The PolitischeVerfolgung.de project began by documenting political persecution in Cologne dating back to the Middle Ages. This initiative has since been expanded to cover the entire German-speaking world.
Katharina Henot (c. 1570–1627) is one of the most famous victims of the witch hunts in Germany. Her fate serves as a prime example of how political ambition, economic envy, and religious fanaticism converged to…
In the tumultuous years of the early Protestant Reformation, while Martin Luther was challenging papal authority in Wittenberg, a courageous teacher from the Duchy of Berg was bringing these revolutionary ideas to the Rhineland. Adolf Clarenbach (c.…
The political persecution of Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) began immediately upon the National Socialists’ seizure of power. As the long-standing Lord Mayor of Cologne and a prominent politician of the Centre Party (Zentrumspartei), he was a…
The life of Karl Marx (1818–1883) was a decades-long struggle not only against capitalist structures but also against the administrative and police repression of the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund). His biography is a prime example…
August Bebel (1840-1913) emerged as one of the most significant and persistent critics of the authoritarian structure of the German Empire, making him a primary target of state persecution throughout his political career. As co-founder of…