Himmler and Christianity

Kentonio

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Just reading a biography of Himmler and was struck by the complexity of his attitudes towards Christianity. From being a strongly committed Catholic to embracing neo-pagan ideologies it seems like there was a real puzzle box of ideology there to try and unpick.

I was particularly struck by a letter he sent to a pastor in 1937 regarding the religious beliefs allowed to SS members, where he stated that “Every SS member is free to be a member of a church or not. It is a personal matter, which he has to answer for to God or to his conscience. SS men should not however be atheists, for that is the only world view or religious view that is not tolerated within the SS”.

Even this statement of course has to be treated with extreme caution. He was responding to a pastor at a time when the church was still a powerful influence in Germany and the Nazis certainly did not embrace a completely anti-Christian position.

At other times more privately however Himmler talked about Christianity being the ‘grave of all nations’ and spoke in terms that made it seem he had definitely decided that Christianity should not play a future role in the Reich.

I’m frankly intrigued by the spiritual journey this man was taking, and whether there was an actual conclusion he reached. Or whether his early Catholicism meant he could never leave the concept of a god yet his interpretation of what form that took simply spiraled into some strange combination of racial purity based theology with random things added where they seemed to fit.

Has anyone read deeply into Himmler’s religious journey that might have some deeper insight they can share? It’s especially interesting because at least until 1937-38 the Christians appeared to be the one group that really evoked passion in this generally cold man. Even on issues involving the Jews he didn’t have the vitriol and forcefulness he showed towards Christianity, which I’m assuming was a result of his own struggles with his childhood faith.
 

SisterFromGermany

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Just reading a biography of Himmler and was struck by the complexity of his attitudes towards Christianity. From being a strongly committed Catholic to embracing neo-pagan ideologies it seems like there was a real puzzle box of ideology there to try and unpick.
This Thread is already 2 months old but maybe you are still there :).

In the 3rd Reich youth clubs, sports clubs and churches were expected do follow the same rules, such as the Arierparagraph. Many churches followed these rules and expelled Jews who were Christians. There was however a small minority of pastors and believers who rebelled against these developments. The result was that there was the official Church "Deutsche Christen" and an other Church, called "Bekennende Kirche". A famous member of the "Bekennende Kirche" was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who was murdered eventually. A sad thing to say is, that the way Jews were treated was not the main issue that lead to the separation. It was more about theology.

"Deutsche Christen" didn't think that they were responsible to their creator (according to Helmut Thielicke). It was more like a religous frame for Nazi celebrations like weddings. They loved the feelings and liked to talk about God. Gods job was to bless all their deeds (AFTER they already decided what they wanted to do). That was the kind of faith Himmler obviously had. In addition to that, many of the high ranking officials went "Back to nature" at some point in their lives. As I understand it, there was more to it than simply produce your own food. It seemed to be a religion on its own. (mixed with pre-christian religions).

Indeed the churches were not forced to accept the political agenda. Many agreed voluntarily. The reason was like you mentioned that the church at this time still had a great influence on society. There were however oppressions like
prohibition of speaking and writing, and Professor Thielicke was thrown out of his job. The plan was to destroy the Churches after the war.
 
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Kentonio

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This Thread is already 2 months old but maybe you are still there :).

In the 3rd Reich youth clubs, sports clubs and churches were expected do follow the same rules, such as the Arierparagraph. Many churches followed these rules and expelled Jews who were Christians. There was however a small minority of pastors and believers who rebelled against these developments. The result was that there was the official Church "Deutsche Christen" and an other Church, called "Bekennende Kirche". A famous member of the "Bekennende Kirche" was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who was murdered eventually. A sad thing to say is, that the way Jews were treated was not the main issue that lead to the separation. It was more about theology.

"Deutsche Christen" didn't think that they were responsible to their creator (according to Helmut Thielicke). It was more like a religous frame for Nazi celebrations like weddings. They loved the feelings and liked to talk about God. Gods job was to bless all their deeds (AFTER they already decided what they wanted to do). That was the kind of faith Himmler obviously had. In addition to that, many of the high ranking officials went "Back to nature" at some point in their lives. As I understand it, there was more to it than simply produce your own food. It seemed to be a religion on its own. (mixed with pre-christian religions).

Indeed the churches were not forced to accept the political agenda. Many agreed voluntarily. The reason was like you mentioned that the church at this time still had a great influence on society. There were however oppressions like
prohibition of speaking and writing, and Professor Thielicke was thrown out of his job. The plan was to destroy the Churches after the war.
Thanks, that’s really interesting!
 
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Dale

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I have seen a number of documentaries about the Nazi era. One scene that I remember shows an SS baptism. I'm not sure if the church was Catholic or Protestant. A still photo shows the pastor baptizing an infant but a picture of Hitler is placed in front of the cross.

You could argue that the child was being baptized into Hitler instead of into Christianity.
 
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