Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten Im Nationalsozialismus

Seventh-Day Adventists experienced National Socialism in Germany as a time of extreme challenges. While the Nazi leaders strove to establish a 1000-year Reich, the Adventists awaited the second coming of Jesus Christ. Saturday as day of rest and the adherence to Old-Testament dietary commandments made them appear to many to in fact be Jews. This was a life-threatening situation for the Adventists. Following a short-lived ban in 1933, the church leaders developed a survival strategy that gave highest priority to the survival of the organization as such. Although most Adventists supported this line of action in the light of the difficult situation in Germany, there was a to-date unknown group of members that attempted to live their beliefs on their own, ready to accept fully the consequences that arose from that decision.