# The Nazi Persecution of the Churches



## Joe Keysor (Jul 7, 2005)

As foolish as it may seem, some enemies of Christianity have been trying to link Christianity with Hitler, asserting that he and other Nazis were either Christians or influenced by Christianity (see for example www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/quotes_hitler.html). Instead of going around in endless conversations about what Hitler said or didn't say, or meant or didn't mean, it is better to see what actually happened to the churches (Protestant and Catholic) in the Third Reich. 

For an understanding of this situation, an excellent source is J. S. Conway's "The Nazi Persecution of the Churches" (Regent College Publishing, 2001). This describes with meticulous scholarship and more than ample documentation the sad story of the church in Nazi Germany. 

One unique feature of the book is that it draws on official documents from Nazi archives to reveal official policy toward the churches. Some members of the Nazi hierarchy, such as Bormann and Himmler, were more overtly hostile to Christianity and felt that outright persecution was the best way to deal with those who refused to accept the "new order." Others felt that Christianity was doomed to die out, and the wisest policy was to put pressure on the church, but to concentrate on winning the youth, while avoiding stirring up unnecessary hostility that would weaken support for the government (accepting that the churches must be strictly controlled and dissent forbidden). 

Also important is the detailed description of the measures taken by the Nazi government to limit the activities of the churches and hasten their demise - for example: 

*arrests of clergy and incarceration in concentration camps 
*murders of religious opponents of the regime 
*physical assaults on clergymen ignored by the police 
*academic, social, youth, labor, professional, women's and athletic religious organizations and associations banned 
*seizure of church property, including orphanages, hospitals, monasteries and schools (with religious insignias removed and teachers fired) 
*Catholic civil servants dismissed 
*church publications censored or forbidden 
*religious meetings broken up by SA attacks 
*public meetings forbidden without govt. approval 
*dissolution of religious political parties 
*attacks on church and Christianity in the press 
*attempts to force all German churches into one state controlled church 
*restriction of religious activities to church buildings only 
*surveillance of worship services and church leaders 
*public attacks on the church by Nazi leaders, including Goebbels and Goering 
*criticisms of National Socialism or the government forbidden 
*the establishment of new religious groups forbidden 
*civil servants required to withdraw their children from religious youth organizations with loss of job the penalty for refusing to comply 
*total submission of the church to the state in every respect 
*"separation of church and state" meant the churches were allowed to have no say whatever in political questions 
*high school teachers forbidden to be active in religious youth groups 
*clergymen, including monks and nuns, arrested and tried on trumped up charges 
*prayers forbidden at school assemblies 
*removal of crucifixes and religious paintings from schools 
*numerous independent religious groups banned completely 

Concerning the reaction of Christians to the New Order, Conway does not try to minimize the strong support Hitler received from Christians and the church leadership. Some Christians were hopelessly naive, and accepted Hitler's promises to respect the rights of the churches (before he came to power and shortly thereafter). They felt that Hitler was the solution to Germany's political problems and shared some of his basic goals (restoration of political stability, recovery of territory lost in the war, and cancellation of the Versailles Treaty). 

Others enthusiastically supported Hitler to the extent that they thought uniting the churches with Naziism would strengthen the church and even lead to a revival of Christianity - a new Christianity in tune with the new times. 

The few Christians who refused to cooperate and suffered intense persecution; the nominal Christians who kept quiet out of fear; the gullible Christians who were deceived by Hitler's promises and nice words; the theologically bankrupt Christians who tried to adapt Christianity to the new faith - Conway has explored this dark period of church history with great skill and insight. 

The one negative comment I would like to make about the book is that the author should not have included Rudolf Bultmann as a reputable theologian. This indicates serious theological problems that fortunately did not manifest themselves in the book that I could see.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jul 7, 2005)

Hitler's Persecution of the Christian Churches


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## Joe Keysor (Jul 7, 2005)

Thanks for the link.


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