Anabaptists were persecuted from 1525 — from the moment of their appearance. The Amish inherited this memory.
Martyrs Mirror
'Martyrs Mirror' (1660) — a 1,200-page book documenting Anabaptist executions. Drowning, burning, beheading, breaking on the wheel. Found in every Amish home beside the Bible. Children know these stories by heart.
Why Persecuted
Refusing infant baptism (undermining church authority). Refusing military service (betraying the state). Refusing oaths (including pledges). Refusing to submit to the state church. For 16th-17th century authorities, this was more dangerous than heresy — it was disobedience.
Flight
From Switzerland → to Alsace (France). From Alsace → to Palatinate (Germany). From everywhere → to Pennsylvania (William Penn promised religious freedom). First Amish in America: 1730s.
Legacy
200 years of persecution taught: don't trust the state, don't depend on the outside world, hold together. Every Amish custom — from clothing to rejecting electricity — is rooted in the fear that the worldly will infiltrate the community and destroy it.