NAZI Religious Plans: Postponement

religion in NAZI Germany
Figure 1.--Here a Wehrmacht Catholic chaplain and altar boy assists with a military funeral during the War. The NAZIs began the process of undermining the main-line Chistiabn churches, but did not move overtly against them as with Germany's strong Christian traditions, this would have disrupted the war effort.
Suppress the existig religious structure. By this time Judaism and the Jews themselves woud have been eliminated. Hitler was unwilling to openly assult the religious establishment, although that attack had begun by actions against clerics who could not be cowed and undrmining the financial supports of the churces and their charity work. Hitler realized that after winning the War that his position wiould be unasailable and that he could accomplish most of wht he wanted by fiat with little concern about opisition or criticusm. He also realized that given the still strong religious loyalties that a overt attack on churches would be very dusruptive to both preparations for warfare ad the war itself. And while the SA (after the Night of the Long Knives) and SS was composed of men whose primary loyalties were to Hitler and the Party, the Whermacht was much more divided. There was support for the NAZIs within the Whermacht, but there was also strong traditional support for religion, It is difficult to assess the relative strength of these loyalties. Support for Hiler and the NAZIs undeniable increased during the NAZI era. Even so, openly attacking churches would have been a disruption and distration that adversely affected the war effort. It was an effort which could be potpond until after the War.








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Created: 5:19 AM 4/27/2013
Last updated: 5:19 AM 4/27/2013