Berlin is a city layered with history that offers countless sites that narrate its complex past. While landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate and the Berliner Fernsehturm are globally recognized, a less-visited yet profoundly significant site lies in the southern district of Mariendorf: the Martin Luther Memorial Church. Often starkly referred to as the Berlin Nazi Church, this building provides a unique and unsettling glimpse into the intertwining of faith and fascism during the Third Reich.
I first learned about this church in Mariendorf a couple of months ago on an Instagram story shared with me by a friend. He was curious if I had ever heard about the Church and Nazism in Germany. I didn’t know much about the topic, so I started researching. I stumbled upon this church in Berlin-Mariendorf that some people call the last “Nazi” Church.
The problem is that the Martin Luther Memorial in Mariendorf isn’t often open to the public. It is only open for a couple of hours one day a month for public visits outside of church services, and I had to sync my calendar and my life to its availability. At the end of April 2025, I finished work and walked from Sudkreuz towards Mariendorf, taking pictures and trying to kill time before the church doors opened.
Below is what I learned about the church from the pamphlets that they have there and some books I read about the topic since I couldn’t find much information about it online.
Unveiling the Berlin Nazi Church: A Journey into Mariendorf’s Past
From the outside, the Martin Luther Memorial Church, built between 1933 and 1935, might resemble other early 20th-century religious buildings with its imposing brick and a stone Bauhaus-influenced exterior. However, when you go inside, things go in a different direction, which might be uncomfortable for many people. Its interior and history set it apart as the last surviving church in Germany, which was overtly designed with National Socialist ideology embedded in its very fabric. This wasn’t a subtle infiltration; the connection to the Nazi regime was deliberate and prominent.
Plans for a new church in Mariendorf had been discussed since 1885 due to a growing congregation. The parish hall designed by Curt Steinberg (a Nazi Party member from 1933) was built in 1927. Construction of the main church commenced in September 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler seized power, and it was inaugurated on December 22, 1935. Some even intended it to be named after Hitler himself.
Beyond the Bricks: Inside the Controversial Berlin Nazi Church
When you go through the church doors, you will first see the vestibule, designed as a hall of honor for World War I soldiers; there, you will start being confronted with this past. Look up, and an iron cross chandelier hangs overhead, illuminating the busts of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who appointed Hitler as German Chancellor. Church officials believe a bust of Adolf Hitler once completed this triumvirate, underscoring the fusion of religious, military, and political figures. The hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” encircles this space, written in German, and is a traditional Christian anthem co-opted into a nationalistic narrative.
The main sanctuary, capable of seating 800 worshippers, further reveals the extent of Nazi influence. There is a massive stone archway leading to the chancel, which features friezes on its square panels – approximately 800 symbolic terracottas.
Here, Christian symbols like crosses are juxtaposed with images of workers, soldiers, and eagles. Blank panels now exist where swastikas were once proudly displayed; these were removed after the war due to their illegality in modern Germany.
This blending of Christian and National Socialist imagery was a hallmark of the “German Christians,” a Nazi-affiliated movement that sought a perverse synthesis of Christianity and Hitler’s ideology, promoting an “Aryan Jesus” and even aiming to replace the Bible with “Mein Kampf.”
Besides the stone archway, the altar presents a depiction of Jesus that diverges sharply from traditional portrayals of suffering. Instead, he appears powerful, almost like a bodybuilder – a “German hero” with a defiantly raised chin.
As historian Ilse Klein, who works at the church, has noted, “Everything is about power, strength and victory. They are clearly fascist symbols.” The baptismal font is equally jarring, featuring carvings intended to depict the “German family,” complete with a mother, child, and father in the uniform of an SA stormtrooper. The pulpit once displayed figures of a soldier, an SA man, and a Hitler Youth alongside citizens and a pastor.
Even the grand Walcker organ, with its façade pipes painted with folkloric motifs, carries a tainted legacy. Before its installation in the church, it was used at the notorious 1935 Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg, the very rally where the antisemitic Nuremberg Laws were promulgated.
The church’s narrative, however, is not uniform… Amidst the pervasive National Socialist influence, there were acts of courage. Pastor Max Kurzreiter, who served at the Martin Luther Memorial Church, secretly helped individuals persecuted by the Nazis.
In a defiant act, he married the writer Jochen Klepper and his Jewish wife, Johanna, in the church in 1938, a union deemed illegal at the time. Tragically, Klepper, his wife, and daughter chose suicide in 1942 to escape deportation after Adolf Eichmann refused their visa. Their story has been documented and shared within the church, reminding them that there are often deeper layers to the predominant narrative.
Beyond the Bricks: Inside the Controversial Berlin Nazi Church
After the war, the church faced the challenge of its heritage. The swastikas were removed, and in 1970, new stained-glass windows by Hans Gottfried von Stockhausen, depicting the Holy Communion liturgy, replaced original windows by Werner Göritz that were destroyed in a 1943 bombing raid.
The congregation itself now views the building as a crucial memorial and a place of reconciliation. To critically engage with its past, in 1989, the parish purchased “Auschwitz” and “Oratio,” powerful artworks by Polish artist Paweł Warchol. Since 1992, the congregation has been a member of the Coventry Cross of Nails Community, an international group dedicated to forgiveness and renewal.
For many years, the church served its congregation. Still, recently, structural issues, particularly with the tower’s stability, led to its closure for regular services. The parish managed to get significant funding for essential restoration work. They hoped to secure a historical designation, which would open avenues for financing for foundations dedicated to preserving historical landmarks. And they managed to reach their goals.
The intent is not to return it to regular worship but to transform it into a space for special ceremonies, concerts, and exhibitions – a place to remember and to educate, ensuring that the lessons from this “Berlin Nazi Church” are never forgotten.
An exhibition exploring the story of Jochen and Johanna Klepper, which began in 2022, further solidifies its role as a site for historical and social reflection.
Echoes of the Third Reich: Visiting Berlin’s Infamous “Nazi Church”
Visiting the Martin Luther Memorial Church in Mariendorf is a sobering experience and it felt surreal to me in many moments. It serves as a powerful reminder of how deeply nationalistic and hateful ideologies can infiltrate even sacred spaces.
It’s a difficult place to be, but it’s an important destination for those seeking to understand the full spectrum of Berlin’s, and indeed Germany’s, 20th-century history, prompting visitors to reflect on the dangers of political co-option and the enduring need for vigilance against extremism.
The Berlin Nazi Church: Confronting a Difficult History in Mariendorf
Martin Luther Memorial Church
Riegerzeile 1 – 12105 Berlin
