The Peace of Westphalia in the German Patriotic Propaganda of the Mid-17th Century

The article examines the perception of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 in German national-patriotic propaganda. The unprecedented nature of the peace negotiations — where the Emperor was no longer the sole representative of the Empire, and territorial princes and foreign powers became equal participants —required ideological justification. German Baroque writers dedicated their numerous works to this pursuit, turning to national-patriotic rhetoric. The conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 served as a catalyst for the development of a national idea in German society during the mid-17th century. Through their writings, German authors created an image of the peace that would be perceived for centuries as the beginning of national unification. For German poets, the Peace of Westphalia became a pivotal reference point for the inclusion of patriotic arguments in their works. Intellectuals abandoned regional “land patriotism” in favor of the concept of a unified German “Fatherland”, exemplified by the shift from the Latin “Germania” to the German “Teutschland”. By developing new rhetorical forms and allegories, the literature of the mid-17th century laid the foundation for national-patriotic consciousness, establishing the Peace of Westphalia as one of its central symbols. This period saw the emergence of the personification of “Germany” as the “mother of all Germans” — an allegory intended to unite the fragmented territories. Writers portrayed the Peace of Westphalia as a national achievement of the German people, one that not only ended internal strife but also brought peace to all of Europe. It was interpreted not merely as the end of a war, but as proof of the viability of the “German Empire” and its key role in establishing a pan-European order. In literary works, the Peace of Westphalia became a tool for national integration and the formation of a patriotic discourse in mid-17th century propaganda.