Zion Lutheran Church during World War I and World War II In 1917, Ernst C. Stellhorn became the paster of Zion Lutheran Church. Stellhorn was trained in the Lutheran seminary at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He arrived at a turbulent time for Ann Arbor's German community. World War I had just begun and America had declared war on Germany -- a country that many of Zion's parishioners thought of as their homeland. Concerned about anti-German sentiment, the church responded with an almost over-patriotic zeal. They stopped giving regular services in the German language, and even switched their church records from German to English. Congregation members bought a large number of U.S. war bonds to support their new homeland in a fight against their mother country. Click here for war bond list. Over 165,000 Lutheran soldiers fought in the U.S. armed forces; 125 were members of the Zion Lutheran Church of Ann Arbor. On the surface, it might appear that the church sought to reinforce their American identity by sacrificing their German heritage, but this may not have been the case. While supporting the war on one hand, the church led many pacifist anti-war masses. They also refused to participate in Red Cross meetings with other churches to discuss war relief efforts. One Presbyterian minister attacked Zion for not taking part in this meeting, claiming that Zion members were "un-American." Click here for a newspaper article about the Red Cross Meeting. The Zion Lutheran congregation and Ann Arbor's German community faced another difficult situation with the onset of World War II. Again they were led through this difficult time by their pastor, Ernest C. Stellhorn. There were many letters written to the pastor from World War II soldiers. These letters show love of country and fear of war. Click here to read a letter written by a German-American soldier during World War II. Questions for Discussion: Why would the Zion Lutheran Church stop offering sermons in German during World War I and World War II? Why did the Zion congregation purchase war bonds? Why would they not participate in Red Cross programs? Do you believe that Zion was responding to community pressure to "be American"? What impact might this pressure have had on their German heritage? More about Ann Arbor's German Heritage

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