GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS UNION, a society formed of members of the Evangelical Protestant churches of Germany, which has for its object the aid of feeble sister churches, especially in Roman Catholic countries. The project of forming such a society was first broached in connection with the bicentennial celebration of the battle of Lutzen on the 6th of November 1832; a proposal to collect funds for a monument to Gustavus Adolphus having been adopted, it was agreed that the best memorial to the great champion of Protestantism would be the formation of a union for propagating his ideas. The society received a new im pulse in 1841 through the energy and eloquence of Karl Zimmer mann (1803-1877), under whose direction it became more definitely "evangelical" in its tone. The society has distributed about two and a half million pounds for church aid and develop ment among various Protestant evangelical communities.
See K. Zimmermann, Geschichte des Gustav-Adolf-Vereins (Darm stadt, 1877) .