Germany: Remembering Luther

Celebrating 500 years of the Reformation, Germany is hosting three National Special Exhibitions, through the year, under ‘Luther 2017’. History says that friar, theologian, sceptic and reformer, Martin Luther, nailed 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg’s Castle Church on October 31, 1517. These theses were protests against the abuse of papal indulgences and he sent them with letters to the Church authorities too. Despite the tribulations he went through after this bold move, he managed to influence all aspects of society such as politics, music, art, economy and law. The exhibition in Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, titled ‘The Luther Effect. Protestantism—500 Years in the World’ (12 April–5 November) will be woven around the global impact of Protestantism and its spiritual, cultural and political interactions. At Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, there will be exhibits showing how each epoch has formed its own image of Luther in the exhibition ‘Luther and the Germans’ (4 May–5 November). In Wittenberg, the exhibition titled ‘Luther! 95 Treasures–95 People’ (13 May–5 November) is centred around 95 personalities, their relationship with Martin Luther and how they were influenced by him. For more, see luther2017.de/en, martinluther.de/en.