Photographs abound of uniformed SA troops worshiping in churches. In many churches these hordes of Nazis in their brown uniforms received a warm welcome. These were the first heady days of euphoria for a defeated and beleaguered populace who wanted a restored nation and a sense of pride. In Magdeburg the cathedral became “a forest of Swastika flags,” and the pastor told his congregation that the twisted cross of Nazism “has become the symbol of German hope. Whoever scorns this symbol, scorns our Germany.”
