Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemoeller Criticized the “Aryan Paragraph”

Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemoeller Criticized Nazi Policies

Historical Context:  Like most Protestant pastors, Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemoeller was a national conservative, and openly supported the conservative opponents of the Weimar Republic. He welcomed Hitler’s accession to power in 1933, believing that it would bring a national revival. However, he opposed the Nazis’ “Aryan Paragraph“. In 1936, he signed the petition of…

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Sophie Scholl, Inspired and Motivated by Christian Faith

Historical Context: Throughout her young adulthood, political activist Sophie Scholl delved deeply into Christian faith. As the Nazi Party dismantled Christianity and arrested and interned religious leaders, Sophie grew up in a Nazi run school and in the girls’ Hitler Youth. Her formal education revolved around indoctrination and propaganda. With the help of her family, Scholl began to…

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Love Blooms Among the Ruins in Hohenstaufen

Historical Context: January, 1939. The city of Ulm is a part of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a German province that was the seat of the Hohenzollern dynasty located in the Swabian Alps.  Hitler makes a speech at the Reichstag that in the event of war, it would mean the “annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.” Ulm’s local…

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