Religious Policies Flashcards
(8 cards)
What was the general Nazi attitude toward religion?
The Nazis saw religion, especially Christianity, as a potential threat to their totalitarian control but tolerated it when useful for social unity or propaganda.
What was the 1933 Concordat with the Catholic Church?
An agreement between Hitler and the Pope that the Church would stay out of politics in return for religious freedoms. Nazis soon violated it by repressing Catholic organizations.
How did the Nazis undermine the Catholic Church?
Catholic schools were closed, clergy were harassed/arrested, youth groups were banned, and propaganda accused clergy of immorality and corruption.
What was the German Christians movement?
A pro-Nazi Protestant group that aimed to align Christianity with Nazi ideology and remove Jewish elements from the Bible.
What was the Confessing Church?
A Protestant group that opposed Nazi interference in church affairs, led by pastors like Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
How were dissenting religious leaders treated?
Many were imprisoned or sent to concentration camps. Niemöller was arrested in 1937 and Bonhoeffer was executed in 1945.
Did Nazi ideology promote a specific religion?
No, it was more aligned with neo-paganism and racial mythology; Christianity was viewed as weak and “Jewish.”
What were Hitler’s long-term aims for religion?
To replace Christianity with a centralized Nazi faith (e.g., based on the Führer cult and Germanic paganism).
