39 become a minister like his father and brother. Expressions of political violence became common during the post-war era, and even Niemöller took a break from his seminary studies to join a fierce battle opposing a Communist coup. A myriad of political and religious movements began to surface, most often with nationalistic leanings, seeking to address problems in the post-war culture. For many Protestants, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP), and eventually Adolf Hitler, appeared to align with certain conservative Protestant views, offering the way back to a strong Germany prizing Christian values.18 In January 1931, Niemöller received an invitation to become a pastor at Dahlem, one of the most sought-after parishes in northern Germany, filled with Berlin’s most affluent and influential families. Three years later, Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor, securing a surprising political victory. When the Nazis took power, most Protestants “expected that Hitler would bring clarity out of confusion, restore morality in place of decadence, and national self-respect instead of guilt and humiliation,” something the previous administration had failed to accomplish.19 However, only months after the Nazi Party took control of the government, German Protestant leaders became concerned about the influence of a movement known as the Deutsche Christen (DC). The DC advocated for a unique form of Christianity, void of any Jewish influence and melded with Nazi ideology.20 DC church leaders aligning with the Nazis quickly gained power in the German Protestant Church and passed policies forcing aspects of Nazi ideology in all Protestant Churches. The conflict that ensued within the German Protestant Church became known as the Kirchenkampf (Church Struggle). In September 1933, Niemöller invited Protestant pastors to protest the blatant incorporation of Nazi ideology with Church doctrine. He invited pastors to sign a theological pledge, co-written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and join the newly founded Pastors’ Emergency League (PEL). Within a few weeks, over 2,000 pastors joined the PEL and pledged their preaching would be bound “by Holy Scripture and the Reformation confessions alone.”21 In January of 1934, PEL membership reached almost a third of all German pastors, and the Hitler-appointed leader of the Protestant Church sought to silence Niemöller by retiring him from his parish.22 Niemöller refused to stop preaching and became known as “the fighting pastor,” drawing massive crowds to hear him preach.23 Interestingly, he still continued to support the state and did not have any major disagreements with Hitler’s politics that did not intrude upon the Church. CHARACTER FORGED IN ADVERSITY
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