Self-Acknowledged Nazi Sues Herbert W. Armstrong in Düsseldorf, Germany

In a letter dated March 26, 1968, Herbert W. Armstrong reported a new threat. He wrote that a self-described Nazi in Germany had sued him in Duesseldorf, West Germany, over statements about Germany in the booklet *1975 in Prophecy*. Armstrong said the man had written that he wanted to be the coming “führer” of the resurrected Roman Empire, a claim that Armstrong quoted in his letter.

Armstrong, who was pastor general of the Worldwide Church of God, taught in the 1930s and after World War II that a reunited Germany would lead a revived Holy Roman Empire. He began the Plain Truth magazine in February 1934, and the church’s teaching on the subject was central to its publications. Armstrong’s letter quoted the man as making further threats, including a wish to see Armstrong’s supporters hunted and an demand that Armstrong be barred from Germany for life. Armstrong wrote that the man had said such action would follow unless the West German government, under what he described as pressure, acted against him. Armstrong described the threats as a threat on his life and said he expected to return to Germany when necessary.

The threats were aimed at the church’s Pasadena, California, headquarters. That complex housed the Plain Truth magazine, the *World Tomorrow* broadcast, Ambassador College, which Armstrong founded in 1947, Imperial Schools, and what became the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, which supported educational, humanitarian and charitable work. Armstrong’s account says the church’s work continued after the 1968 threat.

According to the church’s later publications, Armstrong held private meetings in 1968 with Belgium’s King Leopold, Japan’s Prince Mikasa and Israel’s President Zalman Shazar. He travelled widely in the following years and met with a number of heads of state and government. Armstrong’s followers described him as “an ambassador for world peace,” and he received decorations, awards and citations from several governments.

Armstrong also reported close ties in Germany. He wrote that former Holy Roman Empire emperor Otto von Habsburg met with him often and visited Pasadena. He described a friendship with Bavarian Minister-President Franz Josef Strauss, who met with him several times, was interviewed by the Plain Truth and the *World Tomorrow* program, and spoke to students. After a two-day visit, Strauss reportedly said, “We need an Ambassador College in Germany.” Armstrong’s church also opened a regional office in Bonn to handle requests for literature, ministerial contact and partnership.

Armstrong died in January 1986. After Gerald Flurry led a successor group, the Philadelphia Church of God, the publication of that group states that officials of the former work sued the Philadelphia Church of God. According to that account, the suit sought to close Herbert W. Armstrong College and Imperial Academy and to halt the *Trumpet* magazine, the *Key of David* program and the charitable work of Armstrong International Cultural Foundation. The publication presents this as a betrayal and describes the outcome as a victory for the Philadelphia Church of God, but the account reflects that group’s position and is not independently confirmed here.

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