Cultivating a Collective Past

My legal issue research paper is about the Bamberg Witch Trials which was a series of witch trials and executions during 1626 to 1631.  Bamberg is located in the Franconia region of Germany and was ruled by Prince Bishop Gottfried Johann George II Fuchs Von Dornheim. During this time, there was grain and wine crop failures due to the crops freezing. The devastation of these crops meant that their was no income for a society that was already experiencing extreme poverty. The people of Bamberg were quick to blame anyone or anything that fit their accusations for these failures. It wasn't hard for Prince Dornheim and his many accomplices to take advantage of this situation.

What fueled these wild accusations was the belief that Lorentz Kempff See Bauer's wife, known as Kempin, was a witch. Many witnesses say that they had seen her freeze fruit and spit heat through her eyes. At this time, the crop failures were going on and it had seemed as if the people had finally found their answer. It was easy at the time to persuade the people to believe that these crop failures were due to satanic beings. Prince Dornheim used these accusations to his advantage to help line the inside of his pockets and gain more political power. He had pulled references from the crucible to persuade the people that he was carrying out these trials for religious reasons. This was a clever move due to the heavy religious beliefs of the people at the time as well as a lack in scientific knowledge.