Thirty Years War Intro 4: For God or the Devil (Patreon)

'This is a fight between God or the Devil. If his Majesty wants to side with God, he must join me. If he prefers to side with the Devil, then indeed he must fight me. There is no third way"     Gustavus Adolphus may give us our podcast's theme, and our book's title, but there was much more to the Thirty Years War than the famed King of Sweden. 

In this introduction episode, we place you in the thick of this dilemma - neutrality was impossible, yet the consequences for picking one side or the other were potentially catastrophic, so how could those caught in the middle decide? 

To make our point, come with us to the sack of Magdeburg in may 1631, a city whose people chose the 'Devil' in the mind of the Imperialists, and paid the ultimate price, as the worst single atrocity of the conflict takes place. 

It's time to pick a side history friends, are you for God or the Devil?