January 4, 1934 - Mueller Decrees Churchmen Must Support Hitler

As the Nazis began to claim more power in Germany during the 1930s, one of Hitler’s goals was to silence the church. Because the pastors of the Lutheran churches were paid by the government at the time, most of them ignored the crimes of the Nazi regime. On January 4, 1934, Hitler’s church leader Reichs-Bishop Ludwig Mueller (pictured with Hitler) issued a degree requesting that all churchmen give the Fuhrer their support. The Confessing Church refused to go along with Mueller and Hitlet and created an underground movement led by men like Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.