Martin Luther Revolutionary

Statue of Martin Luther in Dresden, Germany

            Martin Luther undoubtedly changed German history. His words and beliefs started a chain reaction and showed individuals that they could actually stand up to the authorities and win. His revolution began with his writings of the 95 theses. He gained support from political leaders like Fredrick the Wise, which ultimately saved him his life. He encouraged his political authorities of Rome’s financial draining on all of the individuals and how this needed to be changed. I feel as though he opened the eyes of some of the political leaders and they knew they had to do something to make a change. Not only was Luther a political revolutionary, but also religious. Not only did he lead his followers with his 95 theses, but he also translated the bible into the German language. This was a huge step in changing religion in German- speaking lands. It made the book more accessible to a wider array of people and changed the church forever. His words made priests and nuns leave the church and get married and they began living the life of the congregation. He informed these individuals that there were simply two sacraments opposed to the seven that Rome was trying to convince the citizens. These findings only opened doors for others to find other flaws with the church system that was being forced upon them. Luther wanted more religious freedom within the church and soon others were realizing the same. The translation of the bible also set to stone the standard German language. With these small key ingredients such as having a standard set language and more religious freedom was just the beginning to a blossoming Germany. Luther spoke what he believed knowing the dangerous consequences he would encounter and I believe this is where he gained a lot of respect. If you are going to start a revolution you need to stay true to your word and fight for what you believe no matter what the outcome may be, and that is exactly what he did until the day he died. I feel as if the citizens of the Roman Empire were unhappy with the situation they were in but didn’t know what to do about it until Luther stepped forward with his ideals and paved the path to an improved political and religious system.

Picture of Martin Luther

Martin Luther appearing before the Diet of Worms
 

Peace of Westphalia

History has always been one of my favorite subjects to learn about in school. I find it fascinating to learn all the background details about why certain things have ended up the way they are today and how we have learned from our past experiences. Reading these first couple chapters about the history of Germany was something entirely new to me and a lot of the information I had never learned about before and it was really interesting and at times a little more complicated and confusing than our American history. The Thirty Years War and ultimately the Peace of Westphalia was a major event that I found to be very important in the history of Germany. I feel as if the Peace of Westphalia was a platform for not only Germany but also many other parts of Europe to start building and growing separately as individual territories. One of the best parts, in my opinion, of this Constitution was that it ensured that the empire would be multidenominational and each territory allowed individuals the rights to practice their own beliefs in private or as a whole. I believe this was a step closer to separating the powers of the church and state as we do in United States. Religion can be tricky because it is a personal belief and everyone believes differently. You will have conflict if you try to force a religious belief upon someone and that was one of the main reasons for the Thirty Years War. I think America was smart when separating the powers of church and state and although this may never be something that happens in Europe, the Peace of Westphalia was a great beginning and solved one of the major problems in their government system at that time. It’s sad to think that they needed a devastating war that weakened their population from 17 million to 10 million people to make this peace, but we can be glad that it ended with this positive outcome.

A painting done by Ernest Croft displaying the tragedy of the Thirty Years War

City of Düsseldorf, Germany; North Rhine-Westphalia

The writing of the Treaty of Westphalia

Why Germany?

       I am extremely excited for the D- term trip to Germany. This trip will be the first time that I have ever been outside of the United States and I am not only excited, but also a little nervous. I am not entirely sure what to expect yet but I know that this trip will be full of new experiences and I am sure to learn a lot. The main reason I chose to study abroad in Germany was because I am about 75% German. My father is mostly German and was actually born in Germany and my mother is about 50% German. I wanted to learn more about my family’s past and my family’s heritage. It will be interesting to learn more about my family’s background and experience the German culture as my ancestors did many years ago. I feel that the best way to learn about a certain culture is to actually be immersed in it yourself and get a hands on feel for the different customs and the different ways of life. I’m also anxious to see all the different castles and churches with the outstanding architecture and design. Not only will sight seeing and learning about the German culture be rewarding, but studying abroad will also help me in my future. Although this is a fairly short trip, I am sure that it will open my eyes to many new and intriguing things that will be useful later on in life. I am majoring in Education and as a teacher it is important to have broad horizons and having several different experiences such as studying abroad to foreign countries are great to help to broaden your perspective on life. I will come home with many stories to share with not only my class in the future but also my friends and family. I will be able to inform my younger siblings about their family’s heritage and the different lifestyles they live in Germany. This trip to Germany will most likely be very influential and mark the first time that I am leaving the United States, but most certainly not the last. It is not very often that you get opportunities like this to study abroad and to visit so many educational places in one short visit and I am going to take advantage of it in every way possible. 

Library of Heidelberg University- the oldest University in Germany

German Flag: Yellow - a symbol of generosity; red- bravery and strength; black- determination