I’ve attached the section which caught me off guard below. Germans aren’t mentioned before or after this section so I’m wondering what the cultural context behind this question was at the time.
[17] Q: Weren’t there women and girls among the werewolves? Also were Germans found among them?
A: Women were certainly among the werewolves, but girls were not. Rather, they were of use to the flying sprites [Puicken] or drag- ons and were sent out to take away the yield of milk and butter. The Germans don’t join their company; rather, they have a special hell of their own.
Full Text - Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf A Classic Case in Comparative Perspective
EDIT: I apparently got mixed up when writing the title for this post. The trial took place in the late 17th Century in the year 1692.
At first guess, it might be a throwback to roughly the end of the iron age in the region.
The contemporary Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia were invaded during the late 12th and early 13th centuries by crusaders mostly of Germanic origin. This marks the time when the timeline of the history of the region merges with the larger "middle-ages" period of the rest of Europe.
The crusade was called at the behest of the early missionaries into the region. The crusaders started off as a separate monastic military order - the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, but within 40 years their ranks were severely depleted and they reformed into the Livonian Order, a local branch of the Teutonic Order, which got them more influence, manpower and resources.
They helped carve out, establish and expand several bishoprics in the region, and took the remaining land between for themselves. Over the next few centuries leading up into the catastrophic Livonian War in the 16th century, the lands were in the midst of a constant power struggle between the bishoprics, the order, as well as under threat from the Lithuanian kings to the south and Russians to the east. As well as Danes and Swedes overseas, making small invasions.
The local populace remained heavily in the peasant class, with the (Hanseatic and other) cities filled with foreign merchants and scribes and other functionaries. Over the centuries the peasantry was subjected to ever-increasing taxation and loss of freedoms to support the growing foreign population in the cities, castles and monasteries.
There were some widespread revolts, which were put down pretty bloodily, and which only added on to the alienation of the local Latvians and Estonians from the conquerors.
This gradually gave way to the creation of a bazillion manors over the region, which were owned and governed by Baltic German nobles, who also owned the peasants. This rule continued, slowly dwindling in numbers, but all the way up to World War 1. The presence and power of them was shown by the special treatment (rights of semi-self government etc) the region received within both the Swedish Empire as well under the Russian tszars and empresses.
It is from this whole preiod of 800 years of German nobles ruling the locals, that a bunch of funny sayings and idioms arise, related to the nobles themselves or the manors and so on.
I'd put this 'special hell' to the same pot, but again, I did not look into this super-deep. So someone more knowledgeable please correct.
Edit: I also checked some estonian online dictionary for idioms (folkloor.ee) and indeed found a whole bunch related to baltic german nobles, manors, different overseers of manors and stuff about hell in relation to working for manors.