During the Thirty Years War the city of Magdeburg was besieged by the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Army from November 1630 to 20 May 1631 in the Sack of Magdeburg.
On the latter date Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, together with Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, attacked again and the city fell. Subsequently the Imperial soldiers rapidly went out of control and started to massacre the inhabitants and set fire to the city. Of the 30,000 population, only 5,000 survived.
The devastation was so heavy that the expression of "magdeburgization" remained as describtion of total destruction, rape and pillaging for decades. The terms "Magdeburg justice" and "Magdeburg mercy" also arose as a result of the Sack, used originally by Protestant forces when executing Catholics.
See also
Last updated: 09-01-2005 10:28:47
