Historian criticizes witch cult on Walpurgis Night

Witch fires are to burn again on Walpurgis Night: According to historian Kai Lehmann, Germany has not dealt with the persecution of witches enough. "I'm anything but a party pooper, but the witches should be left out of Walpurgis Night," the director of the Wilhelmsburg Castle Museum in Schmalkalden in southern Thuringia told the German Press Agency. "That has nothing to do with sensible history education."

In Germany, there is a culture of remembrance for various chapters of history. "But we have failed when it comes to witch-hunts," said Lehmann. What happened in many places in the 16th and 17th centuries was "more than difficult". There were 35,000 victims in the territory of today's Federal Republic of Germany alone. Men and women alike were executed for alleged witchcraft.

Dance into May

Lehmann has been researching the topic for some time, has written a book entitled "Witches in Court" and would like to see more sensitivity in dealing with the topic at Walpurgis Night celebrations. "People should celebrate, but ignore the witches."

On Friday night, so-called witches' bonfires are once again lit in many places. People celebrate May 1st in larger or smaller groups. In the Harz Mountains, Walpurgis Night is now one of the biggest tourist attractions with many events.