Nazi policy towards the Protestant Church

• What were the two factions within the Protestant church during the Nazi regime?

  The Reich Church and the Pastors Emergency League (PEL)
• What was the stance of the Reich Church towards the Nazis?


  They accepted the Nazis as a better alternative than Communism
• What was the main purpose of the Pastors Emergency League (PEL)?


  To resist Nazi ideas and policies
• Who set up the pro-Nazi Reich Church and in what year?

  Ludwig Muller in 1936
• What symbols were displayed in the Reich Church?


  Nazi swastikas
• What actions were taken against Jewish people in the Reich Church?


  They were banned from attending
• What was removed from the churches in the Reich Church?


  The Jewish teachings of the Old Testament
• What did many Protestant pastors, including Martin Niemoller, do in 1933?


  They refused to cooperate and spoke out against Nazi policies
• What happened to Martin Niemoller by 1937?


  He was in a concentration camp and the PEL was banned
• What were the key events regarding the Protestant church's response to the Nazis?

  • Division into Reich Church and Pastors Emergency League (PEL)
  • Establishment of Reich Church by Ludwig Muller in 1936
  • Display of Nazi symbols and banning of Jewish people
  • Resistance by pastors like Martin Niemoller
  • Niemoller's imprisonment in a concentration camp by 1937
  • Ban on the PEL