If not for centuries of church sponsored anti-semitism, would ordinary Germans ...?

Question

(being 98% christian), have been willing to follow Hitler (a born-and-raised Roman Catholic)?

E.g.: "The slogan 'Don't buy from Jews' was used by the German Catholic magazine Germania as early as 1876" - The War of the World by Niall Ferguson.

Answer 1

While it is fair to say that the instiutional churches and many church leaders were actively complicit in Hitler's rise to power, or stood silently by and said nothing, I'm not sure if your overall conjecture is entirely correct.

It's true Germany was a deeply anti-Semitic and generally racist country, and that mind set is still somewhat apparent today. However, I doubt Germany or the German churches (Catholic and Protestant) were any more anti-Semitic than in most other European countries.

In fact, there is historical evidence that the Jewish people of Germany were actually less persecuted (prior the Nazi era) than in many other countries, particularly in Eastern and Southern Europe, where pogroms and ghettoes come from.

When fascism as a doctrine swept across Europe in the early 20th century, dictators such as Franco, Mussolini and Hitler all took steps to institute persecutions of local Jewish populations as part of their programmes, but in reality this persecution was no more than what had been happening for many centuries throughout the continent.

Although persecutions such as the Inquisition were church sponsored, the 'reason' was just as likely to be political or attention diverting. Crops failed? Disease epidemic? Blame the Jews (outsiders) and kill 'em all was the European attitude and I'd be very surprised if a thorough search couldn't find much older and much nastier German sayings than the one you've quoted.

Of course the churches did support a lot of it, but despite the persecutions places such as France did not introduce a final solution, which leads me to think that what happened in Germany was an aberration which emerged from a unique and particular set of circumstances.

That does not exonerate the churches and the part they played ~ whether as active participants or by simply doing nothing ~ and probably has had a LOT to do with the decline of their moral authority in Germany and throughout Europe, with the consequent loss of membership.

But it is also worth remembering that individual christians were very brave in their opposition to the Nazis, and that an underground christian church did a great deal to help people persecuted by the regime.

Cheers :-)

Answer 2

I certainly think that the Church was instrumental in creating the climate in which it was possible for the Holocaust to occur. Conversely, had the Church actively opposed what Hitler was doing, I imagine there would be a lot more Jews alive today. It wasn't convenient for the Church to do it, and probably some in the hierarchy thought it furthered their own ends, so they were silent.

Answer 3

Yes. Hitler drew on a long tradition of Catholic and Protestant anti-Semitism. In Eastern Orthodox countries such as Bulgaria anti-Semitism is virtually non-existent.

Answer 4

I'm not sure what they believe exactly. I know they were into Astrology. Hitler signed documents with the Pope but he also was involved in different forms of the occult. He was an equal-opportunity user when it came to religion.

Answer 5

Why didn't the great Holocaust take place in the rest of the Christian West? Why did the rest of the Christian West rise to the defense of the Jews? I realize these questions are probably beyond your ken, due to your closed-minded, arrogant, provincial bigotry, but DO TRY REASON at any rate.

I will even be so generous as to give you a hint, to wit: What was the difference between Germany and the rest of the West? Hegel and Neitzche.

Answer 6

The term anti-semitic refers explicitly to anti-Jewish, it grow to be coined with the aid of an anti-semite. The term Semitic somewhat refers to any human beings of middle eastern descent (e.g. Jews, Arabs) or the langauges they talk (e.g Hebrew, Arabic). whilst Semitic can seek advice from those human beings or languages, anti-Semitic is expressly anti-Jewish.

Answer 7

the many things that the catholic church did to promote anti-semetism is somewhere between astonishing and unbelievable. Ever heard of 'blood libel'? Promoted as late as 1919, claiming that jews needed to kill and drink the blood of babies. Nice, huh.

thank you Jesus.

Answer 8

Would they have without Hitler leadership? I think we should not use guilty by association. Should we atheist be blamed for killers like Stalin?