The Covenant of Religious Socialists of Germany (''Bund der Religiösen Sozialistinnen und Sozialisten Deutschlands'', BRSD) is an organization of German Protestants who are working for a socialist society. It was founded in 1926 and was banned during the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

era (1933–1945), but reconstituted itself again, after the war.

Goals

The goals of the BRSD are the separation of church and state, the democratization of the church, the political neutrality of the church, non-denominational schools, an end of the chaplaincy and for the church to work for peace and international understanding.Was wollen die Religiösen Sozialisten (1928)
Goals of the BRSD. Retrieved March 20, 2010

Nazi Resistance

The BRSD positioned itself squarely against

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

. It referred to Nazism as "pre-Christian, heathen destructive power' and criticized the ideological glorification of violence by the Nazis. As with other socialist organizations, the Federation was banned once the Nazis seized power, however, various members of the organization formed resistance groups, such as

Erich Kürschner The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

After 1945

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the BRSD was re-founded. The group in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...

disintegrated after 1946. The organization in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

was marginialized because of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, but was able to revitalize itself after 1968. Today, the BRSD is a member of the

Attac The Association pour la Taxation des Transactions financières et pour l'Action Citoyenne (''Association for the Taxation of financial Transactions and Citizen's Action'', ATTAC) is an activist organisation originally created to promote the e ...

network, of

Oikocredit Oikocredit (in full Oikocredit, Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A.) is a cooperative society that offers loans or investment capital for microfinance institutions, cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises in developing coun ...

, Kairos Europa, and the

International League of Religious Socialists The International League of Religious Socialists is an umbrella organization of religious socialist movements in political parties throughout the world. Founded in the 1920s, it has member groups in 20 countries totaling 200,000 members. For most ...

References

External links

Official website
*Ulrich Peter
History of the BRSD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covenant Of Religious Socialists Of Germany Christian socialist organizations Nazi Germany and Protestantism Organizations established in 1926 Socialist organisations in Germany

Goals

Nazi Resistance

After 1945

See also

References

External links