In 1732, Prussian King Frederick William I, also known as "The Soldier King" ordered his architect Philipp Gerlach to built massive church in Potsdam to be used by his elite soldiers, the Potsdam Giants.
On March 21, 1933, Hitler was sworn into office at the Garrison Church. The event was later called the Day of Potsdam. Twelve years later on April 14/15 1945, the events that started at that unholy day eventually resulted in the Night of Potsdam, when a British air raid destroyed most of Potsdam's inner city. The church was not hit by the bombing, but caught fire when a neighboring building, used as an ammunitions depot blew up.
The church remained a ruin until 1968. It could have been rebuilt, but the East German party leadership made it their personal goal destroy German militarism root and branch. The demolition of the church in 1968 was used to underline the sincerity of their efforts.
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