Luther, citoyen des deux Allemagnes en 1983

Abstract

Luther, a citizen of both Germanies in 1983, Rudolf von Thadden Why were the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's birth in '1983, so successful in both Germanies ? In East Germany, because the communist power is sufficiently confident to enlist Luther at no risk : his teachings are used in the policy of separation between the Church and the socialist state, unlike Catholic Poland, and of emphasis on the work ethic. In West Germany, where the celebration was to concern only the man of faith, the Lutheran heritage still provides a good explanation of national characteris-tics, such as the taste for theory, the primacy of substance over form, and the protestants' singular devotion to the policy of peace.