Excursion
Nature, crisis, upheaval – Thomas Müntzer, the Peasants’ Wars & the apocalypse today?
Who owned the fields, forests, water and crops? And how did dependence on nature, the ‘great provider’, shape people’s thoughts and actions?
500 years after the Peasants’ Wars, in his book *Dran! Dran! Dran! Thomas Müntzer, the Peasants’ War and the Unmasking of False Faith*, Karsten Krampitz asks who today are those ‘godless tyrants’ whom the pastor, theologian and revolutionary Thomas Müntzer once denounced.
But what role did nature actually play in all this? The Peasants’ Wars were not merely religious and social conflicts, but also struggles over land, food and livelihoods. Who controlled the fields, forests, water and harvests? And how did dependence on nature, the ‘great nourisher’, shape people’s thoughts and actions?
It was not only the rebellious peasants who were shaped by apocalyptic visions of an approaching end of the world. In the 21st century, too, we are witnessing a variety of crisis narratives – from climate catastrophe and the threat of war to the social consequences of artificial intelligence. The question of the relationship between humanity, nature and power is being raised anew today, and with growing urgency.
Together with the theologian Mirjam Wulff, we will discuss at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin: What accounts for the enduring fascination with apocalyptic thinking? What significance did nature hold for the peasants’ way of life? And what would Thomas Müntzer say about the ecological and social crises of our time?
The event follows on from the Brecht Days 2026, which, under the theme “The Earth, the Great Nourisher”, explored the relationship between humanity, the environment and social order.