left behind after the 30 years war in other words places where people have been living but which after the war are no longer populated abandoned deserted but from the ruins of the wars of religion emerges the idea of the modern nation-state a mechanism of power a neutral structure standing above denominational conflict treaties civil order and the rule of law are to bring about peace an idea whose consequences extend into our own present day hell is humankind itself the struggle for religious domination leads to the abyss in the

name of the one true faith man is capable of any imaginable cruelty so reads the lesson of the thirty years war by nature man is and always has been greedy selfish and cruel only an all-powerful constraint compels him to keep the peace man is a wolf to man writes the english philosopher thomas hobbes the consequence that if he must be constrained in every aspect of his life by a power that can only be the power to constrain the greed of man hobbes decrees the totalitarian state an omnipotent monster leviathan which imposes peace and dictates what

may be thought said and believed an idea which will bear fruit absolutism the state ruled over by the french sun king louis catoas one of the practical political consequences of the 30 years war rigid majestic order the jungle gives way to the garden the state as a calmly ticking finely oiled and neutral clockwork base instincts and conflicts of belief are held in check by the power on high the new ideal of the age in place of the bands of mercenaries hired when needed we find standing armies valuable instruments of the state to be used sparingly

prussia under frederick ii is the ideal model of enlightened absolutism a sober rational state without an established church the gun's gross attendance is um the trend is quite clear perhaps frederick the great put it best each man should be blessed as he thinks fit and so religion is shifted firmly into the private sphere uh the practical consequences in the late 17th century the huguenots pour into prussia into freedom under frederick ii there's a time when every fourth berliner is a french origin a monarchy on the make in which church and state are strictly separated it's

a matter of principle in prussia kent pursues the idea to its logical conclusion his essay towards eternal peace is a blueprint for the united nations organization law should rule over power in a kind of world parliament an idea which has found little favor with every superpower to date the separation of church and state is now so taken for granted that the appearance of the pope before the united nations is a minor sensation in the past popes waged war today the pope has only moral power not battalions a long way which has led from the crusades

of the middle ages via the 30 years war to the present day