Martin Luther, the Reformation and the nation | DW Documentary

Martin Luther - how a humble 15th-century monk was able to change the world. Luther was born into a world governed by the Roman Church and a distant emperor. He managed to awaken a national spirit in Germans and become someone they identified with. ‘Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation’ was what the territories in central Europe were called in the 15th century. It was the era of the Habsburg ruler Charles V, who saw himself as ruler by God’s grace and defender of Christian unity. In 1521, he said that the sun never set in his empire, which stretched from Latin America in the west to central Europe and to the Philippines in the east. The German territories were just one of his realms, and powerful princes defended their own interests here. Secular and religious power was still based on the Christianity of the Roman church. But many saw the Reformation as an opportunity to distance themselves from Rome and the Emperor, and to improve their standing in the political power structure of