Nazi Policies Towards the Catholic and Protestant Churches

This section explores Nazi policies towards the Catholic and Protestant Churches. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany was a Christian-majority country, with approximately 45 million Protestants and 22 million Catholics. Christianity presented a potential threat to Nazi ideology, as it promoted peace, compassion, and moral values that often contradicted Nazi principles of war, racism, and dictatorship.

To neutralise this threat, the Nazis attempted to control, manipulate, and suppress the churches through compromise, intimidation, and persecution.

Nazi Control of the Protestant Church

The Reich Church

• The Nazis aimed to unify Protestant denominations under a single, state-controlled church called the Reich Church.
• In 1933, Hitler appointed Ludwig Müller as the Reich Bishop, hoping he would align German Protestantism with Nazi beliefs.
• A Nazi-aligned religious group, the ‘German Christians’, promoted Nazi policies within the church, supporting anti-Semitic teachings and removing the Old Testament (as it was considered a "Jewish book").
• The Reich Church replaced Christian crosses with swastikas, removed Jewish elements from the Bible, and encouraged worship of Hitler as Germany’s ‘Saviour’.

Opposition from the Confessing Church

• Many Protestant leaders rejected Nazi interference in religious matters.
• In 1934, a group of Protestant pastors, led by Martin Niemöller, formed the Confessing Church to oppose Nazi control.
• The Confessing Church rejected Nazi ideology and upheld traditional Christian teachings.
• The Nazis saw this as a threat—800 pastors from the Confessing Church were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
• Niemöller himself was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945.

Nazi Control of the Catholic Church

The Concordat with the Pope (1933)

• The Catholic Church was a powerful institution, led by Pope Pius XI, with strong influence over German society.
• In July 1933, Hitler signed a Concordat (agreement) with the Vatican, in which:
  • The Catholic Church agreed to stay out of politics.
  • The Nazis agreed not to interfere in religious matters.
• However, Hitler quickly broke the agreement and began restricting Catholic influence.

Persecution of Catholics

• Catholic youth groups were banned, with children forced to join the Hitler Youth instead.
• Catholic schools were taken over and forced to teach a Nazi curriculum.
• Catholic newspapers were shut down to prevent anti-Nazi messages.
• Priests and nuns who spoke against the Nazis were arrested; around 400 Catholic priests were sent to Dachau concentration camp.

The Pope’s Response

• In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued an encyclical (official letter) called Mit Brennender Sorge, criticising Nazi policies and violations of the Concordat.
• The letter was smuggled into Germany and read in Catholic churches.
• In response, the Nazis intensified their persecution, arresting more Catholic clergy.

Nazi Attempts to Suppress Christianity

Although Hitler was born Catholic, he saw Christianity as a rival to Nazi power and ultimately hoped to replace it with a new state religion based on Nazi ideology and Germanic pagan beliefs.

• Religious symbols were removed—the Nazis tried (but failed) to ban crucifixes from Catholic churches.
• The Nazis encouraged worship of Hitler and the state instead of traditional Christian beliefs.
• The Nazis promoted ‘Positive Christianity’, a distorted version of Christianity that removed Jewish teachings and portrayed Jesus as an Aryan figure.
• Christian hymns and prayers were replaced with pro-Nazi songs in schools and public events.

Impact of Nazi Actions on the Churches

Protestant Church

• The Reich Church never gained full control, and many Protestants remained loyal to traditional Christianity.
• In 1937, due to widespread opposition, Hitler was forced to restore some autonomy to Protestant churches in return for their political neutrality.

Catholic Church

• Rather than weakening Catholic influence, Nazi persecution increased attendance at Catholic churches, as many Germans saw religion as a form of resistance.
• Catholic priests and bishops, such as Bishop von Galen, publicly opposed Nazi policies, including euthanasia of the disabled.

Religious Resistance to Nazism

Despite Nazi repression, many Christian leaders and groups stood against Hitler at great personal risk.

Martin Niemöller (Protestant Pastor)

• Leader of the Confessing Church, arrested in 1937 and sent to concentration camps.
• After the war, he famously wrote:

“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist...
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew...
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Bishop Clemens von Galen (Catholic Bishop of Münster)

• Strongly opposed the Nazi euthanasia programme (Aktion T4), which killed disabled people.
• His public sermons were so powerful that Hitler halted the euthanasia programme temporarily.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Protestant Theologian)

• A member of the Confessing Church, who actively opposed the Nazis.
• Arrested in 1943 for his role in a plot to assassinate Hitler.
• Executed in 1945, just weeks before the war ended.

The Nazis saw Christianity as a threat but knew they could not eliminate it immediately without facing major resistance. Instead, they tried to control and weaken the churches through manipulation, persecution, and repression.

However, their efforts were only partially successful. Many religious leaders and followers remained defiant, and church attendance even increased during World War Two, showing that faith remained a powerful source of resistance against Nazi rule.