Since Hitler was raised Catholic and led a nation of Christians?

Question

is it logical to assume that centuries of antisemitism and antisemitic tracts and statements, such as cited below didn't in large measure contribute to a conducive climate for the Holocaust?:

- Martin Luther (1483-1546): On the Jews and Their Lies
- Pope Clement VIII: “The Bible itself says that the Jews are an accursed people.”
- Pope Innocent III: “When Jews are admitted out of pity into familiar intercourse with Christians, they repay their hosts, according to the popular proverb, after the fashion of the rat hidden in the sack, or the snake in the bosom, or of the burning brand in one’s lap.”
-

Pope Innocent IV: “The wicked perfidy of the Jews - from whose hearts Our Saviour did not remove the veil because of their enormous crimes but caused them justly to continue in their blindness, commit acts of shame which engender astonishment in those who hear, and terror in those who discover it.”

The first citation is from a Protestant, Martin Luther, who wrote several rabidly antisemitic tracts.

Germany itself was roughly 50-50% Catholic/Protestant

Answer 1

Yes, antisemitism in the christian church would have fueled the holocaust to some extent. But Hitler was more concerned with race rather than religion.

Answer 2

It is true that Christianity has historically treated Jews in an unchristian manner.

However Nazism was atheistic and threw off all religious doctrine and teaching. It is only right to place the Jews first on the list of the Nazis' victims.

However millions of Catholics and other Christians were also killed. No one knows exactly how many. I've seen claims of up to 42,000,000 but I could not find documentation for this number.

One example, over 6 million Poles perished during WWII. That was 22% of the population of the country. Three million were Jews. Most of the rest were Catholics.

Also remember most the the allied military dead were Christians.

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

The main premise of the teachings of Christ were love and forgiveness. Man in his state of sin, cannot live up to these ideals. Many have used the name of Christ for their own personal gain and utilized the sin of other men to channel feelings and popular thought. Unfortunately, too many times it worked.

Furthermore, now I see that many in the modern era have used these shortcomings of historical figures to demonize Christianity. I wish that people choosing not to believe would just come out and say it and take responsibility for the consequences. Also quit looking for rationalizing that decision by comparison to the unloving thoughts words and actions of other men.

Isn't a person really guilty of hypocrisy if they judge an entire population (Christians) on the words and actions of a few? Isn't this the same as the evil thoughts words and actions of those you quoted above?

Maybe now you can see why your assessmnet is unfair to the many people trying to live their lives and do the right thing in the best way they know how.

Answer 4

The catholic church has done many things in the past, as have other religions, that has tarnished it.
There have been many great people in all religions, some didn't even have a religion, that have done great works for humanity and they get less attention then someone who was, or is, a mass murderer.
I would love to pick up a paper, or hear on the news one day nothing but good for once. We seem to be a people that loves to hear of gore and death-why not life and love mainly in the news instead?

Answer 5

You are right about the Christian's evil history, however it really had nothing to do with the Holucost. So yes they did hate every religion or non religion that wasn't them, but the real cause of the holucost I will explain.

Germany's economy was falling. The government wasn't doing a good job taking care of it, so they made a scapegoat for their failing economy. They started blaiming everything wrong in thier country on the Jews. Since the people were mostly Christian and Jews were not in big numbers it was easy to do.

Think about this for a moment; because the U.S. was attacked our government used our patriotism to fight Iraq. They used the excuse that it was the war on terrorism, however Iraq is nothing compared to the terrorism in some other countries we haven't even tried to scare yet. Not to mention Obsama uses religion to get his people to do evil things.

So as you can see governments throughout time have used it's people's motivation to do anything they want to.

Answer 6

Firstly to the dude who said Catholics aren't Christians: Do you know ANY of your history's religion? They're the oldest surviving denomination. YOU are, technically, the heretic. If you were living 1800 years ago or so, you'd probably be hunted down and executed by St Augustine and friends :)

Anyway, well said, question-poster. You'd be surprised how much I have to correct people when they say "Hitler was atheist!". He wasn't Stalin was, admittedly, and he was no angel, but that doesn't mean atheism itself is "evil". Famous "evil" atheists are evil not because they're atheist, but because they're either unhinged, deeply malicious and psychologically troubled, or generally acted out of political expediency.

Ahem. Anyway, the Teuto-Norse mythological hue that coloured Hitler's vision was more out of nationalism, not pagan religious belief; the best way to evoke feelings of pride in one's nation is to remember its heroes of old, the ancient folklore that helps unite the people. You see it VERY often in MANY places. British imperial-nationalism did the same when it flourished in the 19th century, and Rome did it during Augustus' reign (ever read The Aeneid?).

Answer 7

Conducive, yes. But keep in mind that Hitler also advocated a return to Nordic paganism, and replaced the Bible with Mein Kamph in German churches.

Answer 8

I won't deny it, in actuality i'm going to stand in corporation help of that place by using fact it somewhat is in basic terms much greater data that the putrid, pervert Roman Satanist church would not stick to Christ. I wish people could get it by way of their skulls that they're a thoroughly distinctive faith, no longer a sect of "Christianity". never. they do no longer seem to be the Lord's people, they're enemies of God, whether or no longer they're consciously attentive to it or no longer. they have the comparable God, congratulations. that's all they get appropriate, yet they do no longer understand him. Muslims declare (albeit falsely) that the Jews have the comparable God they do, yet they do no longer call the Jews Muslims do they, for the reason that's a thoroughly distinctive corporation. that's what maximum Christians could gain with reference to the Catholic Church. that's a slap interior the face to Christ and is diametrically damaging to each ingredient that he ever reported.

Answer 9

Yes

Answer 10

Nostradamus was raised a Catholic too. Were his predictions put there by the Pope?

Gee. by your logic any thought we have or action we take is subliminally planted there by the Catholic Church.

There should be a Twelve Step Program for conspiracy theorists like you.