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  • Essay / The Protestant Reformation: the history of the Lutherans...

    Luther's ideas liberated the Germans "from a foreign power, the papacy in Rome", showing that Germans can have their own identity separate from the papacy in Rome. Luther's ideas gave Germans something to identify with close to home, instead of the regime of the "Italian cultural tyrant", thus giving them a much-needed unified past. This call to resist the papacy in Italy was extremely nationalist, uniting Germans behind a single cause. Whenever a city council or prince decided to officially adopt Luther's teachings, the Catholic Church was then formally suppressed and often expelled, much to the dismay of the emperor and the Church. Closer to modern times, many people connect Luther's ideas to the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler called Luther “one of the great raw intellects,” personally defending and endorsing what he had taught. The fact that Hitler said this about Luther shows how Luther effectively gave Germany a united past and a national identity. With the National Socialist movement, Hitler attempted to unify Germany and offer it a better past. The fact that Hitler defended and supported Luther actually shows that Luther did indeed give Germany a united past. This united past showed Hitler how he