To what Extent was Hitlet Able to Control the Church

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Section A: Plan of Investigation.

During the reign of Nazi Germany, the Church was subjected to as much adversity as any other institution in Germany. Any establishment that was perceived as a threat to Hitler could not be endured and the churches of Nazi Germany posed as a number of threats as they were powerful and well established institutions. Even though he sometimes associated Nazism with Christianity, his real beliefs were clearly hostile towards the faith. Which leads me to my research question: “ To what extent was Hitler able to control the church?”

The scope of my investigation will address the decisions made Adolf Hitler on controlling the church during his reign as Fuhrer, from 1933-1945. And will also investigate other factors like the role of the other bureaucrats and their attack on religion. The sources used in this essay will be both primary and secondary.

Section B: Summary of Evidence

Background Information

In the 1930’s, the majority of the German population was Christian out of that two thirds were protestant and the rest were Catholics.1

As Nazism grew it posed a threat to Christianity because the Christians considered Nazism to be ethically incorrect, also Nazism could not ignore the churches as they were very powerful and well established institutions at that point of time. 2Layton Geoff

Role of Hitler

During Hitler’s rise to power he avoided any direct attacks on the churches during his speeches and also put forward the number 24 of the Party’s 25 points programme spoke in favor in ‘positive Christianity’. 3

When Hitler lived in Vienna as a youth, a number of works were published which glorified the German past and showed Christianity as a strong religion. However these works also s...

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...the Churches”

Ericksen, Robert P. Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Fleming Gerard. The Fuhrer’s Wish. Hardman Books. 1999.

Gerwath, Robert. Hitler’s Hangman. Harmen Books.1999.

Housden,M. Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich,1996.

Goldhagen, Daniel. Hitler’s willing executioners. Vintage Books, 1997.

Hinton, Chris. Weimar and Nazi Germany. Hodder Murray. 2006 edition.

Layton, Geoff. Germany: The third Reich 1933-45. Hodder Education. 3rd edition.

Lukacs, John. The Hitler of History.Vintage Books, 1998.

Noakes,J. Nazism: A History in Documents, 1984.

Phayer, Michael. The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000,p.123

Kershaw, Ian. Hitler. Penguin Books. 2011, p.949

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