The A to Z of Witchcraft (The A to Z Guide Series Book 77)

A great deal has been written about the history of witchcraft, but much of what has been written is unreliable, exaggerated, or inaccurate. This problem is especially acute in regard to modern witchcraft, or Wicca, and its supposed connections to historical witchcraft in medieval and early modern Europe. The A to Z of Witchcraft provides a reliable reference source for both academics and general readers interested in the actual historical development of witchcraft in the western world. The focus of the dictionary is on Western Europe during the late-medieval and early modern periods, when the specific idea of diabolical witchcraft developed and when the so-called 'great witch-hunts' occurred. Entries are also provided that deal with magic and witchcraft in the earlier Christian period and classical antiquity, as well as with the lingering belief in witchcraft in the modern world, and with the development of the modern, neo-pagan religion of witchcraft, also known as Wicca. For comparative purposes, some entries have been provided that deal with aspects and systems of magic found in other parts of the world that seem to bear some relation to the idea of witchcraft as it developed in Christian Europe. The regions dealt with are mainly Africa, along with such New-World practices as Voodoo and Santeria. Entries in the dictionary cover important people in the history of witchcraft, from the medieval inquisitors and early modern magistrates who developed the stereotype of the historical witch to the modern individuals who have developed the religion of Wicca. Also included are legal terms and concepts important to the prosecution of the supposed crime of witchcraft, and religious and theological concepts pertaining to the demonic elements that came to be associated with witchcraft, as well as more popular beliefs and aspects of common folklore and mythology that became attached to the developing idea of witchcraft. Geographic entries are also included, discussing the scope of witch-hunting in various regions of Europe and the world, and describing specific examples of major witch-hunts such as those that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. "Explains how American and British combat forces and military government officers occupied, administered, and denazified Bremen and its environs from 1945 to 1947. Legislation was determined first by the Americans, then by the British, and then again by the Americans, and the three distinct phases of this process profoundly affected the city. Throughout, denazification teams tried to find a middle ground between the American dictum to radically purge the whole population and the less ambitious British goal to jettison only the administration. This delicate balancing act led to a process unique to Bremen enclave. Although it succeeded in discovering and punishing many of the main functionaries of the Nazi regime, it also fell victim to its own ambition and collapsed underneath the weight of its administrative processes. As deadlines and waning governmental support forced a quick end to the program, the bloated denazification bureaucracy resorted to classifying most of the remaining cases as benign "followers", whether or not they deserved that label"--Page 4 of cover From Crusade to Hazard: The Denazification of Bremen Germany contributes to a better understanding of one of the most controversial and significant aspects of the U.S. occupation of Germany - the denazification program. It fills a significant scholarly void in an era when interest in military government and in methods of de-politicizing old classes of administrators affiliated with dictatorial regimes is being increasingly fueled by contemporary world events