Teutonic Knights

The Teutonic Knights, formally the Order of Brothers of the German House Saint Mary in Jerusalem, was a German Roman Catholic order featuring skilled knights who performed as mercenaries and defenders. Their main duty was to provide security to pilgrims who wished to travel to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals that care for the sick and injured. Formed in Acre, a region in present-day Israel, in the 12th Century, the order was composed of Christian soldiers driven out of the Middle East during the Crusades. The group moved to Transylvania where they helped to defend Hungary from marauding Turks. The Knights were a main participant in the Prussian Crusade where they "converted" Old Prussians to the Roman Catholic faith. The order is still in existence but in 1938, Hitler commanded that the Teutonic Order was to never meet again.