Church authorities and historians in Germany have reacted with shock to the news that three original printed pamphlets containing writings by Martin Luther were stolen from a museum in Eisenach, Germany, last week.
A member of staff at the Lutherhaus museum in Eisenach noticed that the 16th-century papers were missing from a glass case at 2 p.m. last Friday afternoon.
Even though the pamphlets are printed, they are unique because they contain hand-written notes by contemporaries of Luther.“Someone removed the fastening that kept the glass case shut. It wasn’t a very strong lock and it can’t be ruled out that this was a crime of opportunity,” the director of the museum, Jochen Birkenmeier, told SPIEGEL ONLINE.