Johan Heinrich Ludwig Müller (23 June 1883 – 31 July 1945) was a Germantheologian, aLutheran pastor,[1] and leading member of the pro-Nazi "German Christians" (German:Deutsche Christen) faith movement. In 1933 he was appointed by theNazi Party asReichsbischof ("Bishop for theReich") of theGerman Evangelical Church (German:Deutsche Evangelische Kirche).
Müller was born inGütersloh, in thePrussianprovince of Westphalia, where he attended thePietist EvangelicalGymnasium. He went on to studyProtestant theology at the universities ofHalle andBonn. Having finished his studies, he worked as a school inspector in his hometown, from 1905 also as avicar and assistant preacher inHerford andWanne. In 1908 he became parish priest inRödinghausen. At the outbreak ofWorld War I, he served as aNavy chaplain inWilhelmshaven.
After the war, Müller joinedDer Stahlhelm paramilitary organization and continued his career as amilitary chaplain, from 1926 at theKönigsberg garrison. He had been associated withNazism since the 1920s, supporting arevisionist view of "Christ theAryan" (or a "heroic Jesus") as well as a plan of purifyingChristianity of what he deemed "Jewish corruption," including purging large parts of the Old Testament.
Müller had little real political experience and, as his actions would demonstrate toAdolf Hitler, little if any political aptitude. In the 1920s and early 1930s, before Hitler'sassumption of the Germanchancellorship on 30 January 1933, he was a little-knownpastor and a regional leader of the German Christians inEast Prussia. However, he was an "old fighter" with Hitler (German:Alter Kämpfer) since 1931, when he joined theNazi Party, and had a burning desire to assume more power.[2] In 1932, Müller introduced Hitler toReichswehr GeneralWerner von Blomberg when Müller was chaplain of the East Prussian Military District and Blomberg was the district's commander.[3]
As part of theGleichschaltung process, the Nazi regime's plan was to "coordinate" all 28 separateProtestant regionalchurch bodies into a single and unitaryReichskirche ("Church of the Reich"). Müller wanted to serve asReichsbischof of this newly formed entity.[4] His first attempt to achieve his post ended in a miserable and embarrassing failure, when theGerman Evangelical Church Confederation and thePrussian Union of churches designatedFriedrich von Bodelschwingh on 27 May 1933. Eventually, however, after the Nazis had forced Bodelschwingh's resignation, Müller was appointed regional bishop (Landesbischof) of the Prussian Union on 4 August, and on 27 September finally was electedReichsbischof by a national synod through political machinations. On 13 September 1933, PrussianMinister PresidentHermann Göring appointed him to thePrussian State Council.[5]
Müller's advancement angered many Protestant pastors and congregations, who deemed his selection to be politically motivated and intrinsicallyanti-Christian. Still regional bishop, he handed over more powers to theReichsbischof—himself—as an example of imitation, to the discontent of other regional bishops likeTheophil Wurm (Württemberg). On the other hand, Müller's support by the "German Christians" within the Protestant Church decreased, as he was not able to wield explicit authority. The radical Nazi faction wanted to get rid of theOld Testament and create a German National Religion divorced from Jewish-influenced ideas. They supported the introduction of theAryan Paragraph into the Church. This controversy led toschism and the foundation of the competingConfessing Church, a situation that frustrated Hitler and led to the end of Müller's power.
Many of the German Protestant clergy supported the Confessing Church movement, which resisted the imposition of the state into Church affairs.[6] With Hitler's interest in the group having waned by 1937, and the party taking a more aggressive attitude toward the resistant Christian clergy, Müller tried to revive his support by allowing theGestapo to monitor churches and consolidating Christian youth groups with theHitler Youth.
He remained committed to Nazism to the end. He died ofsuicide[citation needed] in Berlin in 1945, soon after the Nazi defeat.
