religion under the Nazis Flashcards
was Nazism anti-clerical?
YES
as suggested by the 25 point programme
which Nazis were outrightly anti-Christian?
Heydrich and Himmler
what was the German Faith Movement?
a teutonic paganism which looked to embrace Nazi ideology in the form of religion
what were the main themes of the German Faith Movement?
the ‘Blood and Soil’ ideology
replacement of Christian ceremonies with pagan equivalents
rejection of Christianity as a whole
the cult of Hitler
what did the Day of Potsdam Nazis show to the German Catholics?
impression of unity between the Protestant Church and State
what were German Catholics afraid of when Hitler came to power?
a potential repeat of Kulturkampf
what was Kulturkampf?
period of struggle for German Christians when Bismarck tried to diminish the role of the Catholic Church in Germany
how did the Church look to safeguard their position with the Nazis?
signed a Concordant in July 1933
what was agreed in the 1933 Concordat?
- Nazis would guarantee Catholic freedom
- Nazis would not interfere with Catholic property and rights
- Nazi would allow Catholic education to remain
in return the Catholic Church would play no role in German politics and would accept the Nazi regime
when was the Ministry of Church Affairs created?
1935
what did the Ministry of Church affairs do?
Catholic schools were suppressed and closed down
Catholic youth groups were banned
Catholic newspapers were shut down
removal of crucifixes
did the Church hierarchy do much to oppose anti-Catholic Nazi action?
nope
who led opposition to the Nazis from the church?
Catholic priests and members of their parish
when did the Pope release his scathing encyclical on the actions of the Nazis?
March 1937
what was the Pope’s encyclical called?
Mit Brennender Sorge
what did the Pope’s encyclical state?
was written in German (intended to be read by German Catholics)
criticised the actions of the Nazis and urged Hitler to abide by the Concordat
which Catholic bishop spoke out against Aktion T4?
von Galen
how many Catholic priests were sent to Dachau?
400
concl of religion under the Nazis
the Nazi’s own faith movement massively failed with only 5% of the population following the German Faith Movement
loyalty to Christianity remained as many German Christians stood up and opposed the Nazis
concl of opposition by the Church
was not effective
was poorly coordinated with members in the Church hierarchy playing absolutely no role in oppositon
did not denounce the regime as a unified organisation, instead individuals were the ones sticking their necks out
why was there a reluctance to oppose the Nazi regime by the Church?
the Nazis were the main opposition to the Communists, who themselves were extremely anti-clerical and denounced the idea of religion and God
the Church did not want any bloody consequences for any kind of opposition
