Finding the Witches: Death, the Devil, and Fear in the Early Modern German Witch-Craze

Lesson Plan by Taylor Wolbaum

Age Group: 18+ (Introductory University Level)

 

  1. Learning Objectives

I would like the students to have an introductory-level grasp of the early modern German witch hunts, which saw more executions than any other part of the world. By the end of my lesson, I want the students to be able to answer the following two questions. First, what traits or actions made people suspicious that a member of their community may be a witch? Why was witchcraft considered to be an evil activity? Then, what fears pushed an individual to accuse their neighbours of witchcraft? In the end, I aim for the class to be introduced to the beliefs that were held about what made a person a witch, and hopefully encourage them to explore the world of witches even more. More importantly, though, my central learning objective is to have students understand that no one was actually a witch by demonstrating how various fears and anxieties that engulfed local communities were what actually led to the witch-hunting craze (Roper 245).

For the first section of the lecture, titled “Early Modern Germany and the Witch,” I aim to introduce students to what makes the witch hunt here unique. First, I will emphasize that the witch hunts varied greatly by region. In some areas, there were next to no executions. I will state that Germany, or the Holy Roman Empire, contained more than half of all 50,000 witch executions, and had some of the most intense and deadly interrogations (Goodare 317). I will further note that, at this time, many communities were small and extremely interconnected. To be accused of witchcraft, then, often meant that you were accused by your neighbours or family members (Roper 245). How did someone go from friends to foe so quickly?

For the second section of my lecture, titled “Finding the Witch,” I aim to demonstrate to the students what qualities and activities made the townspeople suspicious of a supposed witch. What were they believed to have done? How did they do it, and why was it bad? First off, I will address who could be a witch. I will discuss how age and gender played a huge factor in who was most likely to be accused of witchcraft. Women, especially older women, were the most often accused and executed (Roper 239). The ideas discussed in the reading for the day, “Heinrich Kramer: Malleus Maleficarum, 1486,” demonstrates how this became a foundational belief in the Early Modern German witch craze (Kramer 61-63). Here, I will emphasize the connection between witchcraft and the devil, as outlined in the reading, making it an overtly heretical crime in the eyes of the church. Yet, it was inherently a secretive activity. What, then, made neighbours suspicious of each other, or family turn in their own blood? Here, I will discuss the various supposed activities of witches, such as destroying crops, causing illnesses in others, infanticide, and erectile dysfunction (Kramer 65).

After the two planned activities, I aim to demonstrate to the students that nobody was actually a witch. The second activity will be key in this. Then, I will have a short final introductory lecture on why so many people were accused, and executed, for a crime that did not really exist. I will largely base this section off of Lyndal Ropers book and its main argument, which is that fear, uncertainty, and anxiety surrounding fertility in all of its forms was what led to so many accusations (149).

  1. Assessment

In order to see if the students understand the introduction to the Early Modern German Witch-hunt, as well as the traits and activities of supposed witches, they will play a game. The students will be assessed on this through the first game of the class, which consists of team-based trivia. The full details are listed below, in the activity section. This game will allow me to see if they have understood the lecture material. Furthermore, it will allow the students to discuss amongst one-another about the material, and to hopefully fix any misunderstandings of the material by reaffirming the correct answers.

Then, in order to assess if the students understand that no one was actually a witch, their will be a discussion portion after the “Finding the Witch” mini-game (Described in the Activities section below) and the subsequent short lecture and discussion. Through monitoring the discussion, I will be able to assess if the students understand that actual witches did not drive the witch-craze, and what other factors did.

  1. Prerequisite Knowledge

The students will be asked to read the “Malleus Maleficarum” excerpt from The Witchcraft Sourcebook,located via the UNBC library database, before the class. Other than this treatise, there is no prerequisite knowledge. Although this document is from before the time period we will be discussing, it is important because it outlines many foundational beliefs of the Early Modern witch hunts in Germany. The aim of this class is to simply introduce the witch-hunts in one part of the world, to hopefully peak their interest to take a full class on the subject.

  1. Supplies

For this lesson, I will need a laptop and HDMI cord in order to present the PowerPoint that will go along with the lesson. I will also need the list of trivia questions for the first mini-game. I will bring along my lesson pan and lecture notes to ensure that I am following the course throughout the lesson. I will also need enough scrap paper to hand out to the class for the dot mini-game.

  1. Layout of Lesson

Total Allotted Time

For this lesson, I will have 1 hour and 20 minutes total. I would begin with a short introductory lecture on the Early Modern German witch-hunts. I will only be emphasizing simple topics like when, where, and what made it unique, such as the amount of executions that occurred. Then, I would follow with a longer lecture on what made a person a witch, and what activities they supposedly engaged in. This lecture portion will take 25 minutes. Afterwards, I will move into the games portion of the class. The first game, team trivia, will take approximately 5 minutes to set up the teams and explain the rules. Then, we will spend 10 minutes playing. After this game, we will move immediately into the next one, which is “Finding the Witch” within the class. This game will go on for 15 minutes, including a short explanation and the handing out of papers. Finally, the class will end with a short lecture on how no one was actually a witch, and instead it was fears and anxieties surrounding the uncertainty of their world that led to the craze. This final lecture will only take about 10 minutes. For the last 15 minutes of the class, the students will be left open to a closing discussion that will open with as to why they chose to accuse one-another in the witch-hunt. They will also be welcome to ask any remaining questions in this time.

Set Up

Prior to the lesson beginning, I will need to ensure that the laptop is hooked up to the projector and turned on. I will also need to have the PowerPoint open and ready. I will have my lecture notes, lesson plan, and scrap paper set up near-by for when needed.

Hook

I will begin my lesson with the number of witches executed in Germany in the Early Modern Period. Over 50,000 accused witches were executed in Europe. Of this amount, around 35,000 were executed in the Holy Roman Empire alone (Goodare 317). I will state that all of these executions occurred despite the fact that witchcraft is inherently a secretive and difficult to prove activity. So, how is this possible? How did they identify who was a witch, and who wasn’t? What did witches do that gave them away? Who was likely to be a suspected witch, and who wasn’t? Who, here, in this very classroom, could be a witch? By opening with these questions, I hope that students will be intrigued as to how so many executions occurred, and want to know what makes a person a witch.

Lesson

Most of the information will be presented through a lecture by myself. The key points of the lecture will be presented through slides on PowerPoint, to help with note-taking. I will also include photos from Early Modern Germany that depict witches and their activities within the PowerPoint.

Activity

Towards the middle of the class, I have two short short games planned to allow the students to demonstrate their learning. The first game is a quick team-based quiz on the first lecture portion of the class. The class will be divided into two teams, known as “The Witches” and “The Town Hall.” Then, each team will be asked a question, such as “How many accused witches were executed in Early Modern Germany?” Or, “Who wrote your reading for today, “‘Malleus Maleficarum?’” As well as, “Why was witchcraft a heretical crime?” They will earn points for every correct answer. For every incorrect answer, the opposing team will have the option of “stealing,” meaning they will have the chance to answer the same question to steal the points. They are not expected to remember every detail. Instead, my hope is that, through this game, they have the chance to “study” with their team on what the correct answers are. By getting the answers correct, it will demonstrate that they have understood the lecture. This game is aimed at demonstrating that the students have a grasp of the lecture material, while also reminding them of some of the key lecture points. I also hope that it will get the class excited about the material.

The second game will take place shortly after the first. This game was accessed through Teach TCI and created by Brian Thomas. To play, all the students will be given a piece of paper. All will be blank, except for one, which will have a black dot on it. The person with the “witches mark” is a witch, and must be found. They will be asked to debate as a class on who has the witches mark. The direction the debate will go is hard to predict, but I would guess that it would involve suspicious activities of the other students, or some of the points made in the lecture. After they debate and decide on a witch to accuse, I will announce that there is, in fact, no witch. Nobody has the mark on their paper, just as nobody was actually a witch as described in this class. This will lead into my concluding remarks on the witch-hunt in Germany. My hope is that this game will teach the students that it was fear and anxieties that drove the witch-craze, not actual witches.

Conclusions

The class will have time to discuss the accusations they made about other class mates. Were they driven by activities they deemed suspicious, such as someone arriving to class before them or speaking to me privately? Or perhaps by the things they learned in the lesson? Students will also be asked to discuss the lecture material amongst themselves, as well as ask any questions they may have for me. There is a small amount of clean up required, such as packing up the laptop and gathering the scrap papers.

Review and Summary:

The key takeaway of my lesson is that fear, anxiety, and uncertainty was the true driving force of the witch-hunts, and led to the wrongful death of thousands. The witch-hunt was an emotion-driven event in Early Modern Germany. These emotions were pushed forth by regularly occurring and largely misunderstood events of the time, such as infant death rates, infertility, failing crops, and disease. I will reiterate that there was, in fact, no actual witches, and it was only by townsfolk being consumed in fear and uncertainty that anyone was ever executed. Through the discussion that follows, I will be able to see if students understand the lecture and its key message.

Sources

Connelly, Sharon, ed. Kurche Unde Teufel. Accessed June 2 2020. https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2016/06/11/bamberg-germany-the-early-modern-witch-burning-stronghold

Goodare, Julian. The European Witch-hunt. Routledge, London, 2016.

Kramer, Heinrich. “Heinrich Kramer: Malleus Maleficarum, 1486.” In The Witchcraft Sourcebook, 2nd ed. Brian P. Levack. New York and London: Routledge, 2003, 57-68.

Roper, Lyndal. Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque, Germany. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2004. Kindle E-Book.

Thomas, Brian. “Salem Witchcraft Activity – Dot Game.” Teach TCI, accessed June 1 2020. https://www.teachtci.com/salem-witchcraft-activity-dot-game/

Sources Connelly, Sharon, ed. Kurche Unde Teufel. Digital Image. Accessed June 2 2020. https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2016/06/11/bamberg-germany-the-early-modern-witch-burning-stronghold Goodare, Julian. The European Witch-hunt. Routledge, London, 2016. Kramer, Heinrich. “Heinrich Kramer: Malleus Maleficarum, 1486.” In The Witchcraft Sourcebook, 2nd ed. Brian P. Levack. New York and London: Routledge, 2003, 57-68. Roper, Lyndal. Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque, Germany. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2004. Kindle E-Book. Thomas, Brian. “Salem Witchcraft Activity – Dot Game.” Teach TCI, accessed June 1 2020. https://www.teachtci.com/salem-witchcraft-activity-dot-game/

Writing Details