[Historian J.W. Brügel's file on church resistance during the Nationalsocialist rule]

The file contains the German-Czech historian Johan Wolfgang Brügel's personal efforts into researching the resistance of the German catholic and protestant churches against Nationalsocialist rule from 1933-1945. It contains personal assesments, interviews with eyewitnesses, press coverage in and out of Germany, especially in England, as well as correspondence of Brügel with other researchers and intellectuals who were also interested in the resistance of preachers and priests towards the Nationalsocialist regime. The file discusses these aspects in detail, including instances, examples and limits of resistance, but also the extent of collaboration between the religious establishment and the Nazi regime. Furthermore, the file specifically covers the fate of protestant pastor Martin Niemöller, the founder of the "Confessing Church", an anti-Nazi association of protestant churches, parishes and preachers. The file also contains personal letters between Brügel and Alfred Wiener.