GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS UNION

German in full Gustav-adolf-werk Der Evangelischen Kirche Deutschland, worldwide organization for the spreading of the Christian faith, founded by Gottlob Grossmann at Leipzig in 1832, as a bicentennial memorial to the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf, who was killed at the Battle of Ltzen in 1632. Based on the biblical idea of the Diaspora, the organization was to aid Protestant minority churches in Germany and abroad, and in 1842 it merged with a similar society in Darmstadt. Membership was open to all Protestants and also included a few Roman Catholics. Aid from voluntary contributions was given to provide church and school buildings, pastors and teachers, and, after 1945, support for refugee communities. World War II greatly increased and spread the work of the organization.