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Gütersloh and BielefeldMartin-Luther Kirche, Gütersloh British Army Churches
German, English speaking, Churches
German ChurchesMarienkirche, Bielefeld. I am not too familiar with German Churches but some details may be found on the following sites.If you need further help, let me know.
more about the war yearsAlthough Germany was united in its wartime efforts, it would be wrong to think that the Nazi regime excesses went without criticism and this was particularly so in this area of Nordrhein-Westphalia. In Bielefeld Dr Friedrich von Bodelschwingh, a highly respected Lutheran minister, refused to deliver his charges from the Bethel Institute - a home for the mentally handicapped - to the Gestapo who were organising a euthanasia program. His defiance generated local support and the Gestapo felt unable to act. Tragically the Bethel Institute was bombed by the RAF on 18 September 1940, killing 12 of the inmates. Count Clemens von Galen, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Munster, had long resisted the grosser aspects of the Nazi regime and, in May 1941, he initiated his campaign against the euthanasia programme. In a series of printed sermons, read in churches of many denominations, Galen started to call the regime to account for its atrocities. The sermons were pushed through letterboxes in leaflet form and broadcast back to Germany by allied radio stations. Hitler felt Galen was too powerful a figure and was best left alone rather than made more powerful through martyrdom. Largely by Galen's efforts the euthanasia programme was ended. An extract from "Flugplatz Gütersloh, a short History" by Gerry Lewis, 1987. The Russian War Cemetry at Stuckenbrocksome scenes from the cemetry. In nearby Stuckenbrock there is a Russian war cemetery where approximately 65,000 victims of Nazi slave labour are buried, mostly in unmarked mass graves. This page was last updated on 10/04/02 . My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Psalm75v26
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