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- Hitler viewed the Churches in Germany with suspicion. He saw thePope as a threat and wanted to pull the Churches under Nazi control. There were Catholics and Protestants inGermany.
- When Hitler firstcame to power in 1933 he signed a “concordat” with the Pope (an agreement)which said that if the Catholic Church stayed out of politics Hitler would notinterfere with the Catholic Church.
- However, withinmonths Hitler had broken this agreement: Priests were harassed and arrested. Many criticized the Nazis and ended up inconcentration camps. Catholic schools and youth organisations were shut down.Monasteries were shut down.
- In1937 Pope Pius XI made a famous statement “With Burning Anxiety”. In it he attacked the Nazis and as a result400 Catholic priests were arrested and sent to Dachau Concentration Camp.
- Many Protestantsopposed the Nazis . They were led by Martin Niemoller. In1934 they set up theirown church “the Confessional Church” which opposed Nazi policies. In 1937 Niemoller was arrested and sent to aconcentration camp.
- Other Protestantchurches (there were 28 in 1933) agreed to unite form the National Reich Church in September 1933. The leader of the National Reich Church wasLudwig Muller. This church was a “Nazi church”.All religious items such as the cross and Bible were removed from thealtar and were replaced with a sword and a copy of “Mein Kampf”.
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