Editing Albert II of Germany (section)

== Hussite Wars and persecution ==
[[File:Seal of Albert II of Habsburg.png|thumb|Albert's seal]]
Beginning with the [[First Crusade]] in the year 1095, those who were not adherents to the [[Catholic]] faith were deemed by the religious authorities to be [[heretics]], and were to be persecuted, destroyed or converted.<ref name=":2" /> While the papal call for an end to heresy applied to [[Muslims]] traditionally, there was widespread violence against other religious and social groups.<ref name=":3" /> [[Jews]] and [[lepers]] were the main targets along with Muslims in the crusade to destroy "devilry."<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Nirenberg |first=David |title=Communities of violence: persecution of minorities in the Middle Ages |date=1996 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-03375-4 |location=Princeton, N.J}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The persecution of Jews came as no surprise in connection with the [[Hussite Wars]]. The call to arms against heretics meant the call to arms against all who are not Christian, with the hopes of their destruction or conversion.<ref name=":1" /> However, the crusaders saw that as an opportunity to convert all who were not Christian, the Jews and lepers included not just the intended Muslims.<ref name=":4" /> If the heretics did not convert to Christianity they were massacred, usually burned. This would apply later in the Hussite Wars, which was a continuation of the crusades, as Albert II came to power as Duke of Austria, who was a willing participant in the fight against heresy. The Hussite Wars is a series of crusades against heresy in the [[Middle Ages]] spanning from 1418-1437 and through his loyalty to the church and the persecutive works of his contemporaries, he would embark on his own persecutive journey against the Jews.<ref name=":5" />