Anna Schmieg’s life began in a small village of Amlishagen, where she faced one struggle after another. When her father passed away in 1620, her mother was forced to find a way to support herself and her three children. After her mother passed away, she had to become dependent on other family members in order to support herself in life. As life as an outcast began, Ms. Schmieg developed the traits which lead her to be singled out as an outcast later in life, Anna spent her formative years among villagers thrown on their own wits and meager resources to survive. In a world that was not fair to women, Ms. Schmieg’s personality was developed through the sheer determination to protect herself and her family’s honor. Despite the death of her mother, father and siblings, she continues to rely on sheer determination in order to …show more content…
To historians, the “Thirty Year War can also be seen, at least in its initial stages, as round three in the series of religious wars that resulted from the Reformation. Round one had ended with Peace of Augsburgy in 1555, and round two with Henry IV of France allowing French Protestants limited freedom of worship…”(Hanks, 321). Throughout Mr. Robisheaux’s book, he shined a light on the impact the war had on small towns, such as the Langenburg village. The impact on Anna Schmieg’s life can be seen through how the Lutheran Church handled her case and how her upbringing affected the case as well. As the fear of the unknown impacted the spread of fear of witchcraft in the countryside of Germany, the impact of the church can be seen through the rebuilding process of church authority in the communities. “Even when the Lutheran state churches began to rebuild and reintroduce moral discipline after the war, they lacked either the means or the will to launch serious investigations into reports of popular