Was Hitler a Christian?

Question

I have seen people make claims on either side of this and so I did some looking and got clashing information. Here are some of the finding....what are your thoughts?

*Hitler's private statements are more mixed. There are negative statements about Christianity reported by Hitler's intimates, Goebbels, Speer, and Bormann.[10] Joseph Goebbels, for example, notes in a diary entry in 1939: "The Führer is deeply religious, but deeply anti-Christian. He regards Christianity as a symptom of decay." Albert Speer reports a similar statement: “You see, it’s been our misfortune to have the wrong religion. Why didn’t we have the religion of the Japanese, who regard sacrifice for the Fatherland as the highest good? The Mohammedan religion too would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?"[11]

*On April 29, 1945, Hitler and Eva Braun chose to marry only in front of a civil servant of the city of Berlin and chose not to hold any religious service or blessing ceremony for their marriage.

*Hitler did not believe in a "remote, rationalist divinity" but in an "active deity,"[18] which he frequently referred to as "Creator" or "Providence". In Hitler's belief God created a world in which different races fought each other for survival as depicted by Arthur de Gobineau. The "Aryan race", supposedly the bearer of civilization, is allocated a special place:

"What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and the reproduction of our race ... so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission allotted it by the creator of the universe. ... Peoples that bastardize themselves, or let themselves be bastardized, sin against the will of eternal Providence

From this I am not so sure I would call him a Christian.

do you believe he was? and if so, can you provide any source?

For those who said he definitely was...where is your source?

From what I read and posted, it seems to me he was born into a Catholic family, and used it to convince people that he was a Christian, but in private hated Christianity.

P-Funk, yes this is what he said in public, but what about the quotes of what he said to his confidants in private?

Answer 1

I find some of the responses on here to be very interesting. I have no idea whether he was or wasn't a Christian, but based on his acts, he certainly wasn't following the Christ that I follow!

There have been a number of people that point to his Grandmother being Jewish and his parents being Catholic and things like that. Problem with those kind of statements is that it may link him to a religion by way of "blood"... But in my opinion, no matter what you're born into, if you don't follow that religion, then you really shouldn't be considered one of that group. You can be born to Catholic parents, but while you may be considered part of the church, in my opinion that doesn't truly make you "Catholic" or "Christian" because you haven't made decisions for yourself to turn your life to God. Obviously as well, with being Jewish.. Yes, you may have Jewish ancestry, but that doesn't make you a believer of the faith..

If at any time Hitler had turned his life to God, he obviously wasn't following the principles of his own faith then.. when he was trying to extinguish a race from the earth.

At the same time, I have no idea what truly was in his mind or what his beliefs were.. and really.. no one but him and God really knew... We can judge what we THINK he believed based on actions.. but we don't really know.

Answer 2

Its difficult to know. Hitler claimed to be a Christian so many consider him to have been one, but he claimed to be a lot of things if it helped him to gain enough popularity to win the election. In Germany in the 1930's if he openly spoke out to be an atheist he wouldn't have been so popular so it would have made sense that he claimed to be a Christian. Some claim that he wasn't because he created the reich church as christian beliefs in peace were not compatible with Nazi ideas. Pope Pius XI clearly did not like him and called him 'an arrogant prophet with repulsive arrogance' which was read in every Catholic church in Germany, despite the Nazi's strong propaganda machine. Hitler was clearly disliked by Christian leaders within Germany, i.e. the Catholic Archbishop of Munster, von Galen, led a successful campaign to end euthanasia of mentally-disabled people and many Protestant pastors, led by Martin Niemöller, formed the Confessional Church in opposition to Hitler's Reich Church. Niemöller was held in a concentration camp during the period 1937-1945. Another Protestant pastor, Dietrich Bonhöffer, took part in the 1944 bomb plot and was executed. So generally although Hitlers main internal opposition and challenge was Christianity but it is unknown how he practised his personal beliefs, therefore the issues open to debate.

Answer 3

Hitler was raised by Roman Catholic parents, but as a school boy he rejected Catholicism as he was influenced by nationalism. Apparently, after Hitler left home, he never attended Mass or received the sacraments.[66]

In later life, Hitler's religious beliefs present a discrepant picture; publicly he often spoke positively of the Christian heritage of German culture and of belief in Christ. Hitler’s private statements, as reported by his intimates, are more mixed, showing Hitler as a religious man but also critical of Christianity.[67] However, in contrast to other Nazi leaders, Hitler did not adhere to esoteric ideas, occultism, or neo-paganism,[67] and ridiculed such beliefs in his book Mein Kampf.[68] Rather, Hitler advocated a "Positive Christianity",[69] a belief system purged from what he objected to in traditional Christianity, and which portrayed Jesus as a fighter against the Jews.

Hitler believed in Arthur de Gobineau's ideas of struggle for survival between the different races, among which the "Aryan race"—guided by "Providence"—was supposed to be the torchbearers of civilization and the Jews as enemies of all civilization. Whether his anti-semitism was influenced by older Christian ideas remains disputed.

Among Christian denominations, Hitler favored Protestantism, which was more open to such reinterpretations. At the same time, he made use of some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organization, liturgy and phraseology in his politics.[70][71]

Answer 4

What is your problem if Hitler was a Christian but I believe he is not a Christian by religion as you have already stated on your comments tht when he married Eva Braun, he chose it to be infront of a civil servant of the City of Berlin and chose not to hold any religious service or blessing ceremony for the said marriage.

In your statement, could you not realize yourself that he is not a christian? Why do you still ask when you know that there is no christian ceremoney when he got married.It is useless to ask, please when you know already the answer. You have already answered your own question
jtm

Answer 5

He was baptized a Catholic, attended a monastery school early in life, and was a communicant and altar boy as a youth. During his years as Chancellor and then dictator of Nazi Germany, he was never excommunicated or condemned, even though the Vatican knew much of his policies and activities. The only major complaints from Rome regarded interference in Church matters. And those were largely silenced by the 1933 Concordat with the Vatican, under Pope Pius XII, which to Hitler meant that the Catholic Church recognized the Nazi state.

And, indeed, Pius XII ordered German Catholics not to oppose Hitler. No prelate of any influence in Germany did so, even after the June 1934 Blood Purge that took the lives of several Catholic leaders. The wartime Pope made only mild and highly generalized protests against any Nazi actions and pretty much acquiesced in Hitler's treatment of the Jews, about which Pius had a pretty good idea. For their part, the Roman Church got support for mandatory school prayer and for "family values" — much like the Christian fundamentalist wish list in the modern US.

But in fact, Germany was Hitler's religion. Though far from an atheist, Hitler was a Roman Catholic apostate. He at times would say things such as, "The National Socialist State professes its allegiance to Positive Christianity" [1934] — Positive Christianity being nonsectarian — and at other times would say, "National Socialism and Christianity cannot exist together" [1941]. It is certainly reasonable to suppose that Hitler used religion as Machiavelli recommended: as a tool of political influence and control. Therefore, Hitler would say about churches, "For their interests cannot fail to coincide with ours alike in our fight against the degeneracy in the world of today" (sometime 1922-1939).


The Nazi slogan
Gott mit uns or "God with us"

But taken in chronological context, it would seem that Hitler's most anti-Christian statements were delivered after his election as Chancellor, and when he saw interference from the Roman Church (and all religion) as a threat to his control of the state. The appearance of piety was important: the Nazi military wore belt buckles on which was the legend Gott Mit Uns ("God with us"), and much of his political philosophy was adapted from the Bible. Hitler would not have been successful without the support of German Christians. However, Adolf Hitler perpetrated a serious Catholic sin when he committed suicide on April 30, 1945.

Answer 6

If you had to choose something, he was "Christian." I put that in quotation marks, because he is NOT a representative of Christianity, and was most certainly not what could be called a "good" Christian.
Yes, he had some issues with the church, but the issues were political, not based on belief. He didn't want anyone or anything usurping his authority.
Here's a whole list of quotes from Hitler himself about his beliefs.
http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/quotes_hitler.html

Answer 7

Hitler's only religion was Nazi Politics- If he said anything pro-christian or catholic, it was a means to reach an end (like the concordant).

Cherry-picking quotes of his means nothing unless you return them to the context they were said in.

The Churches held significant power in Germany, and Hitler had to tread carefully when trying to break them, after all private clubs, universities and social organizations were either broken or subjugated to Nazi ones, the churches still maintained some freedom, as he gradually tried to break them- Religion played a much larger role in the peoples lives then than it does now.

Answer 8

Would a "christian," despite this religions flawed leaders, be a ravenous murderer? Hitler's RELIGION was "himself" to think and follow after a religion of the ancient past, THOUGH he forgot to STUDY it. That of the Pharaohs of Egypt. The GOD ON EARTH. I am part German, and know what Hitler was after BUT he too was a man and weak. In his superior intellect, he forgot to have COMPASSION for his fellow human beings and THAT is what ultimately destroyed him. You see to be of the faith of Egypt and a God on earth does not mean POWER, it means SACRIFICE and many throughout history have sought this power only to find out in the end EVIL purposes do not go hand in hand with the Lord of Creation. The list of leaders who were "great" warriors goes back into ancient times, and have included the likes of Darius I, Alexander the great, Napolean, and Hitler and they all paid heavily for thinking they could use holiness for evil purposes. By the way, I am of the theban faith of Egypt, a "priest" if you will.....

Answer 9

"Christianity is an invention of sick brains," Adolf Hitler, 13 December 1941.
"So it's not opportune to hurl ourselves now into a struggle with the Churches. The best thing is to let Christianity die a natural death," Adolf Hitler, 14 October 1941.
"Was Hitler a Christian?", is now an exploration of Hitler's religions thinking and the issue of Christian anti-Semitism in general. But if you want an answer to the question, then mine is: Not any kind we would call "Christian" today.

Answer 10

I had heard a long time ago that Hitler was a Catholic, but that he also believed in a lot of mystical stuff like psychics and fortune tellers. He also believed in the Middle Earth theory, that there was a hole in the center of the earth and that if married people died together, preferably by suicide, they would not die but be transported to Middle Earth, where they would live with only Aryans.