Social Policies - the Churches

Question 1

What word best summarises the Nazis relationship with the Churches?

Answer 1

Complicated

Question 2

What did Hitler sign with the Catholic Church in 1933?

Answer 2

A Concordat

Question 3

What did the 1933 Concordat mean?

Answer 3

• Vatican recognised the Nazi regime and promised that the Catholic church would not interfere in politics
• the regime promised that it would not interfere in the Catholic church and that the church would keep control of its schools, youth organisations and lay groups

Question 4

What was the Reich Church?

Answer 4

• Name given to the national church into which all protestant churches in Germany merged in 1933
• pastors who had not declared their allegiance to the new regime were dismissed, along with all non-Aryan

Question 5

What did Hitler try and unite all Protestant Churches under?

Answer 5

One official Reich Church

Question 6

Who led the Reich Church?

Answer 6

Ludwig Muller

Question 7

Did all Germans like the Reich Church?

Answer 7

No, many preferred their local church

Question 8

Where there more Catholics or Protestants in Germany?

Answer 8

Protestants

Question 9

Roughly how many Protestants were there in Germany?

Answer 9

45 million

Question 10

Roughly how many Catholics were there in Germany?

Answer 10

22 million (approx. half number of Protestants)

Question 11

Why did Hitler feel threatened by the Churches?

Answer 11

They were a potential source of opposition to his power AND Christianity emphasised peace

Question 12

What did the Reich Church attempt to ban?

Answer 12

The Old Testament - it was considered Jewish

Question 13

Why did the Reich Church attempt to ban the Old Testament?

Answer 13

It was considered Jewish

Question 14

Nazi Policy towards Protestant Church

Answer 14

• within the German evangelical church there was a strong tradition of respect for and cooperation with the state
• many protestants were anti-semitic and anti-communist
• therefore there were many points of convergence between Nazi ideology and the views of the German protestants

Question 15

What was the name of the church Martin Niemoller formed in 1934?

Answer 15

The Confessional Church

Question 16

What did Niemoller begin doing in 1934?

Answer 16

Openly attacking the Nazi regime

Question 17

What did Martin Niemoller form in 1934?

Answer 17

An alternative Protestant Church to the Reich Church, called the Confessional Church

Question 18

What was the Confessional Church?

Answer 18

• Name taken by the group of Protestants who withdrew from the Reich Church
• supported by 5000 pastors
• set up to resist state interference in the Church and to re-establish a theology that was based purely on the Bible

Question 19

What happened to Niemoller?

Answer 19

He was arrested and spent 1938-45 in a concentration camp

Question 20

How many pastors (ministers) of the Confessional Church were imprisoned?

Answer 20

800 - including Niemoller, the founder

Question 21

Which religion posed the most threat to the Nazis and why?

Answer 21

Catholics were a far greater obstacle as they took their religious lead from the Pope

Question 22

Nazi Policy towards the Catholic Church

Answer 22

• Catholics as a group were keen to be accepted as part of the German nation so when Hitler came to power the Catholic church were willing to compromise
• also some points of convergence between Catholics and Nazism - the Catholic church regarded communism as a far greater evil than Nazism

Question 23

What did Nazis attempt to stop Catholics using in church?

Answer 23

The crucifix - although this failed

Question 24

What happened to Catholic youth organisations?

Answer 24

They were suppressed - children were expected to join the Hitler Youth instead

Question 25

Which Catholic became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime?

Answer 25

Bishop Galen of Munich

Question 26

What did Bishop Galen do in 1941?

Answer 26

He led a protest against the Nazi policy of killing physically disabled and mentally ill patients

Question 27

What did the Nazis do in response to Bishop Galen's protest?

Answer 27

Temporarily paused the policy - they did not want to risk a popular uprising during war

Question 28

When did Bishop Galen lead his protest against the killing of physically disabled and mentally ill people?

Answer 28

In 1941

Question 29

Who publicly criticised the Nazis in 1937?

Answer 29

The Pope (Pope Pius XI)

Question 30

Who was pope during this time?

Answer 30

Pope Pius XI (11)

Question 31

As a result of Pope Pius' attack on the Nazis, what happened?

Answer 31

400 Catholic priests were sent to Dachau concentration camp

Question 32

What was Hitler forced to do during 1937?

Answer 32

Return control of the Church to old Protestant leadership - in return for a promise that it would stay out of politics

Question 33

What happened to Church attendance during this period?

Answer 33

It increased significantly - especially during WWII

Question 34

Conflict between regime and Catholic Church

Answer 34

- in 1935 some catholic priests did begin to speak out from their pulpits about the dangers of Nazi religious ideas - in response the regime increased the pressure on the Catholic church: - permission to hold public meetings was severely restricted - catholic newspapers and magazines were heavily censored

Question 35

What does the increase in Church attendance show about Hitler's attempts to control it?

Answer 35

It had failed They established no single Protestant Church and the churches hadn't been coordinated into the Volksgemeinschaft