Sometimes used ambiguously, the term may refer to one or more of the following different "church struggles": the internal dispute between the German Christians (Deutsche Christen) and the Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche) over control of the Protestant churches; the battle between the Nazi regime and the Protestant church bodies; and the battle between the Nazi regime and the Roman Catholic Church.
Terkadang dipakai ambigu, istilah tersebut merujuk kepada salah satu "perjuangan gereja" berbeda atau lebih: persengketaan internal antar umat Kristen Jerman (Deutsche Christen) dan Gereja yang Mengaku (Bekennende Kirche) atas kontrol gereja-gereja Protestan; pertarungan antara rezim Nazi dan badan-badan gereja Protestan; dan pertarungan antara rezim Nazi dan Gereja Katolik Roma..