0:01

It's April 5, 1534, outside Munster, a German

0:04

city in the Holy Roman Empire.

0:15

Forty-three-year-old Bishop Franz von Waldeck emerges

0:17

from a tent into glorious sunshine.

0:21

It's Easter Sunday, and normally, Bishop Waldeck

0:23

would be preparing for religious services that

0:25

mark the most important festival in the

0:27

Christian calendar. But this year,

0:30

Bishop Waldeck isn't at church. He's leading an

0:32

army. Two months

0:34

ago, a religious uprising occurred in the

0:36

city of Munster. A radical

0:38

sect known as Anabaptists took over the

0:41

town and expelled anyone who refused to

0:43

convert to their version of Christianity. This

0:46

was unacceptable to Franz von Waldeck. He's

0:49

not only the local Catholic bishop. He's

0:51

also the region's ruler. So

0:53

now he's come to Munster to return the city

0:56

to what he views as the one true

0:58

Christian faith, and he's prepared to use force to

1:00

do it. He set up

1:02

camp outside Munster and deployed his army

1:04

to besiege the city. Now

1:06

as he watches on, the city gates begin

1:09

to open. Bishop Waldeck

1:11

praises God that the rebellious subjects of

1:13

Munster have chosen this holy day to

1:15

surrender. But his celebrations

1:17

are cut short when he sees a dozen

1:19

horsemen gallop out of the gates. They

1:22

have their weapons drawn, and they're heading straight

1:24

for the bishop's tent. Bishop's

1:27

soldiers rush to meet the threat, forming

1:29

a defensive line. Guards plead

1:31

for Bishop Waldeck to flee to safety, but

1:34

he's not going to turn away from his

1:36

enemy, especially when this small group of

1:38

attackers is hopelessly outnumbered by the hundreds of

1:40

the bishop's pikemen. So instead,

1:43

Bishop Waldeck stands with his soldiers,

1:45

waiting, expecting the oncoming riders to

1:47

recognize the overwhelming odds and retreat.

1:50

Instead, they keep coming until they

1:52

clash with the bishop's well-organized line.

1:55

It is a one-sided fight. The

1:58

horses are brought down almost immediately. and

2:00

the riders tumble from their saddles. The

2:02

leader of the horsemen attempts to get to his

2:05

feet, but he's still on his knees when the

2:07

bishop's soldiers knock him back down and hack him

2:09

to death. Bishop Baldach just shakes

2:11

his head. It's yet another

2:13

senseless death resulting from the

2:15

Munster Rebellion. Only

2:21

after this suicidal charge is over

2:23

does Bishop Franz von Baldach discover

2:25

that it was led by Jan

2:27

Matthias himself, the man who launched

2:29

the Munster Uprising. He was

2:31

convinced that God had endowed him with special

2:34

powers and that his enemy's weapons would bounce

2:36

off his cloak. But this

2:38

doomed charge would not mark the end of

2:40

the religious revolution in Munster. Another

2:43

year will pass before Bishop Baldach's troops

2:45

finally capture the town from the rebels

2:47

and put a bloody end to their revolt

2:49

on June 24th, 1535. American

2:56

History Tellers is sponsored by Audible. We

2:59

ask you to imagine on this show,

3:01

to put yourself in the shoes of

3:03

everyday people as history is being made,

3:05

because listening and imagining go hand in

3:07

hand. That's why Audible is such a

3:09

great place to let your imagination soar.

3:11

When you listen, you can be inspired

3:14

to imagine new worlds, new possibilities, new

3:16

ways of thinking. There's more to imagine

3:18

when you listen. A great listen that

3:20

got my imagination going was David Grahn's

3:22

newest, The Wager, a tale of shipwreck,

3:24

mutiny, and murder. As an Audible member,

3:26

you choose one title a month to

3:28

keep from their entire catalog, and new

3:30

members can try Audible free for 30

3:32

days. Visit audible.com/tellers or

3:35

text tellers to 500 500. That's

3:38

audible.com/tellers or text tellers to 500

3:41

500. American

3:43

History Tellers is sponsored by Amica. As

3:46

they say in Amica, empathy is our best

3:48

policy. Whether you need auto, home, or life

3:51

insurance, Amica is ready to help you protect

3:53

the things that matter most to you. They're

3:55

a mutual company, customer owned, and in service

3:57

to you. Amica representatives.

4:00

are there when you need them, and you can

4:02

take comfort knowing that a real person will be

4:04

there on the phone to take care of you,

4:06

because the greatest measure of their success is your

4:08

satisfaction. From

4:14

Noiser in Airship, I'm Lindsey Graham,

4:17

and this is History Daily. History

4:35

is made every day. On

4:37

this podcast, every day, we tell the true

4:39

stories of the people and events that shaped

4:41

our world. Today is June 24, 1535,

4:44

the end of the Munster Rebellion. It's

4:52

January 1525 in Darpat, a city

4:55

in the Holy Roman Empire, nine

4:57

years before Jan Matthias' suicidal charge

4:59

outside Munster. 30-year-old Melchior Hoffman grabs

5:02

a large stone and tosses it

5:04

from hand to hand as he

5:06

looks up at his target, a

5:08

stained glass window in Darpat's 200-year-old

5:11

cathedral. Melchior leans back, cocks

5:13

his arm, and throws the stone as hard

5:15

as he can. He is

5:17

rewarded by the sound of smashing glass. As

5:20

Melchior admires his throw, a mob of

5:22

followers behind him surge toward the doors

5:24

of the cathedral. Seven

5:27

years ago, the German monk Martin Luther published

5:29

a list of 95 grievances

5:31

against the Catholic Church. Luther's

5:34

protest was small, but it sparked

5:36

something huge, a seismic change in

5:38

Christianity known as the Protestant Reformation.

5:41

Luther soon won thousands of followers

5:43

who rejected what they saw as

5:45

the old-fashioned and corrupt traditions of

5:48

the Catholic Church. Instead,

5:50

they practiced their own austere version

5:52

of Christianity with an emphasis on

5:54

biblical teaching and personal faith. This

5:56

soon became known as Lutherism. Melchior

5:59

Melchiar was brought up in southwest Germany as

6:02

a Catholic, but he was a young man

6:04

when the Reformation began and was soon attracted

6:06

to Lutheranism. Melchiar became a

6:08

wandering lay preacher, travelling far and

6:10

wide to spread Luther's ideas to

6:12

new regions of Europe. Now,

6:15

here in Darpat, Melchiar has whipped

6:17

his followers into an angry frenzy.

6:20

Breaking the stained glass window is his

6:22

signal for them to begin the destruction

6:24

of the rest of the cathedral's ornate

6:26

decorations, and when Melchiar

6:28

and the mob have finished, the

6:30

cathedral is almost unrecognizable. Windows

6:33

are smashed, statues broken, holy relics

6:35

have been stolen and dumped into

6:37

a nearby river. Although

6:39

many of Darpat's citizens have tears in

6:42

their eyes at the destruction, Melchiar is

6:44

convinced that he is doing God's work,

6:46

and thanks to him, the people of this city

6:49

now have a greater chance of salvation. Over

6:52

the next five years, Melchiar continues

6:54

his nomadic life, travelling widely across

6:56

Sweden and Germany, preaching fiery sermons

6:58

that urge people to follow the

7:00

teachings of Martin Luther. But

7:03

Lutheranism is not a united church, and

7:06

as the years pass, several groups splinter

7:08

off from Luther's teaching and establish new

7:10

doctrines and beliefs. Soon, there

7:12

are dozens of different Protestant branches of

7:14

Christianity, and it is one of these

7:17

new congregations that sparks a crisis of

7:19

faith in Melchiar. The

7:21

Anabaptists are a group of pacifists

7:23

who argue that infants cannot consciously

7:26

accept the Christian faith and renounce

7:28

sin, so their baptism is essentially

7:30

meaningless. Only adults

7:32

can truly be baptized. Melchiar

7:34

studies with the Anabaptist community in

7:37

Strasbourg and becomes convinced that they

7:39

are right. Ashamed of

7:41

the violence of his past, in

7:43

1530 he asks to be rebaptized

7:45

in an Anabaptist ceremony. As

7:47

the holy waters streams down Melchiar's

7:50

face, he's convinced that he's experiencing

7:52

a profound transformation, but

7:54

he hasn't finished his spiritual journey yet. After

7:58

his rebaptism, Melchiar's American

9:38

History Tellers is sponsored by T-Mobile.

9:40

You can count on T-Mobile to

9:42

help keep you connected. After investing

9:44

billions to light up their network

9:46

from big cities to small towns,

9:48

T-Mobile is America's largest 5G network.

9:50

Plus, when you switch to T-Mobile. But

16:01

by now, the people of the city are

16:03

beginning to starve, and questioning their new king.

16:06

Ordinary citizens are not allowed money or property.

16:09

Jan and his court, though, live in luxury.

16:12

And as murmurs of descent grow, Jan

16:14

only tightens his grip. Any

16:16

sign of resistance is ruthlessly stamped out.

16:19

By June 1535, public

16:21

executions are a near-daily event. But

16:24

soon, the King of Munster, Jan von

16:26

Leiden, will become so distracted by the

16:28

enemies he imagines inside the city that

16:30

he will forget the more dangerous one,

16:33

camped outside the gates. American

16:38

History Tellers is sponsored by Shell. America

16:40

may not have invented the automobile. That

16:42

was probably the Germans, but we made

16:44

them our own. The Model T gave

16:46

us the assembly line, the Interstate Highway

16:48

System gave us road trips, and Hollywood

16:50

gave us eleven Fast and Furious movies.

16:52

And if you love your car, fill

16:55

up with Shell V-Power Nitro Plus Premium

16:57

Gasoline to remove up to

16:59

100% of performance-robbing deposits with continuous use

17:01

in gasoline direct injection engines. Lower-grade fuels

17:03

can leave deposits that build up over

17:05

time and degrade your engine's performance. Shell

17:08

V-Power Nitro Plus is the answer. Fuel

17:10

up at Shell. Download the Shell app

17:12

to find a station today. American History

17:14

Tellers is sponsored by... Oh, wait, I

17:16

want to savor this for a bit,

17:18

because it's close to a dream come

17:21

true. I was born in 1974, which

17:23

means it could not have been timed more

17:26

perfectly when LEGO space sets were introduced in

17:28

1978. I just went

17:30

to Google Images, and my heart leapt. I

17:32

remember these. These were important to me. I

17:34

built many of them, then tore them down

17:36

and built new things. I played for hours.

17:38

A giant tub of LEGO bricks spilled onto

17:40

an old sheet laid out on the floor.

17:42

And for you parents, that's a hack for

17:45

easy cleanup later. Speaking of parents, I love

17:47

watching my daughter play with LEGO bricks. Or

17:49

maybe I just really love the excuse to

17:51

get down on the floor myself and build

17:53

with her. So it's fantastically exciting to be

17:55

asked by the LEGO group to help promote

17:57

their new collection of epic space-themed construction sets.

17:59

and promote I will. These new Lego space

18:02

sets are worthy successors to the 1978 originals.

18:05

For kids, there's the new Lego City

18:07

Explorer Rover and the Lego Creator Astronaut.

18:10

And for adults or precocious kids, there

18:12

are more challenging sets like Lego Technic,

18:14

NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. If you

18:16

have a kid or maybe you still

18:19

are one yourself, go check them out

18:21

at amazon.com/legospace to see the full collection.

18:23

Man, I love Lego sets. It's

18:29

11 p.m. on June 24th,

18:31

1535 in Munster, 14

18:41

months after a radical uprising began in the

18:43

city. Just inside the city

18:45

walls, a soldier in Bishop Fran von

18:47

Waldeck's army creeps through the darkness toward

18:49

the main gates. He moves

18:51

as slowly as possible, alert for any

18:53

sign that he's been spotted. But

18:55

the only sound in the still night is the

18:57

occasional call of an owl. One

19:00

month ago, Bishop Franz von Waldeck had

19:02

an unexpected visitor, a deserter from Munster

19:04

who knew of a secret route into

19:06

the city. Armed with knowledge

19:08

of their enemy's weak spot, the bishop's generals

19:10

came up with a plan of attack. Tonight,

19:13

the soldier is part of an advanced group

19:15

that's just crept through the secret doorway. Now

19:18

they're inside, they must open the main gate to

19:20

allow the rest of the bishop's army in. As

19:24

the soldier nears the gate, he

19:26

hears heavy breathing and freezes. It's a

19:28

sentry leaning against the wall, but

19:30

fast asleep. With one swift

19:32

push of his sword, the soldier ensures that

19:34

this guard will never wake up again. And

19:37

soon, thanks to the deserter's inside knowledge,

19:39

the bishop's men catch the other guards

19:41

on duty by surprise as well. Then

19:44

they open the main city's gates and

19:47

4,000 of the bishop's soldiers stream into Munster. Instantly,

19:50

the siege is over and Bishop Waldeck

19:52

has no intention of showing mercy. His

19:56

soldiers butcher almost every man in the

19:58

city as they brutally reestablish. Catholic control.

20:01

But a special punishment is reserved

20:04

from Moonster's self-proclaimed king, Jan von

20:06

Leiden. Alongside two other

20:08

prominent Anabaptist leaders, Jan is

20:10

publicly tortured and then executed.

20:13

Their bodies are placed in metal

20:15

cages and hung from Moonster's most

20:17

prominent church steeple as a gruesome

20:19

warning for all other non-believers and

20:21

heretics. The deterrent seems to

20:23

work. The Catholic Church will retain

20:25

sovereignty over the city of Moonster for nearly

20:27

300 years, and

20:30

never again will the Anabaptists be allowed

20:32

to threaten social order in Europe. They

20:34

will be hunted and oppressed by Catholic

20:36

and Protestant rulers alike. Today,

20:39

the cages that once held the

20:41

Anabaptist rebels' corpses still hang from

20:43

the church tower. Although the

20:45

bodies inside have long disappeared, they remain

20:47

a grisly reminder of the city's rebellion

20:49

and the bloody retribution that followed the

20:51

fall of Moonster on June 24, 1535.

20:53

Next on History Daily, June 25, 1950, North

21:00

Korean troops crossed the

21:07

38th parallel, beginning the Korean War.

21:17

From Noiser and Airship, this is

21:19

History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive

21:21

produced by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio

21:23

editing by Mohammad Shazi, sound design

21:25

by Matthew Filler, music by Thrum.

21:28

This episode is written and researched

21:30

by Scott Reeves, edited by

21:32

Dorian Marina, managing producer Emily Burke.

21:35

Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship

21:37

and Pascal Hughes for Noiser. If

21:45

you like American history tellers, you can

21:47

binge all episodes early and ad-free right

21:49

now by joining Wondery Plus in the

21:51

Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime

21:53

members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.

21:55

And before you go, tell us about

21:57

yourself by filling out a short survey

22:00

at wondery.com/survey.