Suicide by Proxy in Early Modern Germany

Focusing on the phenomenon of suicide by proxy, the book explores how individuals committed capital crimes to achieve a perceived salvation through execution, particularly after 1650. This act emerged as a response to aggressive social control by confessional states, revealing the limitations of governmental power in curbing such behaviors. The narrative includes shocking case studies from Lutheran Hamburg and Catholic Vienna, highlighting the cross-confessional nature of the crime, where perpetrators often targeted innocent victims in hopes of securing their own and their victims' eternal peace.