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How did Otto I and Gero extend German power over Slavic peoples after 955?

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Stone sculptures of Otto I and his wife Edith, both crowned and seated, displayed side by side in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany. — Otto I Otto I and his wife Edith, sculptures in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany.

After 955, Otto I and the margrave Gero extended German power over Slavic peoples through a combination of military conquest, the construction of defensive infrastructure, and the strategic use of the church.12

Following their victory over the Slavs in 955, Otto I and his forces conducted a series of campaigns that resulted in the subjection of Slavic tribes living between the middle Elbe and middle Oder rivers by 960. To secure these territorial gains, the Saxons built and garrisoned a network of forts.123

Otto I also sought to consolidate control through the church, most notably by founding and endowing an archbishopric at Magdeburg to serve as a center for missionary work among the Slavic Wends. However, this expansion was marked by significant ethical failures; the ruthless methods employed by Saxon lay lords and the use of missionary efforts to establish ecclesiastical empires for the purpose of exacting tribute provoked fierce resistance. These aggressive policies ultimately led to a widespread rebellion in 983, which caused the collapse of German military occupation and missionary bishoprics in the region.23