ď‚? starter activity
This extraordinary photo taken in the 1930s shows Catholic bishops in Germany giving the Nazi salute. List as many reasons as you can, why you might expect the Catholic Church to support the Nazis and why you might expect them to oppose them.
Reasons for supporting Nazis
1933-45 Nazis were in government Nazis projected themselves as guardians of moral values Fear & intimidation July 1933 Concordat Tradition of antiSemitism?
Reasons for opposing Nazis
Nazi ideology contradicted Christian values Zentrum Party natural choice for Catholic supporters Threat to religious authority & influence of Catholic Church
Did Churches collaborate with or resist the Nazi regime? Winning over hearts & minds to create a Volksgemeinschaft
Your task Read sources 16.1-9 on p.304-5 in Hite and Hinton and put a ‘+’ if you think they suggest Hitler and the Church could work together, or a ‘– ’ if you think he saw the Church as a threat. Include a note explaining your reasons why.
Notes
Nazism & Catholic Church
22 million members (esp. in South & West) Well-organised – youth organisations, schools, welfare provision July 1933, Catholic Church & Nazi govt. sign ‘Concordat’ (agreement) 1936, Bishop Galen asks God to bless Hitler’s govt.
Nazism & Protestant Church
40 million members Different ‘Churches’, e.g. Lutheran, Calvin etc. Reich Church – umbrella organisation of Protestant Churches set up by Nazi govt; Reich Bishop (L.Muller, 1934) German Christians (Deutche Christen) – ‘the SA of the Church’, ‘Nazified’ Protestants, ‘the swastika on our breasts and the cross in our hearts’ German Faith Movement – replace Christianity with pagan rituals
ď‚? starter activity
ď € Your task
Read the biographies of 7 key religious figures within German society on pp.310-111. Match the soundbites (on p.311) with an individual and explain your reasons why.
Muller
Pius XII
Galen
Answers
Ludwig Muller (ii) Alfred Rosenberg (iv) Pope Pius XI (iii) Pope Pius XII (i) Bishop Clemens von Galen (vi) Martin Niemöller (vii) Dietrich Bonhöffer (v)
Your task
Notes
Hitler’s policy towards the Church can best be summarised as control, weaken and replace. Read p.308-9 and find evidence of these stages. Record your findings in a table similar to the one below.
Stage Control Weaken Replace
Evidence
Control
Reich Church Concordat (1933) Law against Formation of New Parties (1933) ended Zentrum party German Christians But … Confessional Church, outcry over oath of loyalty, challenges to Reich Church
Weaken
Church groups disbanded & Hitler Youth compulsory from 1936 Education secularised, e.g. less emphasis on RE, crucifixes removed from classes; denominational schools closed (65% of children went to Ch schools in 1933, 5% by 1937) Show trials of priests who were possibly falsely accused of abuses Ch. Secession Campaign, 1937 100,000 Christians left Ch.
Replace ď Ž
ď Ž
1939 3.5 million Germans were members of Gottglaubig (God-believing) neo-pagan movement After WWII Hitler intended to replace Christianity with new German Faith Movement
Support for Nazis within Church Muller
Ludwig Muller, Reich Bishop Alfred Rosenberg, German Faith Movement Pope Pius XII, negotiated Concordat, refused to excommunicate Catholics participating in genocide
Rosenberg
Pius XII
Resistance to Nazis from within Church Niemöller
Bonhöffer
Galen
1934, Confessional Church – broke away from Reich Church due to resistance to state interference; Martin Niemöller & Dietrich Bonhöffer Bishop Galen, Catholic Bp. Munster, aka ‘Lion of Munster’ for outspoken sermons
ď € Your task
Notes
Read the historians’ views on the evidence of support or resistance to the Nazi regime. You may want to record your answers in a table similar to this.
Support (Author & examples)
Overlap?
Resistance (Author & examples)
Did Churches collaborate with or resist the Nazi regime? Winning over hearts & minds to create a Volksgemeinschaft
Your task
Write a judgement paragraph in answer to the key question, “Did Churches collaborate with or resist the Nazi regime?”