Interrogations, torture, people burnt at the stake – the witch trials of the past still shock us today. Hardly any other topic is as clichéd and legendary as the witch trials. And by far not all questions about this dark epoch of our history have been answered. How could this happen? Who were the victims, who the perpetrators? Were they really mostly women? And what exactly happened behind the walls of the courtrooms and torture chambers? Up until 1780, about 50,000 people fell victim to the witch-hunts in Europe. Over half of them in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
Mirko Drotschmann tells the cruel story of the witch hunt in Germany. He clears up persistent prejudices and shows everything you need to know about witchcraft and persecution. How did it come about that neighbours and acquaintances suddenly accused others of being witches? Why did men and women confess in detailed descriptions to deeds they had not committed?
WRITER: Nina Koshofer, Daniel Sich DIRECTOR: Nina Koshofer, Robert Wiezorek PRESENTER: Mirko Drotschmann CAMERA: Torbjörn Karvang, Achim Seck EDITOR: Fabian Reisch MUSIC: Paul Rabiger COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Georg Graffe (ZDF), Claudia Moroni (ZDF)
