German Christians

Ludwig Müller and German Christians
Pastor and theologian Ludwig Müller founded the German Christians (Deutsche Christen) in the 1920's, led the German Christians, and joined the Nazi Party in 1931. The Nazis gained power during 1933 in Germany. Müller studied theology at the universities of Halle and Bonn. He was ordained in 1908, became a parish priest in Rödinghausen and was a chaplain in Wilhelmshaven during World War I.

The German Christians supported the Nazis, antisemitism and Martin Luther. The flag used by them pictured both the swastika and the Christian cross symbols.

German Evangelical Church
The Protestant churches of the various German federal states united into the German Evangelical Church (German: Deutsche Evangelische Kirche), and the German Christian candidate, Ludwig Müller, became the leader of the church. The German Evangelical Church contained nearly 30 regional churches (Landeskirchen). Most of Germany's 40 million Protestants were members of this church.