Luther

Wittenberg, 1540. The apocalypse seems nigh as a heatwave and water shortages result in parched fields and farm animals dying of thirst. The populace begins to grumble. Is this our punishment for the teachings of Martin Luther the reformer, for rejecting the Catholic faith and breaking away from Rome? Is this the work of Satan? Luther believes his life’s work to be under threat and launches an offensive against the demons. Also troubled is Luther’s follower, the artist Lucas Cranach. Now mayor of Wittenberg, Cranach is hunting for a scapegoat and finds Prista Frühbottin, a woman who has been accused of witchcraft and is executed in order to re-establish peace and order.

In his 2017 novel Evangelio, «A great, sensuous and drastic delight» (WDR), Feridun Zaimoglu observed Luther translating the Bible in Wartburg Castle. Co-authored with Günter Senkel, this play shows Luther as an aging fundamentalist. Religious protest has become Protestantism, a movement which will use whatever means are necessary to prop up the social order and enforce the law.