Martin Luther — "They must be driven from our country."
They must be driven from our country.
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More from Martin Luther
"It is not the business of the government to preach the gospel."
"Devil, if you want to eat me, start from behind."
"Reason is the Devil's greatest whore; by nature and manner of being she is a noxious whore, a stinking whore, she is and must be a mischievous whore."
"Even if the Antichrist appears, what greater evil can he do than what you have done and do daily?"
"A woman is a human being with a womb."
About Martin Luther (1483-1546)
German theologian whose 95 Theses (1517) launched the Protestant Reformation and broke the Catholic Church's monopoly on Western Christianity. Closely associated with Philipp Melanchthon (Lutheran systematizer) and John Calvin (later Reformer who built on Luther's break). For an intellectual contrast, see Pope Leo X, Renaissance pope (1513-1521) — Leo X's indulgence sales triggered Luther's break and Leo excommunicated him in 1521 — Luther's entire Reformation is structured as a direct answer to the indulgence-funded Vatican Leo represented.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
This statement calls for the expulsion of a specific group of people from a nation. It frames removal as a necessity rather than a choice, treating certain inhabitants as threats who cannot be tolerated within the community. The language is blunt and absolute, leaving no room for coexistence, negotiation, or reform. It expresses a hardened stance where physical separation is viewed as the only acceptable solution to perceived social, religious, or political problems.
Relevance to Martin Luther
Luther wrote this in his 1543 treatise On the Jews and Their Lies, urging German princes to expel Jewish communities, burn synagogues, and destroy homes. Though celebrated for challenging papal authority and translating the Bible into German, his late writings reveal a darker side of his character. His theological convictions hardened into virulent antisemitism when Jews refused to convert to his reformed Christianity, producing rhetoric later cited approvingly by Nazi propagandists.
The era
The early modern period saw Jews across Europe confined to ghettos, expelled from Spain (1492) and numerous German territories, and subjected to blood libel accusations. Reformation upheaval intensified religious polarization, as Protestants and Catholics each sought doctrinal purity within their territories. The 1555 Peace of Augsburg's principle of cuius regio, eius religio reinforced the idea that rulers should enforce uniform faith, making minority communities vulnerable to state-sanctioned expulsion throughout Luther's era.
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