Hitler and the Churches

- Due to them having no single head, the Protestant churches were divided in their feelings towards the Nazis. Many Protestant churches 

+ BISHOP MEISER - head of the Protestant Church in Bavaria was an example of a Protestant Nazi- supporter

- However, many of the Protestant churches opposed the Nazis

+ CONFESSING CHURCH - a Protestant schismatic church that opposed Nazification

= A leader in the CC, MARTIN NIEMOLLER, who openly protested against the Nazis, was arrested and spent 7 years in Saschenhausen and Dachau

= Another leader, DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, tried to organise resistance against the Nazis during WW2, and was even in contact with the Allies

* In 1943, he was imprisoned in a concentration camp and, in 1945, was executed by the Gestapo

+ Nazi opposition had to choose between STAYING QUIET or BEING SILENCED

- The Catholic Church supported the Nazis to begin with

+ Pope Pius XI signed the REICHSKONKORDAT with Germany on July 20 1933

= Meant the Catholic Church would be "left alone," provided the Church remained out of politics 

- However, the Catholic Church soon realised they could not trust the Nazis as the Church was NOT left alone, as stated in the Concordat

- THE CATHOLIC YOUTH, a well-supported youth organisation, was in direct competition with the HITLER YOUTH

+ In 1937, the Catholic Youth was made illegal

- CATHOLIC SCHOOLING

+ The Church ran a number of schools that were not subjected to Nazi propaganda. However, these schools were later removed from Church control

- CATHOLIC LEADERS - as many as 1 in 3 Catholic priests were persecuted by the Nazis, at least 400 being sent to DACHAU

- To gain control of Christianity, the Nazis set up their own Christian church

+ Although some Protestants supported it, it was not a great success

- GERMAN FAITH MOVEMENT

+ Hitler decided to move people away from Christianity using a new Faith movement

+ Instead of the Bible, Hitler used a combination of Hindu and German literature, particularly his autobiography, Mein Kampf

+ Pagan traditions and rituals were upheld to relate more to Germany's Aryan roots

+ It stressed Aryan supremacy through Nordic myths

+ The German Faith Movement was also unsuccesful, with only 200,000 followers at its heigh (just 0.3% of the population)