The Peasant War in Germany

by Friedrich Engels

A modern translation, written after the 1848-50 upheavals in Europe. Engels analyzes the deep social and economic causes of the Reformation and the Peasant War (1525), and sees them as very early stirrings toward the future capitalist order. He vividly discusses Martin Luther, Thomas Munzer and other leaders. Appendix. Notes. Index.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Germany, Philosophy, European History, German Literature

107 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1850

About the author

German social theorist Friedrich Engels collaborated with Karl Marx on The Communist Manifesto in 1848 and on numerous other works.

With the help of Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital (1867-1894).

Friedrich Engels, a philosopher, political, historian, journalist, revolutionary, and also a businessman, closest befriended his lifelong colleague.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedri...

Reviews

[Peiman E iran · Rating 3 out of 5]

‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، همانطور که از نامِ کتاب پیداست، <فریدریش انگلس> در این کتاب به جنگ و خیزش کشاورزانِ آلمانی بر علیهِ حکومت، بخصوص در سدهٔ پانزدهم و سالِ 1524 میلادی، پرداخته است
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‎عزیزانم، صنعتِ آلمان در سده هایِ چهاردهم و پانزدهم میلادی، به جنبش های پُر اهمیتی دست پیدا کرد... حرفه ها و صنف هایِ گوناگون شهری، جانشینِ صنایع بومی و محلی شده بود که برایِ بخش هایِ دیگر و حتی بازارهایِ دورافتاده نیز تولید مینمود و البته بازرگانی نیز همراه با صنعت گام برمیداشت... بدست آوردنِ موادِ خام نیز به همین نسبت، افزایشِ زیادی یافته بود... کارگرانِ معادنِ آلمان، در سدهٔ پانزدهم، یکی از ماهرترین کارگرانِ جهان در رشتهٔ خویش بودند.. همچنین شکفته شدنِ شهرها سبب شد تا کشاورزی از حالتِ ابتدایی و قرون وسطایی بیرون رفته و پیشرفت کند... در این شرایط، موقعیتِ طبقاتِ باقیمانده از قرونِ وسطا به کلی تغییر یافت و طبقاتِ جدیدی در کنارِ طبقاتِ قدیم به وجود آمد... به سببِ این تحولات و رشدِ مناسبات، تولیدِ سرمایه داری بود که در میانه هایِ سدهٔ شانزدهم میلادی، جنبشِ بورژوایی موسوم به "رفرماسیون"، شکل گرفت
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‎در جریانِ جنگهایِ دهقانیِ (کشاورزی) آلمان، که به اصطلاح زیرِ پرچمِ "رفرماسیون" صورت گرفت، به جز کشاورزان، تهیدستانِ شهری نیز، یکی از نیروهایِ فعال و تأثیرگذار در جنبش و شورش ها بودند که هستهٔ رادیکالِ آن را عناصرِ "پرولتری" ( کسانی که بیش از دیگران در جامعه کار و تلاش میکنند، ولی کمتر از دیگران دستمزد و پاداش دریافت میکنند) به ویژه کارگرانِ بافنده و معدنچیان، تشکیل میدادند.... مخالفانِ بیچاره و تهی دستِ شهرها از عناصرِ گوناگونی تشکیل میشدند... بدین ترتیب، اتحادی از بازماندگانِ کوچک شدهٔ فئودال هایِ قدیمی و پیشه وران با عناصرِ پرولتاریاییِ رشدیافتهٔ جامعهٔ مدرنِ بورژوایی که هنوز قد علم نکرده بود، به وجود آمد
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‎یکی از رهبرانِ کشاورزان، کشیشی به نامِ <توماس مونتسر> بود که حکمی صادر نموده بود که بر اساسِ آن، مردم و قدرتمندانی که به شورش و جنبشِ آنها نمی پیوستند، باید کشته میشدند و همچنین کارها و ثروت ها باید میانِ تمامی مردم تقسیم شود... که بعدها همین کشیش توسط کلیسا دستگیر و پس از شکنجه دادن، کشته شد....اجتماعی کردنِ تمامی ثروت ها و موظف ساختنِ تمامی مردم به کار و برانداختنِ هرگونه سروری و سالاری بر زیردستان، از سوی وی و گروهش اعلام گردید... این برنامه بیش از آنکه جمع بستِ خواسته هایِ تنگدستانِ آن زمان باشد، آرزوهایِ فریبکارانه و نیرنگ گونهٔ شرایط رهایی عناصرِ به زحمت رشدیافتهٔ پرولتاریایی در بینِ تنگدستان بود
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‎سوسیالیسم از آن زمانی که به دانش تبدیل شده است، ایجاب میکند که با آن به صورتِ علم و دانش برخورد شده و آن را موردِ مطالعه و پژوهش قرار دهیم... این ناخودآگاهی را که بدین روش بدست آمده است و بطورِ روزافزونی در حالِ فروغ و روشنایی میباشد، باید در بینِ توده هایِ کارگر با جدیتی هرچه تمامتر گسترش داد و سازمانِ خوب و سازمانِ اتحادیه ها را هرچه بیشتر، فشرده و پابرجا ساخت
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‎امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ شناختِ این کتاب، مفید بوده باشه
‎<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>

[Scriptor Ignotus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engels tackled the radical reformation through a revolutionary lens. He insisted on comparing the peasant uprisings of the sixteenth century to the revolutions and restorations of 1848-50, arguing that the two failed revolutions followed a similar pattern. In 1848, the petty bourgeois fell out with the proletariat, leaving the masses isolated and leading to outcomes that favored the "princes" of Europe, rather than the people. Similarly, Engels believed that the broad revolutionary movement inaugurated by Luther, in which many oppositional factions came together to oppose the excesses of the catholic-imperial regime, similarly fell apart when Luther and the middling elements of society who favored moderation, like the burghers and the low-level nobility, softened their previously more radical positions in favor of reconciliation with the prevailing order; a reconciliation which would bring only cosmetic changes to the papal-imperial constitution without dramatically reforming the feudal society.

Engels compared Luther unfavorably with the far more radical Thomas Muntzer, who advocated the total abolition of class, caste, and private property, the confiscation of church property, local election of clergymen, and the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire itself in favor of a unified German republic. Unlike Luther, Muntzer had an ear for the tones of the peasantry, and Engels believed that Muntzer crafted what was in reality a radical political revolution in the language of religious prophecy that his pious but uneducated followers would better understand.

I feel as though I've seen this story many times, reading leftist accounts of the Spanish Civil War, the Russian Revolution, the 1848 Revolutions, and now the Peasant War. The initially radical revolution is betrayed by conciliatory elements within it that take the wind out of its sails and adjust its goals to align with the power structures of the time, rather than to overturn them. This is either a trope of lost cause leftist historical revisionism, or all of these accounts have come across an elemental conundrum: the near-futility of revolutionary change.

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Letto per la prima volta nel 1979, riletto adesso. A parte la pesantezza un po' pedante dell'applicazione del materialismo storico a tutti gli accadimenti (con forzature annesse) e, diciamolo pure, un po' fastidiosa, rimane sempre unlibro interessante per la mole dei dati che Engels ci rovescia in merito ai sommovimenti avvenuti nella Bassa Germania in quegli anni venti del Cinquecento. Engels inoltre dice di aver preso a piene mani notizie dallo studio di Wilhelm Zimmermann "Allgemeine Geschichte des großen Bauernkrieges" edito nel 1847, e in realtà è un diluvio di notizie sulla "Guerra dei contadini" che credo sia tutt'ora un caposaldo della storiografia sulle rivolte contadine del 1524-25. Il libro di Engels si segue bene (schematismi applicati a parte) e riesce ad essere anche avvincente, purchè si disponga, pagina dopo pagina, di un atlante particolareggiato della Bassa Germania. Emergono figure importantissime, veri capi militari oltre che capipolo, tra i contadini; i contadini stessi, che in parte avevano militato come lanzichenecchi, dimostrano di avere vere e proprie capacità militari e organizzative, anche se mancano quasi del tutto di senso politico. Per mesi e mesi riescono a tenere in scacco le milizie dei signori feudali, laici ed ecclesiastici, portando a segno non solo espugnazione di castelli e città, ma battendo anche in alcuni casi le truppe regolari in battaglie campali in cui anche loro dispongono e utilizzano al meglio pezzi di artiglieria. Insomma sono tutt'atro che degli sprovveduti. In campo avverso si trovano di fronte un osso duro, Georg Truchsess von Waldburg, un militare esperto, rotto a tutte le astuzie e raggiri, che alla fine avrà ragione di tutte le varie "bande" contadine.
Vorrei saperne di più sulla "guerra dei contadini", ma per quello che ne so, tradotto in italiano, c'è solo uno studio di Peter Blickle " La riforma luterana e la guerra dei contadini" pubblicato nel 1983 e non più ristampato.

[Squolle]

Thomas Müntzer > Martin Luther

[Orçun Güzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engels, 16. Yüzyılın ilk çeyreğinde tüm Almanya’yı kasıp kavuran köylü ayaklanmalarını anlatırken, sadece Orta Çağ’dan ve aristokrasiden çıkma sancıları yaşayan karmakarışık Almanya’nın sınıfsal analizini yapmakla kalmıyor, birbirinden eksantrik kahramanlarıyla, ilginç bir tarihsel okuma da sunuyor. Bu kahramanlar içinde özellikle Thomas Müntzer’i, gelmekte olan işçi sınıfını öngören, devrimci enerjiyle dolu bir ilahiyatçı olarak ön plana çıkarıyor; Protestan reformunun önderi Luther’in ise, kaypak burjuvazinin ilahiyatçısı olmaktan öteye gidemediğini vurguluyor. Her ne kadar kitapta refere edilen coğrafi bölgeleri, şehirleri bilmesem de, isyanın harita üstünde yayılışına ve olayların akışına kapıldığımı söyleyebilirim. Tabii bunda, Engels’in haksızlıklara duyduğu nefreti gizlemeyen, iğneleyici ve edebi anlatımının büyük rolü var…

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a solid book, although it is not for everyone.

Engels is second only to Marx in the development of, well, Marxism. While literally all of their writings invoke the analysis of history, this books is useful because it is what we would now call a case study.

Engels is reflecting on the failed Revolution of 1848 and how that compares to the revolutionary Peasant War in the early 1500s and the Reformation. Here he applies the system of class analysis and historical dialectic to that conflict. He first outlines the various classes and their interests, to great detail (for example - free peasant, enserfed peasant, and tenant peasant), and then analyzes the events of the Peasant War. This includes both antecedents as well as how the ideology of the Reformation reflected the class divisions in medieval Germany.

I enjoyed this book, but I can see one issue - I have no idea what any of these names are. As in, I do not know where Franconia is or who the Archduke Ferdinand was or where was the nearest fort is to St Gallen or who the Abbot of Fulda is. I can see how that could be disorienting to some readers, but to be honest I felt like I could still follow the text fine. The specific characters show up and disappear within a few pages at most, and you don't really need to know anything about medieval Germany to get the gist of what is going on.

The beginning and the conclusion were my favorite parts, because here Engels brings the Peasant War back to (then-)contemporary times. Why should we care? Because we can compare the class dynamics of 1500s Germany to the class dynamics of the present day, and how the different classes use their consciousness and power to assert their interests.

I recommend this book to anybody who wants a nice, short case study for how Marxist thought could actually be applied to a real-world situation.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Running through the last couple major works by Engels that I haven't read. This is a good short history of the German peasant uprisings of 1525. Engels takes his class analysis of the material forces at play in the peasant revolts to explain why they failed, and how the class coalitions that formed then were in some ways reflected in those of the revolution of 1848. It's good, but definitely not the first Engels I'd recommend. Unlike something like the 18th Brumaire, the analysis here is good but not super applicable to today's class structure, and so remains something if a niche historical topic.

[Jasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, recommend it for those who are looking for an example of what historical materialism looks like in motion.

[Matthew Mercer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread. Brilliant analysis, but with a very dense, sometimes impenetrable, historical narrative.

[logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a short and to-the-point class-based and materialist history! just wonderful. more historians should've taken note. big florian geyer fan.

[Gage Hoefer]

Neat little piece summarizing the Peasant War of Germany (circa the 1520's), and tying it to the revolution of 1848.

[Gianmariabr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leggere Engels è sempre un piacere, anche quando non si legge la sua opera migliore. L’autore dice di prendere a piene mani da Zimmermann la grande mole di elementi storiografici; contribuisce inserendo il tutto nella cornice teorica fornita dal materialismo storico. Ne risulta una narrazione un po’ pesante, a tratti ridondante o spigolosa, non mancano i passaggi illuminanti, e alcune note di rilievo nella prefazione, ma nel complesso non inserirei il brano tra i migliori saggi storici dei maestri del Socialismo.

[Burak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genel bir bakış elde etmek isteyene yer yer çok gereksiz detay var. İyi verim almak için 1., 2. ve 7. bölüm okunabilir.

[Senaullah Havrani]

Engels büyüğümüze review yazacak kadar hadsiz değiliz. Siyasi mücadelede insan kaynağımızın niteliğine dair aydınlatıcı bir metin olduğunu ve defaaten okuyacağımızı söyleyelim kafi.

[Daniel Silliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marx famously called religion the opiate of the masses, but that's not the whole Marxist picture of religion. Here, Fredrick Engels examines the radical reformation and the preaching of Thomas Münzer as they connected to the peasant revolts of the 1520s, thinking about how religion can be a revolutionary force. For anyone interested in Marxist understanding of religion or the political potential of religious movements to overturn a status quo, this short book is well worth reading. The Peasant War in Germany is also an interesting early example of materialist history, and can usefully be read alongside _The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte_.

A personal bonus: a lot of this book turns out to be about the area where I live.

[Ayse Sen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dili ağır olmakla birlikle öğretici bir kitap. Ancak dönem hakkında bilgi sahibi olmadan anlamak zor. Yanında yardımcı kaynaklar olması gerekiyor.

[Heinrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introdução: A obra "As Guerras Camponesas na Alemanha," escrita por Friedrich Engels, é um tratado de significativa importância no âmbito da história e sociologia. Este livro oferece uma análise aprofundada das revoltas camponesas na Alemanha do século XVI, delineando as causas, desenvolvimentos e implicações desse importante período da história alemã.
Contexto Histórico e Causas das Revoltas Camponesas: Engels começa por contextualizar as Guerras Camponesas, destacando o pano de fundo de agitação social e econômica na Europa do século XVI. Ele discute as condições de opressão sob as quais os camponeses viviam, devido a tributos, servidão e abusos por parte das classes dominantes. A partir disso, o autor elabora as razões subjacentes que impulsionaram as revoltas.
Liderança e Estratégias Camponesas: O autor examina minuciosamente as lideranças carismáticas que emergiram durante as revoltas e as estratégias adotadas pelos camponeses. Ele destaca a importância de figuras como Thomas Müntzer e suas tentativas de mobilizar as massas em prol de reformas sociais e religiosas. Engels também analisa as limitações dessas lideranças diante das forças da aristocracia e do clero.
Repressão e Consequências: Uma parte considerável do livro é dedicada à brutal repressão das revoltas pelos poderes estabelecidos. O autor descreve os massacres e perseguições sofridos pelos camponeses após o fracasso das revoltas. Além disso, Engels aborda as consequências a longo prazo das Guerras Camponesas, evidenciando como esses eventos moldaram a evolução política e social da Alemanha.
Conclusão: Engels, por meio de "As Guerras Camponesas na Alemanha," oferece uma análise perspicaz das revoltas camponesas no século XVI. Sua abordagem histórica e sociológica destas guerras proporciona um entendimento aprofundado dos eventos, bem como das tensões sociais e econômicas subjacentes. A obra de Engels é fundamental para compreender as lutas populares e as complexas relações de classe na Europa de então.

[David Renderos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro con riqueza histórica por parte de Federico Engels , La Guerra Campesina en Alemania nos retrata la revolución campesina en Alemania durante los años 1510- 1520 por parte del proletariado hacia el sistema feudal y cristiano de la época , cabe destacar que Engels hace mención a dos personajes importantes durante esta época los cuales son Thomas Münzer y Martín Lutero , la relevancia y la participación de estos dos personajes durante el desarrollo de la revolución campesina es primordial , Thomas Münzer un campesino clase baja que a partir de las ideas revolucionarias y en contra del sistema feudal fue el principal propulsor de esta revolución ; sin embargo , Martín Lutero en un inicio se mostró inclinado hacia la desesperación y el disgusto del pueblo , pero finalmente termino sirviendo al sistema burgués feudal , los cleros , caballeros , tienen una participación imprescindible durante este hecho histórico , Federico Engels nos retrata a la Alemania del S.XV y S.XVI lo cual , la lectura es digerible en primera instancia , el autor no hace uso de lenguaje demasiado abstracto o redundante, es uno de los textos más impactantes que he leído sobre historia Alemana y que buena manera de apreciar el valor histórico que tiene esta obra sino es a partir de uno de sus mas grandes pensadores Federico Engels , me gustaria añadir también que el tomo que yo leí de la Editorial Ciencias Sociales La Habana Cuba 1975 ; es una edición muy antigua que contiene solamente 120 páginas.
En términos generales la obra tiene un gran valor histórico , hace mención a personajes que antes o incluso nunca se habrían oído en cualquier libro de Historia particular , sin embargo , es necesario estudiar la historia a partir de sus mas grandes narradores , el desenlace de la guerra campesina es trágico , mas sin embargo , nos permite observar de mejor manera el contexto histórico social en el cual se encontraban los campesinos y el trato que recibían a partir del sistema feudal.

[Weslley Dos Santos Graper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma interessantíssima interpretação materialista histórica das guerras camponesas alemãs, por um dos co-fundadores desta ainda, extremamente útil, ferramenta científica. Por mais, Engels parte para o estudo da história, justamente de seu presente. O autor discursa a partir da crítica do fracasso das revoluções de 1848-1849. Ele vê nas sublevações de 1525, um broto das revoluções de seu tempo. Enxerga e traça paralelos a todo momento entre as classes dos movimentos do século XVI e de seu século contemporâneo. Diferente de seu companheiro Marx, Engels deposita muita atenção para o elemento da religião em suas interpretações históricas, pois ele compreende que por trás das contendas e interesses religiosos, é escamoteado os interesses materiais de vida e antagonismos de classe. Uma obra que me parece um tanto ignorada no Brasil (talvez pela falta de reedição), mas que compensa totalmente a leitura, seja pelas suas reflexões histórico-críticas como para apreensão da perspectiva epistemológica.

[Sinan Öner]

German-British Philosopher, Historian Friedrich Engels' history book "The Peasant War in Germany" is one of the best books about the history of peasant movements in Germany in 15. and 16. Centuries. Engels writes the preconditions and social-economic background of "Reformation" in Germany. Engels tells about Thomas Munster's peasant rebels and movements in the rural Germany. Engels' methodology to understand the History of Germany contain a concrete researchs on historical sources which improve the historiography of rural Germany in the Middle Ages and in the Modern Ages. Friedrich Engels questions German religious traditions and Christian contributions in German society by German Churchs since Ancient Ages of Christianity.

[Burak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engels, 16. yüzyıldaki köylü isyanlarını materyalist tarih anlayışıyla ele alıyor. Dönemin Almanyasındaki sınıfların mevcut güç ilişkilerini ve taleplerini akıcı bir anlatımla okuyucuya sunuyor. 1525 Alman Köylü Savaşı ile 1848 Devrimleri arasında ilişkiler kurarak tarihsel sürekliliği de yer yer alaycı bir dille aktarıyor. Engels, Köylü İsyanlarının ideolojik lideri olan Thomas Münzer ile kentli reformizmin temsilcisi Luther arasındaki tartışmaları da dönemin sınıfsal ilişkilerinin özetini verecek şekilde kitaba dahil ediyor. Bir tarih kitabı için kısa ama akıcı diliyle kolay okunana bu kitap hem aktardığı tarihsel bilgilerle hem de Marksist yöntemin yetkin bir şekilde kullanımıyla Marksist klasikler arasında yerini alıyor.

[João Paulo Pessoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

O capítulo sobre o Müntzer, o líder anabatista, é bastante interessante. Engels os via como proto-comunistas por conta das suas defesas da comunhão de bens, da igualdade entre os fiéis e da crítica às hierarquias sociais da época. Diferentemente dos calvinistas — que parecem ser os precursores da teologia da prosperidade —, os anabatistas serviriam de modelo de sociedade revolucionária baseada na igualdade (ao menos para os padrões da época). Os Huteritas, abertamente cristãos socialistas, devem ser a facção mais obviamente "proto-comunista" entre os anabatistas.

Me parece mto que o Max Weber usou esse livro como uma das fontes para escrever A Ética Protestante e o Espírito Capitalista mais de 50 anos depois.

[mitya · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's weird to write a review on such a book.

Engels' has really diffucult to understand writing style. it's really heavy on top of that specific marxist language and wording that he uses.

i don't have that much knowledge of the 1525 revolts in german states, but it's clearly not a history book and Engels says that himself. it's really interesting to read something by such a (in)famous figure, and that something isn't You Know Which Book.

i read it for my exam in theories of methodology of history and definately get now why it was on the reading list.

[Voyager · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent summary of the events of the German Peasant War, written with the intention of outlining the revolutionary significance of the peasant war. From the prelude of the war and the conditions which led to its outbreak, to the most important personalities such as Thomas Müntzer and Florian Geyer, Engels covers everything of importance while keeping the book within a reasonable length. An all-round great summary of that important event in the history of Germany and the development of social movements and classes in Germany.

[Cool_guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin, buddy, I could've told you that this was going to happen. You can't go around telling people that God's law isn't the path to salvation and then be all surprised when they start questioning the legitimacy of temporal law.

[Niko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. I’m not sure I agree with Engels assessment of münzer as a crypto-deist, but I’ll have to read his sermons and writings for myself. Very good analysis of the class relations and conflicts of the reformation. Another classic Marxist banger by Engels.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

the military minutia isn’t all that significant but the lessons on revolutionary leadership, especially in regards to thomas müntzer, and the explanations of germany’s national development at the time of the peasant war are important

[Anon · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Socialism, having become a science, demands the same treatment as every other science - it must be studied "
Engels

[A L]

The proletarian struggle in embryo.

[Juan Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book explaining class struggle in Germany during the Lutheran Reform and the Peasant War.