Martin Luther — "If they can bear to live among us Christians and Jews, then they should be force…"
If they can bear to live among us Christians and Jews, then they should be forced to work like women in childbirth.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Martin Luther
"Let whoever can stab, strangle and kill them like mad dogs."
"Drinking and eating are the highest pleasures."
"Beer is made by men, wine by God."
"You are the worst rascal of all the rascals on earth!"
"The Holy Spirit unveiled the Scriptures for me in this tower at the lavatory."
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.
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: deepseek
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
This statement argues that if Jews are permitted to remain in Christian society, they should be subjected to grueling, forced labor comparable to the agony of childbirth. It frames tolerance as conditional on brutal exploitation, treating an entire religious group as deserving punishment simply for existing in the community. The phrasing dehumanizes its targets and justifies coercion through pain as a precondition for coexistence.
Relevance to Martin Luther
Luther, the German friar who launched the Protestant Reformation in 1517, initially courted Jewish conversion but turned viciously antisemitic late in life. His 1543 tract On the Jews and Their Lies urged burning synagogues, destroying homes, and imposing forced labor. This quote mirrors that treatise's program. Though celebrated for challenging papal authority and translating the Bible into German, his late writings cemented a darker legacy later exploited by Nazi propagandists.
The era
Early modern Europe was convulsed by the Reformation, splitting Christendom and igniting religious wars. Jews lived precariously under expulsion edicts, ghettos, and blood libels across German lands. Printing presses spread polemics rapidly, and theological disputes carried life-or-death civic consequences. Rulers used religious minorities as scapegoats during plague, inflation, and peasant unrest. Luther's 1543 screed landed in this volatile climate, providing theological cover for centuries of persecution that shaped German Jewish history.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].