The Altona Confession


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“Altona’s Bloody Sunday”, a spectacular street battle between SA troopers and Communists, which left eighteen dead, became the catalyst for the church to grapple with its identity a bit. The “Altona Confession” was drafted by twenty-one pastors in Altona with connections to Hans Asmussen (1898–1968) and solemnly presented on January 11, 1933.


The pastors felt that the church’s mission in the face of violent political conflict was to point out God’s order in the state and a life following God’s commandments. This was intended to counteract the pseudo-religious political Utopias of the right and left wing. The Confession was circulated in a run of 230,000 copies and met with much approval.


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  • © Evangelische Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kirchliche Zeitgeschiche, München

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