I had mistakenly thought Hitler and the Nazis embraced Christianity.
I just watched video of Chancellor Dr Alfred Rosenberg demanding the abolition of Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany in 1938.
Followed by German Church Regulations: Article XXX
"The Christian Cross is to be removed from all churches and cathedrals, and is to be replaced by the immortal symbol of Germany, the Swastika"
Followed by arrest and execution of hundreds of religious leaders of all denominations across Germany. I guess Hitler's ego could not compete with anybody's God.
Neo-Nazis certainly like to invoke the name of God!
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
Maybe Neo-Nazi’s simply try to exploit Christianity for their own agenda; maybe they simply ‘use’ it to recruit, radicalize and mobilize some their followers.
Hitler and the Nazi’s exploited whatever they could for their own end. A lotta ‘Christians’ then...as now...were/are ambivalent to the Holocaust. There is quite a bit of literature that supports Hitler and the Nazi’s intention to eradicate Christianity from Germany after victory in WWII:
Bendersky, Joseph W., A concise history of Nazi Germany, p. 147, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007: “Consequently, it was Hitler’s long range goal to eliminate the churches once he had consolidated control over his European empire.”
Wheaton, Eliot Barculo The Nazi revolution, 1933–1935: prelude to calamity:with a background survey of the Weimar era, pp. 290, 363, Doubleday 1968: The Nazis sought "to eradicate Christianity in Germany root and branch."
Dill, Marshall, Germany: a modern history, p. 365, University of Michigan Press, 1970: “It seems no exaggeration to insist that the greatest challenge the Nazis had to face was their effort to eradicate Christianity in Germany or at least to subjugate it to their general world outlook.”
Fischel, Jack R., Historical Dictionary of the Holocaust, p. 161, Rowman & Littlefield, 2020: “The objective was to either destroy Christianity and restore the German gods of antiquity or to turn Jesus into an Aryan.”
Shirer, William L., Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany, pp. 240, Simon and Schuster, 1990: “And even fewer paused to reflect that under the leadership of Rosenberg, Bormann and Himmler, who were backed by Hiltz, the Nazi regime intended eventually to destroy Christianity in Germany, if it could, and substitute the old paganism of the early tribal Germanic gods and the new paganism of the Nazi extremists.”
Mosse, George Lachmann, Nazi culture: intellectual, cultural and social life in the Third Reich, p. 240, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2003: "Had the Nazis won the war their ecclesiastical policies would have gone beyond those of the German Christians, to the utter destruction of both the Protestant and the Catholic Church."
Griffin, Roger Fascism's relation to religion in Blamires, Cyprian, World fascism: a historical encyclopedia, Volume 1, p. 10, ABC-CLIO, 2006: “There is no doubt that in the long run Nazi leaders such as Hiltz and Himmler intended to eradicate Christianity just as ruthlessly as any other rival ideology, even if in the short term they had to be content to make compromises with it.”
The claim of some...with an agenda other than the truth...that Hitler was a practicing Christian seems pretty far off base.
Hitler and the Catholic church were cozy in the beginning; they both kinda needed each other in rather dysfunctional ways. Once Hitler had secured all power, he mostly shoved the Catholic church and Christian's in general aside and ignored them.
Hitler felt he was anointed by God to do the things he did, but that didn't come from any church.
Like true believers, the Catholics and Christians were content to overlook Hitler's indiscretions as long as he left the church alone.
The powers-that-were in Hitler's Nazi Party embraced the occult.
Religiously they were all over the map...weird bunch of nutballs. What they all did have in common was drug addiction. Drugs and drug addiction was rampant in the Nazi leadership. Hitler took a literal pharmacy of drugs on a daily basis.
I no longer have the book “The German War” about the attitudes of the civilian population of Germany during WWII.
IIRC that cross removal edict didn’t go over well and was often quietly ignored.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
When in 12th grade I studied the subject. What I found is that Hitler met with Cardinals and the pop. He had meetings and likely alliances for a time. Whatever he was raised as is really irrelevant though. He surrounded himself with pagan and occultic talismen. His decisions were guided.by the devil.
The Occult History of the Third Reicht.....Himler This is the forth documentary in a four part series. It is the best documentary on this subject IMHO. If this interests you, I suggest watching the others. You'll find a volume of good books worth of information distilled and illustrated.
These are a couple of interesting movies for the whole family. Depending upon age, it might be appropriate for teenagers. Preview first as with anything. Maybe come up with questions and have a discussion afterwards. There's a reason why the previous generations, including ours, repeat history and go along with the public school indoctrination. We can solve that problem with our own families. And don't forget the Bible as the owner's manual for life.📖
I thought everyone knew that Hitler hated Christianity. The NAZIS had plans to deal with it eventually but Hitler was far less of a dictator than Stalin and faaaar more responsive to public pressure and opinion.
ISLAM AND NAZI GERMANY’S WAR (HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2014) DESCRIPTION In the most crucial phase of the Second World War, German troops, fighting in regions as far apart as the Sahara and the Caucasus, confronted the Allies across lands largely populated by Muslims. Nazi officials saw Islam as a powerful force with the same enemies as Germany: the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Jews. Islam and Nazi Germany’s War is the first comprehensive account of Berlin’s remarkably ambitious attempts to build an alliance with the Islamic world.
Drawing on archival research in three continents, David Motadel explains how German officials tried to promote the Third Reich as a patron of Islam. He explores Berlin’s policies and propaganda in the Muslim war zones, and the extensive work that authorities undertook for the recruitment, spiritual care, and ideological indoctrination of tens of thousands of Muslim volunteers who fought in the Wehrmacht and the SS.
Islam and Nazi Germany’s War reveals how German troops on the ground in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Eastern front engaged with diverse Muslim populations, including Muslim Roma and Jewish converts to Islam. Combining measured argument with a masterly handling of detail, it illuminates the profound impact of the Second World War on Muslims around the world and provides a new understanding of the politics of religion in the bloodiest conflict of the twentieth century.
Hitler and the Catholic church were cozy in the beginning; they both kinda needed each other in rather dysfunctional ways. Once Hitler had secured all power, he mostly shoved the Catholic church and Christian's in general aside and ignored them.
Hitler felt he was anointed by God to do the things he did, but that didn't come from any church.
Like true believers, the Catholics and Christians were content to overlook Hitler's indiscretions as long as he left the church alone.
They also liked him because he fought against the Commies, who made no secret of having no use for the church. I read that same book "The German War" and found it sad that the powers in the Church were afraid to say anything against Hitler, but the common parish priests stood up to him and ended up paying for it with their lives. I wonder if Pius is done burning yet?
Hans Schmidt, who lived under the NSDAP's rule for 10 years, wrote an account that differs from what you people are reporting. So do the accounts of several other Germans who lived it as well.
The Roman Catholic Church has yet to open their books to the Israelis as requested for that period of time (WW2).
Reckon they’re tryin’ to protect Pope Pius XII’s image...? He never denounced the Holocaust publicly, and is now a candidate for canonization.
That would be hypocrisy. My late uncle was a Benedictine monk who was ordained as a parish priest. I asked him if he wanted to be a monsignor or bishop. He disgustingly told me "anything above parish priest is just politics".