Churches opposition to Nazis

The Nazis knew that the churches in Germany would have a major impact on peoples attitudes, so they made sure they were ‘brought into line’ with Nazi ideas. 95% of Germans were Christian and 2/3 were Protestant and 1/3 catholic. Hitler wanted to replace religion in Germany with Nazism, but he knew that some of the principles of Nazism went against Christain beliefs, e.g the contrast between the Christian ideals of Peace and Tolerance and the Nazi ideas of strength and violence. He knew that he had to be careful because he had to gain support of the people so he took over in a slow, gradual way.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Catholics were loyal to the Pope as the head of the Catholic Church. Hitler wanted all Germans to see him as the supreme head of state, so he was keen to weaken the power and authority of the Catholic Church in Germany. Some Catholics preferred Catholic Youth groups and Catholic schools to those nun by the German state. This reduced the Nazis' influence. Hitler was determined to increase his influence over the Catholics. At first. Hitler and the Catholic Church tried to co-operate with each other Hitler wanted the support of the Catholics and, in turn, the Catholic Church wanted to show its support for the country. In 1933, the concordat was signed This was an agreement that stated that the Church would not get involved in political affairs and the Nazis would allow the Catholic Church to have freedom of worship and to run its own youth groups and schools. Hitler soon broke this agreement. In schools, Christian symbols were taken down. Hitler wanted his own image to appear in classrooms, rather than the crucifix (the Christian cross symbol). Catholic newspapers were censored and propaganda began to hint at financial corruption in the Church. In 193 Pius XI tried to make a stand. He made a statement which attacked the criticism of the Catholic Church. This statement was read out by priest: German Catholic churches, The Nazi reaction was severe.

Membership of the Catholic League (the youth group for Catholic ) people) was made illegal. Hitler wanted all young people to attend Youth groups instead.
State funding for the Church was cut and the property of some monasteries was seized.
Gestapo and SS agents began to spy on Church organisations
Catholic Church schools were closed and turned into community schools.
Catholic priests who spoke out against the Nazis were arrested. Some priests were held in concentration camps.

Hitler had asserted his authority over the Catholic Church, but it continued to function. The number of people going to church remained high, despite Nazi attempts to weaken its influence

THE PROTESTANT CHURCH

Many Protestants in Germany were nationalists and some agreed strongly with Nazi beliefs. One group, the 'German Christians', actually referred to itself as the 'SA of the Church', They combined Nazi symbols and customs with Christian practices, wore Nazi uniforms and gave the Nazi salute at church services.

In 1933, Hitler organised all the different parts of the Protestant Church into one organisation, called the Reich Church, Ludwig Müller, a supporter of the Nazis, was made Bishop of the Reich Church. Under pressure from the German Christians, 18 pastors lost their jobs because they would not declare their support for Nazi Views.

However, there was some resistance to the Nazis' attempts to take control of the Protestant Church in Germany. A group of pastors, led by Martin Niemple and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, set up the Confessional Church in 1934. This Church grew until it had 5,000 members and became a rival to the official Reich Church. The Confessional Church objected to the Nazis trying to interfere in matters of its religious faith; it said the Church should remain independent from Nazi political powers. As a result, Niemoller and hundreds of other Protestant clergy were sent to concentration camps. Bonhoeffer was hanged in 1945.

By the end of the 1930s, neither the Catholic Church nor the Protestant Church had a significant role in society. This was a result of Nazi measures, such as the introduction of the Hitler Youth, the banning of church schools and the use of propaganda against the Churches. In 1939, only 5 per cent of the German population described themselves as 'God-believers'