Nazi's en de kerk

Page 1

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?”


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