Tracking the Separatists in Germany: Next Stop: Rottenacker

Last time you came along with us as we traced the Separatists in Germany to Merklingen, the birthplace of Joseph Bimeler and his wife, Barbara Danzer. Come along now as we travel on to Rottenacker, the home of many of the Separatists.

Barbara Grubermann

No discussion of the Separatists is complete without considering Barbara Grubermann’s contribution to their founding. Plus, she’s a fascinating character! Born in Switzerland on February 5, 1797, Barbara (also known as Babele, a common nickname for Barbara) quickly asserted her independent spirit, refusing to sit in her assigned seat in the church even as a young child. Here’s the interesting part: she experienced ecstasies, receiving revelations during her trances. Reporting that she’d seen the spirits of heaven and everyone could be cleansed and go there. No need for church, for ministers, or for catechism. All one needed to go to heaven was penance.

Imagine the formal church’s response to her revelations! And her increasingly popularity as people traveled from miles around to hear her speak. In January, 1789, she was sentenced to prison. She soon complained that she was confined in a narrow cell in a nearly naked condition but, instead of being released, she was transported to the penitentiary for women in Lindau. There she again fell into trances, converting a warden to her beliefs.

What did she do next, you ask? She escaped! And continued her travels, collecting converts along the way, including Stephan Huber, who became a leading Separatist later. (You’ll learn more about Stephan when we visit the prison next time.) Fearing arrest in Switzerland, she moved to Rottenacker, Germany, where she continued to espouse her beliefs but suffered no more than ridicule from some.Despite returning to Switzerland in 1804 to marry, she seldom stayed for more than a short visit. Rottenacker was now her home.

Rottenacker

Danube River near Rottenacker

During the early years of Separatism (1799 to 1800), the officials in Rottenacker ignored the Separatists’ disobedience. They didn’t attend religious services nor did the partake of the Holy Supper. But in 1801 the mayor complained about Barbara Grubermann’s teachings. She espoused working on Sunday and, he reported, she didn’t consider whoring a sin. What, you say, she encouraged sexual relations outside of marriage? That’s not exactly accurate. She neither condoned nor condemned extramarital sex. She simply decreed that no matter the sin, true Christians would be saved. She was ordered to leave Rottenacker, returning later when the brouhaha died down.

Rottenacker in Upper Swabia became the seat of Separatism. The people shared some common characteristics:

They attached a cloth star to their clothing to identify fellow Separatists and also mocked the authorities with its similarity to their official insignia.
Even leading citizens joined the movement, lending credibility to Barbara Grubermann’s teachings.
Many Separatists, though, were poor farmers who supplemented their meagor income by working as weavers.
Most Separatists joined the movement as couples, but those that didn’t raised havoc in their homes, i. e., beatings, abuse.
The Separatists celebrated with happy hymns that attracted church people because they were more joyous than their usual hymns.

The Separatists further insulted the authorities because they refused to doff their hats to their “betters.” Such an indignity! And they called everyone by the familial title as “du” as they considered everyone equal. Who had heard such blasphemy!

Historical Questions

We know that eventually Separatists were arrested and sent to prison (for the men) and the penitentary (for the women), but we don’t know what happened to Barbara Grubermann. She didn’t emigrate to America or Russia as some Separatists did. She seemed to keep on the move to avoid the authorities but eventually all word of her ceased.

Also, where did Stephan Huber and Michael Bäumler go? Huber was imprisoned for a time but then isn’t heard from until he and Bäumler appear in Zoar in 1817.

I’ll try to answer these questions in future posts. In the meantime, let me express special appreciation to Dr. Eberhard Fritz for his paper, “Separatists in Rottenacker” and for his lectures on the trip. Dr. Herman Ehmer also contributed his historical expertise.

Stay tuned for our next stop: the prison!