Thesis
Between Brethren and Fatherland: German Methodist Relations with Nazi Germany and American Methodism, 1933-1939
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005036
Abstract
During the first years of the Third Reich, German Methodists were stuck between two authorities, the Nazi state that governed their country and the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) in the United States which oversaw their religious beliefs. To uphold their existence in Germany and missionary ties with the church in the United States, it was crucial for the German Methodists to maintain relations with both. As they rose to power, the Nazis worked furiously to bring all aspects of German society, including churches under their control. The Nazification of the church threatened both traditional ecclesiastical authority and Christian doctrine. The Nazis’ consolidation efforts jeopardized not only the official state churches but also the independent German Free Churches. The German MEC was considered a Free Church because it was separate from the official German state churches and had foreign origins. While the German Methodists feared that their Anglo-American ties would cause them to be viewed as traitors, the Nazis viewed their foreign origins as a means to spread cultural propaganda to influence American public opinion. While the MEC was relatively small in Germany, it was a major denomination in the United States with global connections. Between 1933 and 1939, Methodist Bishops John L. Nuelsen and F. H. Otto Melle made multiple visits to the United States and England as representatives of not only German Methodism but also of the Nazi government. These visits illustrate the German Methodists’ increasing cooperation with the Third Reich while attempting to maintain German-American Methodist relations. This thesis examines the German Methodist Bishops’ international visits, to analyze the reasons behind the Methodist Church’s collaboration with the Nazi state, changes in their relationship, and the degree to which German Methodists cooperated.
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Details
- Title
- Between Brethren and Fatherland
- Creators
- Madison Rose Barben
- Contributors
- Raymond Sun (Advisor)Matthew A Sutton (Committee Member)Jesse Spohnholz (Committee Member)Rebecca Carter-Chand (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of History
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 121
- Identifiers
- 99901019536401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis