Over the centuries, Deudesfeld was not spared the evils that afflicted other communities. Witches were persecuted and the Plague swept through. In particular, though, the secular and ecclesiastical authorities led to exploitation and repression. Sackings and atrocities in mediaeval wars only made the suffering keener. In the 17th century, the village was even emptied for seven years as the villagers hid themselves in the woods to survive. Even in Napoleonic times, when French troops came marching in, things got no better; the consequences were taxes payable to the French state, and young men being pressed into the Revolutionary army.