Pfarrernotbund
Encyclopedia
The Pfarrernotbund was an organisation founded on 11 September 1933 to unite German evangelical theologians, pastors and church office-holders against the introduction of the Aryan paragraph
into the 28 Protestant regional church bodies
and the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche (DEK) and against the efforts by Reich-bishop Ludwig Müller and the German Christians
(DC) since April 1933 to merge the German evangelical churches into one "Reich's church", that would be Nazi in ideology and entirely lacking any Jewish or Christian origins. As a Christian resistance
to National Socialism it was the forerunner of the Confessing Church
, founded the following year.
s and synodals in all the Protestant regional church bodies in Germany for July 23, 1933. In this election the Nazi Faith Movement of the German Christians
gained an average of 70-80% of all seats in the presbyteries and synod
s. Only in a minority of congregations the German Christians gained no majority. Only in 4 regional synods other church parties held the majority of the seats, those were the synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
, the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover, and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg
, and the provincial synod of the ecclesiastical province of Westphalia
, a regional substructure within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, which itself had a German Christian majority in its general synod. In 1934 the new Nazi-submissive general leadership of the old-Prussian Church suspended the Westphalian provincial synod. The opposition among Protestant parishioners and pastors thus regarded only the former three church bodies as uncorrupted intact churches, as opposed to the other than so-called destroyed churches.
On September 5 and 6 the same year the General Synod of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union convened. The German Christians used their new majority, as they had done earlier in many provincial synods to the effect to adopt the so-called Aryan paragraph as church law, thus demanding that employees of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union - being all baptised Protestant church members -, who had grandparents, who were enrolled as Jews, or who were married with such persons, were all to be dismissed.
On 7 April 1933 the Nazi Reich's government had introduced an equivalent law for all state officials and employees. By introducing the Nazi racist attitudes into the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, the approving synodals betrayed the Christian sacrament of baptism
, according to which this act makes a person a Christian, superseding any other faith, which oneself may have been observing before and knowing nothing about any racial affinity as a prerequisite of being a Christian, let alone one's grandparents' religious affiliation being an obstacle to being a Christian.
When on September 5 Karl Koch
, then praeses
of the Westphalian provincial synod, tried to bring forward the arguments of the opposition against the Aryan paragraph and the abolition of synodal and presbyterial democracy, the majority of German Christian general synodals shouted him down. The German Christians abused the general synod as a mere acclamation, like a Nazi party convention. Koch and his partisans left the synod. The majority of German Christians thus voted in the Aryan paragraph for all the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. On September 5 the general synodals passed the retroactive church law, which only established the function and title of bishop, already prior used by Reich's Bishop Ludwig Müller, calling himself also state bishop of the old-Prussian Church. The same law renamed the ecclesiastical provinces into bishoprics , each led - according to the new law of September 6 - by a provincial bishop replacing the prior general superintendents.
Rudolf Bultmann
and Hans von Soden, professors of Protestant theology at the Philip's University in Marburg upon Lahn
, wrote in their assessment in 1933, that the Aryan paragraph contradicts the Protestant confession of everybody's right to perform her or his faith freely. "The Gospel is to be universally preached to all peoples and races and makes all baptised persons insegregable brethren to each other. Therefore unequal rights, due to national or racial arguments, are inacceptable as well as any segregation."
By enabling the dismissal of all Protestants of Jewish descent from jobs with the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union and other regional church bodies, the official church bodies accepted the Nazi racist doctrine of anti-Semitism
. This breach with Christian principles within the range of the church was unacceptable to many church members. Nevertheless, pursuing Martin Luther
's doctrine of the Doctrine of the Two Regiments (God rules within the world: Directly within the church and in the state by means of the secular government) many church members could not see any basis, how a Protestant church body could interfere with the anti-Semitism performed in the state sphere, since in its self-conception the church body was a religious, not a political organisation.
Only few parishioners and clergy, mostly of Reformed tradition, followed Jean Cauvin's doctrine of the Kingdom of Christ within the church and the world. Among them were Karl Barth
and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
, who demanded the church bodies to oppose the abolition of democracy and the unlawfulness in the general political sphere.
Especially pastors in the countryside were outraged about this development. Herbert Goltzen, Eugen Weschke, and Günter Jacob, three pastors from Lower Lusatia
, regarded the introduction of the Aryan paragraph as the violation of the confession. In late summer 1933 Jacob, pastor in Noßdorf (a part of today's Forst in Lusatia), developed the central theses, which became the self-commitment of the opponents.
, Berlin, gathered ca. 60 opposing pastors, who clearly saw the breach of Christian and Protestant principles. Weschke and Günter Jacob proposed to found the Pfarrernotbund, and so they did, electing Pastor Martin Niemöller
their president. On the basis of the theses of Günter Jacob its members concluded that a schism
was a matter of fact, a new Protestant church was to be established, since the official destroyed churches were anti-Christian, heretical
and therefore illegitimate. Each pastor joining the Covenant - until the end of September 1933 2,036 out of a total of 18,842 Protestant pastors in Germany acceded - had to sign that he rejected the Aryan paragraph.
In 1934 the Covenant counted 7,036 members, after 1935 the number sank to 4,952, among them 374 retired pastors, 529 auxiliary preachers and 116 candidates of ministry.
Aryan paragraph
An Aryan paragraph is a clause in the statutes of an organization, corporation, or real estate deed that reserves membership and/or right of residence solely for members of the Aryan race and excludes from such rights any non-Aryans, particularly Jews or those of Jewish descent, as well as to those...
into the 28 Protestant regional church bodies
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland , that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland , respectively.-Origins in the Holy Roman...
and the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche (DEK) and against the efforts by Reich-bishop Ludwig Müller and the German Christians
German Christians
The Deutsche Christen were a pressure group and movement within German Protestantism aligned towards the antisemitic and Führerprinzip ideological principles of Nazism with the goal to align German Protestantism as a whole towards those principles...
(DC) since April 1933 to merge the German evangelical churches into one "Reich's church", that would be Nazi in ideology and entirely lacking any Jewish or Christian origins. As a Christian resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
to National Socialism it was the forerunner of the Confessing Church
Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
, founded the following year.
Prelude
Hitler discretionarily ordered unconstitutional and premature re-elections of all presbyterPresbyter
Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
s and synodals in all the Protestant regional church bodies in Germany for July 23, 1933. In this election the Nazi Faith Movement of the German Christians
German Christians
The Deutsche Christen were a pressure group and movement within German Protestantism aligned towards the antisemitic and Führerprinzip ideological principles of Nazism with the goal to align German Protestantism as a whole towards those principles...
gained an average of 70-80% of all seats in the presbyteries and synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
s. Only in a minority of congregations the German Christians gained no majority. Only in 4 regional synods other church parties held the majority of the seats, those were the synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria is a Protestant church in the German state of Bavaria. The seat of the church is in Munich....
, the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover, and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg
Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg is a Protestant church in the German former state of Württemberg, now the part of the state Baden-Württemberg. The seat of the church is in Stuttgart.It is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany , and is a Lutheran Church...
, and the provincial synod of the ecclesiastical province of Westphalia
Evangelical Church of Westphalia
The Evangelical Church of Westphalia is a Protestant church body in the German state of Northrhine-Westphalia. It's the most important Protestant denomination in Westphalia...
, a regional substructure within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, which itself had a German Christian majority in its general synod. In 1934 the new Nazi-submissive general leadership of the old-Prussian Church suspended the Westphalian provincial synod. The opposition among Protestant parishioners and pastors thus regarded only the former three church bodies as uncorrupted intact churches, as opposed to the other than so-called destroyed churches.
On September 5 and 6 the same year the General Synod of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union convened. The German Christians used their new majority, as they had done earlier in many provincial synods to the effect to adopt the so-called Aryan paragraph as church law, thus demanding that employees of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union - being all baptised Protestant church members -, who had grandparents, who were enrolled as Jews, or who were married with such persons, were all to be dismissed.
On 7 April 1933 the Nazi Reich's government had introduced an equivalent law for all state officials and employees. By introducing the Nazi racist attitudes into the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, the approving synodals betrayed the Christian sacrament of baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, according to which this act makes a person a Christian, superseding any other faith, which oneself may have been observing before and knowing nothing about any racial affinity as a prerequisite of being a Christian, let alone one's grandparents' religious affiliation being an obstacle to being a Christian.
When on September 5 Karl Koch
Karl Koch
Karl Koch is the name of:* Carl Koch , also spelled Karl Koch, German film director, writer* Carl Koch , American architect* Karl Koch , German botanist...
, then praeses
Praeses
Praeses , is a Latin word meaning "Seated in front of, i.e. at the head ", has both ancient and modern uses.-Roman imperial use:...
of the Westphalian provincial synod, tried to bring forward the arguments of the opposition against the Aryan paragraph and the abolition of synodal and presbyterial democracy, the majority of German Christian general synodals shouted him down. The German Christians abused the general synod as a mere acclamation, like a Nazi party convention. Koch and his partisans left the synod. The majority of German Christians thus voted in the Aryan paragraph for all the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. On September 5 the general synodals passed the retroactive church law, which only established the function and title of bishop, already prior used by Reich's Bishop Ludwig Müller, calling himself also state bishop of the old-Prussian Church. The same law renamed the ecclesiastical provinces into bishoprics , each led - according to the new law of September 6 - by a provincial bishop replacing the prior general superintendents.
Rudolf Bultmann
Rudolf Bultmann
Rudolf Karl Bultmann was a German theologian of Lutheran background, who was for three decades professor of New Testament studies at the University of Marburg...
and Hans von Soden, professors of Protestant theology at the Philip's University in Marburg upon Lahn
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
, wrote in their assessment in 1933, that the Aryan paragraph contradicts the Protestant confession of everybody's right to perform her or his faith freely. "The Gospel is to be universally preached to all peoples and races and makes all baptised persons insegregable brethren to each other. Therefore unequal rights, due to national or racial arguments, are inacceptable as well as any segregation."
By enabling the dismissal of all Protestants of Jewish descent from jobs with the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union and other regional church bodies, the official church bodies accepted the Nazi racist doctrine of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. This breach with Christian principles within the range of the church was unacceptable to many church members. Nevertheless, pursuing Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's doctrine of the Doctrine of the Two Regiments (God rules within the world: Directly within the church and in the state by means of the secular government) many church members could not see any basis, how a Protestant church body could interfere with the anti-Semitism performed in the state sphere, since in its self-conception the church body was a religious, not a political organisation.
Only few parishioners and clergy, mostly of Reformed tradition, followed Jean Cauvin's doctrine of the Kingdom of Christ within the church and the world. Among them were Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
, who demanded the church bodies to oppose the abolition of democracy and the unlawfulness in the general political sphere.
Especially pastors in the countryside were outraged about this development. Herbert Goltzen, Eugen Weschke, and Günter Jacob, three pastors from Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
, regarded the introduction of the Aryan paragraph as the violation of the confession. In late summer 1933 Jacob, pastor in Noßdorf (a part of today's Forst in Lusatia), developed the central theses, which became the self-commitment of the opponents.
Gathering the Opposition in the Emergency Covenant of Pastors
On September 11, 1933 Gerhard Jacobi, pastor of William I Memorial ChurchKaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
The Protestant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is located in Berlin on the Kurfürstendamm in the centre of the Breitscheidplatz. The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943...
, Berlin, gathered ca. 60 opposing pastors, who clearly saw the breach of Christian and Protestant principles. Weschke and Günter Jacob proposed to found the Pfarrernotbund, and so they did, electing Pastor Martin Niemöller
Martin Niemöller
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller was a German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known as the author of the poem "First they came…"....
their president. On the basis of the theses of Günter Jacob its members concluded that a schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
was a matter of fact, a new Protestant church was to be established, since the official destroyed churches were anti-Christian, heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
and therefore illegitimate. Each pastor joining the Covenant - until the end of September 1933 2,036 out of a total of 18,842 Protestant pastors in Germany acceded - had to sign that he rejected the Aryan paragraph.
In 1934 the Covenant counted 7,036 members, after 1935 the number sank to 4,952, among them 374 retired pastors, 529 auxiliary preachers and 116 candidates of ministry.