Germany was so destitute in the 1930s from losing World War I and the economic depression that engulfed the world that when Adolf Hitler came to power many Germans saw him as the spirit of Jesus Christ moving across their land. German pastor Herman Gruner preached, "It is because of Hitler that Christ, God the helper and redeemer, has become effective among us." Gruner went on to preach, "Hitler is the way of the Spirit and the will of God for the German people to enter the Church of Christ." Messages similar to this were heard from the pulpits throughout Germany.