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Posted on 08/27/2013 3:34:47 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
In the 1920's, as they battled for power, the Nazis realized that the churches in overwhelmingly Christian Germany needed to be neutralized before they would get anywhere. Two-thirds of German Christians were Protestants, belonging to one of 28 regional factions of the German Evangelical Church. Most of the rest were Roman Catholics. On one level, the Nazis saw an advantage. In tumultuous post-World War I Germany, the Christian churches ''had long been associated with conservative ways of thought, which meant that they tended to agree with the National Socialists in their authoritarianism, their attacks on Socialism and Communism, and in their campaign against the Versailles treaty'' that had ended World War I with a bitterly resentful Germany.
But there was a dilemma for Hitler. While conservatives, the Christian churches ''could not be reconciled with the principle of racism, with a foreign policy of unlimited aggressive warfare, or with a domestic policy involving the complete subservience of Church to State.'' Given that these were the fundamental underpinnings of the Nazi regime, ''conflict was inevitable,'' the summary states. It came, as Nazi power surged in the late 1920's toward national domination in the early 30's.
According to Baldur von Schirach, the Nazi leader of the German youth corps that would later be known as the Hitler Youth, ''the destruction of Christianity was explicitly recognized as a purpose of the National Socialist movement'' from the beginning, though ''considerations of expedience made it impossible'' for the movement to adopt this radical stance officially until it had consolidated power, the outline says.
Attracted by the strategic value inherent in the churches' ''historic mission of conservative social discipline,'' the Nazis simply lied and made deals with the churches while planning a ''slow and cautious policy of gradual encroachment'' to eliminate Christianity.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It was collected and cataloged trial evidence in 148 bound volumes of personal papers that was presented to the Court by Gen. William J. Donovan (Wild Bill Donovan of the O.S.S.). After his death in 1959, they were stored at Cornell University.
In 1999, Julie Seltzer Mandel, a student at Rutgers Law, whose grandmother survived the Auschwitz death camp, found them and, as a collaborative effort between Rutgers and Cornell, she has edited the collection for publication on the Internet. It was entitled the Nuremberg Project.
Furthermore, it answers that age old complaint that somehow Christianity was supportive of Hitler and the Nazis.
It was not.
From the article.
Note that the authoritarianism that the Christian (Protestant) Churches liked was not a blind obedience to the authority of the State...but obedience to the Authority of God.
The Nazis missed this delicate nuance.
The New York Times prints that the National SOCIALISTS wanted to destroy CONSERVATIVE Christianity.
Finally, the NYT prints one fact.
Leftists and Socialists like themselves and the Nazis must destroy Conservatism and religion to succeed in enslaving everyone to their dystopias.
Sorry Uncle Miltle, I screwed up the date of the article itself. It was from 2002.
>>Furthermore, it answers that age old complaint that somehow Christianity was supportive of Hitler and the Nazis.
The monolithic church (which does not exist) was not supportive of Hitler and the Nazis. But, plenty of church leaders were. As the Nazis came to power, the church leaders who wanted to keep their power and prestige and luxurious lifestyle did swear allegiance to Hitler and they created the “German Church” to pull all of German Protestantism under one roof.
This was the thing that caused Dietrict Bonhoeffer to rebel and form the Confessing Church. Eventually, he was imprisoned and killed for his rebellion. (”Bonhoeffer”, Metaxas, E.)
When the communists took over each Christian nation in Europe, the same thing was repeated as the new government appealed to the leaders of the churches. Many of them did swear allegiance to the new atheist governments, declaring the communism is the goal of God’s kingdom. (”Tortured for Christ”, Wurmbrand, R.)
In the US, you have the UCC and many denominational leaders who will admit that they share that same belief that communism the ultimate economic justice and that it fulfills the promise of Christ’s ministry on Earth.
Of course, in each case, some of the people followed their leaders straight to Hell. Others resisted.
The left is using their playbook today.
American liberals are Hitler's progeny!!
Makes me think of the Obama regime.
King Zero doesn't really want to be a uniter (where's the fun in that?) He wants to be a divider, (as in divide and conquer).
The link does not work. I googled for the article and google found it, but google’s link doesn’t work either.
Coming from the NYT? Wow.
You Mean Hitler Wasn't A Priest?
Analysis: Nazis vs. Christians
Synopsis by Claire Hulme and Dr. Michael Salter - PDF file download:
I believe it is important in erasing some very old misconceptions and replacing them with the TRUTH.
Hello, everybody - see how it’s written in the article: the Nazis, the Nazis, the Nazis. Not the Nazi’s.
Your persistence brings him to mind.
Here he is...(you'll notice that the dog is listening attentively)...
Very famous...now very expensive.
“So today’s American liberals have read the Nazi rule books and plans and are now implementing them here in our own country, all the while claiming conservatives to be followers of Hitler,...”
Heck, if fanatically antisemitic Arabs can claim Israel is an “apartheid” or even a “Nazi” regime, anything is possible.
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