Martin Luther

Their rabbis should be forbidden to teach on pain of loss of life and limb.

Safe-conduct on the highways should be abolished completely for the Jews.

All their cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them.

A flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade be put into their hands so young, strong Jews and Jewesses could earn their bread in the sweat of their brow.

A Jewish heart is as hard as a stick, a stone, as iron, as a devil.

If we do [tolerate their conduct], we become sharers in their lies, cursing and blasphemy. Thus we cannot extinguish the unquenchable fire of divine wrath, of which the prophets speak, nor can we convert the Jews. With prayer and the fear of God we must practice a sharp mercy to see whether we might save at least a few from the glowing flames.

They must be driven from our country.

Let whoever can stab, strangle and kill them like mad dogs.

To kill a peasant is not murder; it is helping to extinguish the conflagration. Let there be no half measures! Crush them! Cut their throats! Transfix them!

It was I, Martin Luther, who slew all the peasants in the insurrection, for I commanded them to be slaughtered. All their blood is upon my shoulders. But I cast it on our Lord God who commanded me to speak in this way.

remember that there is nothing more poisonous, pernicious, and devilish than a rebellious man. Just as one must slay a mad dog, so, if you do not fight the rebels, they will fight you, and the whole country with you.

And should the peasants prevail (which God forbid!),... yet surely they who are found, sword in hand, shall perish in the wreck with clear consciences, leaving to the devil the kingdom of this world and receiving instead the eternal kingdom. For we are come upon such strange times that a prince may more easily win heaven by the shedding of blood than others by prayers.

With threefold horrible sins against God and men have these peasants loaded themselves, for which they have deserved a manifold death of body and soul.

But since they have deliberately and sacrilegiously abandoned their obedience, and in addition have dared to oppose their lords, they have thereby forfeited body and soul, as perfidious, perjured, lying, disobedient wretches and scoundrels are wont to do.

A woman must be a woman and cannot be a man. She, too, is God's creature and her divine station is that she should bear and care for and rear children.

Women should remain at home, sit still, keep house, and bear and bring up children...If a woman grows weary and, at last, dies from childbearing, it matters not. Let her die from bearing - she is there to do it.

God has created men with broad chests and shoulders, not broad hips, so that men can understand wisdom. But the place where the filth flows out is small. With women it's the other way around. That's why they have lots of filth and little wisdom.

The woman is like a nail, driven into the wall. . . . She sits at home.

I feel much freer now that I am certain the pope is the Antichrist.

After the devil himself, there is no worse folk than the pope and his followers.