Germany

Although missionary work began in Germany in the 1840s, it wasn’t until 1851 that two people who were likely the first converts there were baptized. The same year, President John Taylor, then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, went to Hamburg to help supervise the translation of the Book of Mormon into German. A branch was organized in Hamburg in 1852, but most of the early converts emigrated to Utah because of persecution. These included Karl G. Maeser, who later became president of Brigham Young Academy in Provo, Utah.

After World War I, Germany experienced great growth in Church converts, particularly from 1921 to 1925. The German Mission was divided into the German-Austrian Mission and the Swiss-German Mission. The East German Mission was created in 1937. Missionaries were pulled out of Germany during World War II. When they returned in 1947, the country had been divided into East Germany and West Germany. However, missionary work continued, and on June 19, 1985, the Freiberg Germany Temple was dedicated in East Germany—the first temple in a communist country. Another temple was dedicated two years later, in Frankfurt, West Germany. The country was unified in 1990.