Müntzer in Allstedt

The book contains a feature film scenario written by Hans-Jörg Rother (* 1941) about the theologian and revolutionary Thomas Müntzer (ca. 1489-1525). The scenario, which illuminates Müntzer's stay in the town of Allstedt in 1523/24, was commissioned by the DEFA studio for feature films in 1984, but was never filmed. In plot and style, it is clearly distinct from the 1956 DEFA film adaptation of Müntzer by Martin Hellberg. According to Hans-Jörg Rother, the document "offers an impression of the way a film was prepared at DEFA. Furthermore, it is a testimony to what DEFA was capable of and where its subjective limits lay."

In addition to the scenario, the manuscript contains a conversation between the author and René Pikarski (DEFA Foundation), which introduces the background to the creation and stylistic as well as dramaturgical features of the scenario. The manuscript concludes with an epilogue by Adrian Hartke, historian and museum director of Burg & Schloss Allstedt, on the current state of Müntzer research.