The military history of the Teutonic Knights ended in 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution, giving its secular holdings to his own vassals and allies. The Knights continued to exist in Austria, out of Napoleon’s grasp. In 1929 the Order was transformed into a purely spiritual Catholic religious order and renamed the Deutscher Orden, or German Order.
Teutonic Knights in Modern Times
Hitler was not a fan of the Knights. After Austria’s annexation by the Nazis in 1938, the Order was suppressed throughout his Greater German Reich, although it continued to function in Italy. With the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the Order was reconstituted in Austria and Germany.
The Teutonic Knights are divided into three branches, one Catholic and two Protestant. The Protestant branches are based in Utrecht, The Netherlands and in Brandenburg, Germany. The Catholic branch of the Teutonic Knights now includes 1,000 associates, including 100 priests, 200 nuns, and 700 associates, with the priests providing spiritual guidance and the nuns caring for the sick and aged. The associates are active in Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic.
Many of the Order’s priests provide pastoral care for German speakers outside of German-speaking lands, especially in Italy and Slovenia. In this way the Teutonic Order has returned to its original spiritual roots of providing aid and assistance to German speakers outside of their homelands.
Photos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Order
About the author: See page 16
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