Beyond the Heroic Narrative: Towards the Quincentenary of the German Peasants’ War, 1525

Abstract

Abstract Historiography on the German Peasants’ War experienced a lively upswing in the wake of the 450th anniversary in 1975. The course set at that time has continued to shape historical research until today. Starting from this anniversary, the article examines the state of historical research and develops perspectives for further paths of investigation. It starts from the thesis that beyond supposed controversies between East and West and beyond the progress achieved, a common ground of interpretations can be recognized that hinders rather than promotes an unbiased view of the event ‘Peasants’ War’. The underlying heroic narrative is characterized by a programmatic overdetermination, a tradition of interpretation that focuses on the program of a supposed revolutionary collective subject and neglects the dynamics of the events, with all their contradictions and coincidences.