The Nazis weren't Christians.

Opinion Journal ^ | MONDAY, MARCH 25 | ROBERT L. BARTLEY

[Skooz]

Holy Week is by no means all sweetness and light. This Friday Christians mark the crucifixion, a terrible event redeemed by the resurrection three days later. The Jews gather on Thursday for Passover, celebrating the Exodus from slavery as the angel of death skipped Jewish homes during Egypt's tenth plague, the killing of the firstborn. So perhaps it's not an inappropriate time to discuss another terrible topic, the Holocaust, and in particular the divisive issue of Christian culpability in the Nazi genocide of the Jews. It is not the purpose here to dismiss the long history of anti-Semitism in Christian lands. By now most Christians agree this was a sin, and its legacy surely played an important role in laying a groundwork for the Nazis and in muting opposition to the "final solution."

[SkyPilot]

Sir - Your hystoryie!!!

Sorry, I am just practicing my "daiuy" impersonation.

[jboot]

It is useful to note that the party philosophers were largely ignored by Hitler, who was by his nature an unimaginative and unenlightened autocrat. Many men attempted to convert Nazism into a religion, but Hilter actually supressed this notion, especially after Rosenberg published a sort of Nazi "bible" in the early thirties. Hitler saw any and all religion as an alien imposition on human nature and an impediment to the power of the state, and therefore himself. As has already been stated here, Hitler intended to liquidate the church, but not before establishing Greater Germany and thus ensuring his position and power for ever.

[ibme]

“The Third Reich” means third reign of the Holy Roman Empire. Nazism is a Catholic thing.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Are you ignorant of Stalin's purges in the '30s where he killed and starved between 100 and 200 million of his own people? Or the killing fields of Cambodia? Or even Tienemen Suare?

Or are you in agreement with these actions since they were in support of such a 'great cause'?

[Biblebelter]

For what it's worth, Dr. Gene Scott has said many times that Hitler was a member of the Catholic Church and was never excommmunicated.

[ohioman]

First, I will state that I am a Protestant. Second, your statement that the Nazis were a "Catholic thing" is one of the dumbest statements I have seen on FR. Unfortunately, you could probably get full-tenure at a local college.

[Romulus]

Hitler hated Christianity, especially Catholicism, whch he characterised as weak, feminine, passive, and most of all "Jewish".

[jboot]

Very funny! I like a good historical joke on Mondays.

Oh. You're serious?

The Third Reich refers to Hitler's reign, 1933-1945.
The Second Reich refers to the Wiemar Republic, 1919-1933.
The First Reich refers to Imperial Geramany, 1870-1918.

In no way is the Holy Roman Empire involved.

[Romulus]

For what it's worth, Hitler's on record as seeking to flatter the German Evangelical Church by claiming that he identified with them more than any other Christian sect. Of course, this was a lie too, as he had no use for anything other than "Positive" Christianity, defined by party ideologues as an ethical culture driven by will, building character in service to the state.

[jboot]

Hitler never held a formal church membership. He was probably baptised as an infant according to the custom of his community, although no record exists of this event. During the time that his family lived in Linz, Austria, he served as a choirboy at the local Catholic cathedral, and even fantasised about becoming a priest, but he was never confirmed. By age 12, he had lost all interest in the church, except for a lifelong fascination with church architecture.

[headsonpikes]

"The Nazis Weren't Christians."

No sh*t, Sherlock!

Clue #1...Arrested and persecuted Christian leaders.

Clue #2...Nazis encouraged revival of Teutonic supernatural symbolism.

Clue #3...No Bingo games at Party rallies....

This silly notion hardly merits rebuttal. If it wasn't for the dirt-dumb historical cluelessness cultivated by American public education it would scarcely be necessary to even discuss this farcical issue.

[massadvj]

Did anti-Jewish sentiment among Christians make them less sensitive, or even indifferent, to the persecutions . . . ?"

This is the common view among the liberal elite who control the educational apparatus in this country, and it is completely bogus when exposed to the light of any objective analysis. And yet, the myth of Christian complicity in the Holocaust remains accepted history to this day.

The reason is that it is the foundation upon which we in the west should never question Israeli policy, or the dollars that flow to Israel from the US. We are responsible for the Holocaust, don't you know, we OWE it to them. If you question Israeli policies or oppose the massive foreign aid to Israel, you are as guilty as the Nazis.

This is the message from America's media and Americans have bought it hook, line and sinker.

[Blake#1]

Congrats to you! Nazism came out of Southern Germany, the Catholic part of the nation. Keep in mind the number of American, French, etc. Catholics that died to rid the world of National Socialism. World War II was not about religion!

[massadvj]

Are you ignorant of Stalin's purges in the '30s where he killed and starved between 100 and 200 million of his own people?

The left wing forgives Stalin because he was a leftist. Left wing genocide was and is ignored by leftist academics and media, so Americans were never worked up into a lather about it. But you are completely right if you say that Stalin was at least as bad and likely worse than Hitler.

Besides, Stalin was not as stupid as Hitler. He never took pictures.

[dead]

“The Third Reich” means third reign of the Holy Roman Empire.

Are you retarded?

[GuillermoX]

Well, if you want to say that, let's put it in some perspective.

Just in the last 80 years alone Atheists have killed about 80 million

In the last 60 years Pagans have killed about 50 million.

In the last 85 years Muslims have killed a few million (1.5 million in 1915-16 alone).

A PBS documentary (and PBS is no friend of Christianity) said the numbers killed in the Spanish Inquisitions have been greatly overblown.. They put the number at a few thousand. And the Crusades, while a few of them really weren't justified, many of them were to free Christians who were being subjugated by Muslims. And I wonder if you know how many were killed by those Crusades? Let's test your historical knowledge.

[Interesting Times]

Clinton's Nazi slur of Christianity show that his "instinctive grasp" and "breadth of understanding" are terribly overrated.

Only if you believe his remarks were unintentional.

[ibme]

Reich [rk , rkh ] (plural Reichs) noun German empire: the German state or empire, especially the Holy Roman Empire (926-1806) or First Reich, the German Empire (1871-1919) or Second Reich, or the Nazi state (1933-1945) or Third Reich from Encarta

[ibme]

They signed the concordat with the Catholic Church. ===== From Encarta concordat con·cor·dat [kn káwr dàt ] (plural con·cor·dats) noun formal agreement: an official agreement, especially a formal contract between the Pope and a national government concerning the religious affairs of a country ======= It's just history. It is good to know the truth.