Hitler, Christianity, and Antisemitism
The point of this post is not to bash Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular, only to remind us all of the dangers of mixing religiosity, nationalism, and a mythological revisionist history of our own past.
One of the uglier or more embarrassing parts of history is that Hitler was raised Catholic (as was Mussolini and Franco) and the Vatican cut a deal with him (the 1933 Concordat) figuring he was preferable to the alternative (communism, which made no attempt to hide the fact that it would abolish the church if it came to power). The Concordat demanded that "Before bishops take possession of their dioceses they are to take an oath of fealty" to the Third Reich:
For all its brave stand against Hitler in the 1940s, Britain had expelled all Jews from England in 1290 and did not allow their limited readmission until the 1600s (according to the London Imperial War Museum, which had a display on their checkered history when we visited). In 1370, first Kermesse held in Brussels to commemorate the entire Jewish population of Cologne being burned alive. Of course, we all know about (or should) the 1492 Edict of Expulsion leading to Jews being expelled from the Iberian Peninsula or forced to convert. Conversos were also known as Marsanos (pigs) and deeply mistrusted and persecuted. 13,000 conversos were killed by the Inquisition during its first 12 years.
I could go on and on, but if you look at the grand sweep of history with a Western church that had a prayer for the "perfidy of the Jews" in its mass until Vatican II, the question is not why the Holocaust occurred but why it did not occur earlier. Without the fertile soil provided by centuries of accusations of Deicide and ridiculous charges that Jews engaged in rituals that required the blood of Christian children (which is why in most ghettos they were forbidden to leave during Christian holidays as well as after dark), Hitler's lunatic charges of a world Jewish conspiracy would have made no sense and been thoroughly rejected.
Here are a few quotations (there are many more) in which Hitler cited god as many right wing nationalists tend to do, blending national mythology with religiosity (never mind that Mediterranean Monotheism was an import or that Jesus was Jewish):
Apologists will claim - with much merit - that Hitler wasn't a "real" Catholic because he murdered so many people (including many Catholics who resisted despite the Concordat which ordered them to cooperate with the Third Reich). This is a bit like the argument made post-9/11 that the hijackers and al Qaeda were not "real" Muslims. While true, this after-the-fact redefinition does not help us going forward. It is as absurd as Will Rogers' quip about stock selection:
Choosing leaders who are Adherents to Religion X, but then not choosing them if they happen to commit mass murder or other atrocities after you choose them is not helpful. Redefining their religious adherence after the fact creates a circular logic system similar to the following:
1. All Christians (or Muslims or whatever religion you choose) are good.
2. If a Christian does something bad, he is not really a Christian.
3. Therefore, all Christians (since the bad ones are excluded) are good.
Hitler identified himself as an adherent, he was recognized by his coreligionists at the time as an adherent, and the highest authority of Catholicism, the Vatican, recognized him and his government as legitimate and to be cooperated with. As far as I know, Mein Kampf was never placed on the list of prohibited books (although Galileo's Dialogues that argued a heliocentric universe was until the 19th Century).
The point of this post is not to bash Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular, only to remind us all of the dangers of mixing religiosity, nationalism, and a mythological revisionist history of our own past.
One of the uglier or more embarrassing parts of history is that Hitler was raised Catholic (as was Mussolini and Franco) and the Vatican cut a deal with him (the 1933 Concordat) figuring he was preferable to the alternative (communism, which made no attempt to hide the fact that it would abolish the church if it came to power). The Concordat demanded that "Before bishops take possession of their dioceses they are to take an oath of fealty" to the Third Reich:
Before God and on the Holy Gospels I swear and promise, as becomes a bishop, loyalty to the German Reich and to the State of . . . . I swear and promise to honor the legally constituted government and to cause the clergy of my diocese to honor it.In fact, the Holocaust was really only distinguished by the Christian-inspired pogroms that preceded it by its industrial thoroughness. A year after the pope had declared the first Crusade, for example, one third of Europe's Jews had been murdered. The church gave us the term ghetto (I went to visit the original ghetto in Venice).
For all its brave stand against Hitler in the 1940s, Britain had expelled all Jews from England in 1290 and did not allow their limited readmission until the 1600s (according to the London Imperial War Museum, which had a display on their checkered history when we visited). In 1370, first Kermesse held in Brussels to commemorate the entire Jewish population of Cologne being burned alive. Of course, we all know about (or should) the 1492 Edict of Expulsion leading to Jews being expelled from the Iberian Peninsula or forced to convert. Conversos were also known as Marsanos (pigs) and deeply mistrusted and persecuted. 13,000 conversos were killed by the Inquisition during its first 12 years.
I could go on and on, but if you look at the grand sweep of history with a Western church that had a prayer for the "perfidy of the Jews" in its mass until Vatican II, the question is not why the Holocaust occurred but why it did not occur earlier. Without the fertile soil provided by centuries of accusations of Deicide and ridiculous charges that Jews engaged in rituals that required the blood of Christian children (which is why in most ghettos they were forbidden to leave during Christian holidays as well as after dark), Hitler's lunatic charges of a world Jewish conspiracy would have made no sense and been thoroughly rejected.
Here are a few quotations (there are many more) in which Hitler cited god as many right wing nationalists tend to do, blending national mythology with religiosity (never mind that Mediterranean Monotheism was an import or that Jesus was Jewish):
Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.
[... until] the faint-hearted cry, "Lord, deliver us," which our patriotic associations send up to Heaven today would be transformed into an ardent prayer: "Almighty God, bless our arms when the hour comes. Be just, as Thou hast always been just. Judge now if we deserve our freedom. Lord, bless our struggle.
The National Socialist State professes its allegiance to positive Christianity. [1934]
Let us thank God, the Almighty, that he has blessed our generation and us and granted us to be a part of this time and this hour.
In the two [sic] Christian creeds lie the most important factors for the preservation of the German people.
Apologists will claim - with much merit - that Hitler wasn't a "real" Catholic because he murdered so many people (including many Catholics who resisted despite the Concordat which ordered them to cooperate with the Third Reich). This is a bit like the argument made post-9/11 that the hijackers and al Qaeda were not "real" Muslims. While true, this after-the-fact redefinition does not help us going forward. It is as absurd as Will Rogers' quip about stock selection:
The way to make money in the stock market is to buy a stock. Then, when it goes up, sell it. If it's not going to go up, don't buy it!
Choosing leaders who are Adherents to Religion X, but then not choosing them if they happen to commit mass murder or other atrocities after you choose them is not helpful. Redefining their religious adherence after the fact creates a circular logic system similar to the following:
1. All Christians (or Muslims or whatever religion you choose) are good.
2. If a Christian does something bad, he is not really a Christian.
3. Therefore, all Christians (since the bad ones are excluded) are good.
Hitler identified himself as an adherent, he was recognized by his coreligionists at the time as an adherent, and the highest authority of Catholicism, the Vatican, recognized him and his government as legitimate and to be cooperated with. As far as I know, Mein Kampf was never placed on the list of prohibited books (although Galileo's Dialogues that argued a heliocentric universe was until the 19th Century).
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