Nazi religious policies and attitude to the church

Question 1

Why was chritianity a major problem for the Nazis

Answer 1

As christianity teaching’s directly contradicted the Nazi philosophy of violence, strength and war

Question 2

Why did Hitler not like Jesus

Answer 2

As he was not Aryan and Jewish which went against Nazi beliefs

Question 3

Why was this problematic

Answer 3

A most Germans were Christians and those with strong religious beliefs were less likely to support Hitler

Question 4

Which branch of Cristianty supported the Nazis the most

Answer 4

Protestant

Question 5

What did protestant people agree about the Nazis

Answer 5

Their family values

Question 6

What did pastors encourage people to do

Answer 6

Vote for them

Question 7

What happened between the Nazis and protestant Church in 1934

Answer 7

Two protestant bishops were arrested for opposing the Reich Church

Question 8

What did pastors then do

Answer 8

They set up the confessional church which was independent of the state. Niemöller led it with support of 7,000 out of 17,000 pastors

Question 9

What were the catholic church concerned about

Answer 9

It preserving its independece

Question 10

What did the catholic church sign

Answer 10

Concordat July 1933

Question 11

What did the concordat guarantee

Answer 11

Religious freedom, as the church could run itself and point clergy

Question 12

What could parent request for their children

Answer 12

Faith schools

Question 13

What did the Nazis agree

Answer 13

To not interfere with the legal and property rights of the church

Question 14

What did the church agree to do

Answer 14

Keep out of politics

Question 15

What did the Nazis believe about concessions

Answer 15

They were temporary and later attempted to co-ordinate the catholic youth

Question 16

The Nazis created an alternative to Christianity this is

Answer 16

Teutonic paganism

Question 17

Teutonic paganism involved

Answer 17

1. To upheld a racial belief based on blood and soil
2. Replaced Christian ceremonies with pagan ones
3. Rejecting Christian ethics
4. To uphold Hitlers cult personality

Question 18

How did the Nazis and Hitler try to control religion

Answer 18

-Catholic bishops had to swear allegiance to the Nazi regime; Catholic schools and Catholic youth groups were closed
-Protestant pastors were told to join the German Christian Church, which accepted the Nazi interference in the running of protestant churches.

Question 19

Who set up the Pastors’ emergence league

Answer 19

Protestant pastors including Niemoller

Question 20

What two aspects of Nazi treatment of protestant churches in Germany did they reject

Answer 20

1. The joining of regional churches into one national German Christian Church
2. Nazi attempts to stop Jews becoming Christians and to ban the Jewish Old testament from Christian teaching

Question 21

Who set up the confessing church

Answer 21

The pastors emergency league

Question 22

What did the confessing church mean

Answer 22

There was two protestant churches in Germany.

Question 23

What was the difference between the two churches

Answer 23

One reich Church which accepted Nazi interference. The other, the confessing church opposed Nazi interference. About 2,000 protestant pastors remained in the German Christian Church, but about 6,000 joined the confessing church in opposition to Nazi policy

Question 24

What happened to the pastors who spoke out

Answer 24

They were arrested around 800 were they then got sent to concentration camps