The Diary of Caspar Kruse III, Executioner: Goslar, January 28, 1632 – The Swedish Occupation

 Today will enter the annals of Goslar as a black day. In the morning I learned that Mayor Cramer von Clausbruch, in the name of the council, surrendered the city without any resistance to the Swedish General Johann Banér and Duke Wilhelm of Weimar. No sword was raised, no arrow loosed; our walls, which for centuries had given us protection, stood idle as foreign soldiers marched in.

By midday the first regiments entered the city. Three full regiments—an endless column of pikemen, musketeers, and cavalry, their weapons gleaming in the pale winter sun. Their drums rolled, and the sound echoed between the timbered houses of Marktstraße. The townsfolk stood on the thresholds of their homes, some with bowed heads, others whispering in fear.

The gates stood wide open. At the Breite Tor I saw the Swedish horsemen ride in with raised banners, the colors of their army fluttering in the cold wind. Behind them came wagons laden with munitions and provisions. The soldiers spread through the city, taking quarters in inns and homes.

A heavy silence reigned. No one dared resist, for all knew that any attempt at defiance would bring only plunder and bloodshed. And yet it gnawed at me: we, a free imperial city with ancient privileges, now bow our heads beneath foreign rule.

The council justified the surrender with the argument that the people must be spared. Perhaps they are right, but it feels like betrayal.

I watched the soldiers march through the streets and thought of my children. What will they inherit from these times? I also saw Anna’s eyes: dark, yet resolute. She knows that in wartime our work will not diminish. Cattle will die, people will die, and the executioner’s sword will be called upon more often.

Today, on January 28, 1632, Goslar is occupied. We no longer live under our own council alone, but under the yoke of foreign power. May God preserve us in these dark days.




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