4.4 Churches

Question 1

Why was the coordinating of churches into the Volksgemeinschaft difficult?

Answer 1

• Coordinating the churches into the volksgemeinschaft posed serious challenged for the Nazi regime since the Germans were divided by faith

Question 2

Give a reason for why is was so difficult to coordinate the churches

Answer 2

• Religious loyalties were deep-rooted in some communities which was an obstacle for the Nazi aim of making the Fuhrer the focus of loyalty for all Germans

Question 3

How did the Nazis proceed with dealing with the churches?

Answer 3

The Nazis proceeded cautiously in dealing with the churches, especially with the Roman Catholic Church

Question 4

What were many protestants beliefs?

Answer 4

• anti-semetic and vigorously anti-communist

Question 5

What was the Nazis own pressure group and how many members did they have?

Answer 5

• The Nazi pressure group was called the German Christians, operating within the German Church, with large membership (600,000) and strict adherence to Nazi ideology

Question 6

in 1933, what had the Nazis coordinated the Present church into?

Answer 6

• The had coordinated the protestant church into a centralised Reich Church under Nazi control

Question 7

Who was in control of the Reich church?

Answer 7

• Ludwig Muller, A Nazi, was appointed Reich Bishop

Question 8

What did the Reich church adopt?

Answer 8

• They adopted the Aryan paragraph that dismissed pastors who had converted from Judaism

Question 9

What was the Reich church reorganised on?

Answer 9

• The reich church was reorganised of the Fuhrerprinzip

Question 10

What was the Fuhrerprinzip?

Answer 10

• The Führer Principle required everyone in Nazi Germany to accept that Hitler had all the solutions to Germany’s problems and that whatever he said had to be right

Question 11

What did the Aryan paragraph prompt?

Answer 11

• The Aryan paragraph prompted a breakaway, in September 1933 by a group of dissident pastors, led by Martin Niemoller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who established the confessional church

Question 12

Who established the confessional church?

Answer 12

• Martin Niemoller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in September 1933

Question 13

What was the support like for the confessional church?

Answer 13

• Support was patchy but the Gestapo reported that ‘farming people seem to want to celebrate their church festivals in the traditional form

Question 14

What did the Nazi regime try to do to stop the support for the confessional church?

Answer 14

• The Nazi regime tried to weaken the Confessional Church by repression

Question 15

When were church schools abolished and what did it grant the Nazis?

Answer 15

• The church schools were abolished in 1938-39 and it gave the Nazis full control over the education system

Question 16

What did the regime launch to persuade party members to renounce their church membership?

Answer 16

• They launched a Church succession campaign to persuade party members to renounce their church membership

Question 17

What successes did the Church Succession campaign have? (2 points)

Answer 17

• By 1939, 5% of the population were listed as ‘god believers’, those who retained some faith renounced the Christian churches
• Priests and pastors were forbidden from playing any part in the Nazi Party

Question 18

Where the Roman Catholics or Protestants harder for the Nazis to coordinate?

Answer 18

• The Roman Catholic Church was harder to coordinate into the volksgemeinschaft

Question 19

Why was the Roman Catholic Church harder to coordinate?

Answer 19

• The Roman Catholic Church was harder to coordinate because of their long tradition of independence from the state and their loyalty to the Pope

Question 20

Why was the Roman Catholic Church harder to coordinate?

Answer 20

• The Roman Catholic Church was harder to coordinate because of their long tradition of independence from the state and their loyalty to the Pope

Question 21

What did the Roman Catholic Church wish to avoid with the regime?

Answer 21

• The Roman Catholic Church wished to avoid conflict with the regime

Question 22

What was the 1933 concordat?

Answer 22

• it was an agreement between the nazi regime and the Pope under which each side agreed not to interfere in each other’s affairs

Question 23

Did the Nazis honour the concordat? did catholics protest?

Answer 23

• The Nazis did not honour the concordat but there were only sporadic protests from Catholics

Question 24

in 1935-6 which person spoke out against the regime

Answer 24

• Cardinal Galen

Question 25

How did the Nazi Party respond to Cardinal Galen’s speaking out

Answer 25

• The Nazi regime responded with increased repression, including restrictions on Catholic newspapers and on public meetings

Question 26

What did Goebbels launch in an attempt to silence Roman Catholic Churches? What did it lead to

Answer 26

• Goebbels launched a propaganda campaign against financial corruption in Catholic charities which lead to the seizing of their funds and closing of their offices

Question 27

What did the Pope release that was critical of the regime, what year?

Answer 27

• In 1937, Pope Pius Xi issued an encyclical entitled ‘With Burning Grief’

Question 28

When Pope Pius Xi released ‘With Burning Grief’, how did the Nazis respond?

Answer 28

• Gestapo and SS agents were placed inside Catholic Church organisations
• There was a tightening of restrictions on the Catholic press
• Monasteries closed down
• In 1939, all church schools were turned into community schools

Question 29

When had the Catholic Church been severely weakened?

Answer 29

• By the summer of 1939