Let's take a look at the "spiritual landscape" in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century.

In the final decades of the 19th century, an atmosphere of anticipation and “revival” prevailed in Christian circles in Germany. Throughout the country, there were missionary initiatives, diaconal ministries, effective evangelism, and thriving congregations. Everywhere there was a longing and expectation that God would do something new and great. Beginning around 1875, devotion, sanctification, and the work of the Holy Spirit became the central themes in the so-called “revivalist circles.”

This sense of eager anticipation was not limited to any particular denomination but encompassed all vibrant movements, free churches, and congregations of the Body of Christ in Germany. Time and again, people were urged and invited to open themselves expectantly to the work of the Holy Spirit. The topic of the baptism of the Spirit was of extraordinary concern to the various Christian revivalist groups.

However, there was also another, darker side to spiritual life in the German Empire.