Hitler, Himmler, and Christianity in the Early Third Reich

Authors

Christopher Tatara, Illinois Wesleyan UniversityFollow

Abstract

With the rise of the National Socialist movement, Germany became a hostile environment to many minority groups. Communists, homosexuals, and the Jewish community were all targets of the Nazi Party's aggressive rhetoric and physical assaults, but these actions have often overshadowed the Nazi's persecution of larger majority groups. German Christian communities, both Catholic and Protestant, would eventually be repressed by the Nazi government as well. Why did the Nazis do this? What shaped the Nazi Party's Christianity policy into one of hate and suppression? Both Adolf Hitler's and Heinrich Himmler's personal views on Christianity formed the basis of the Nazi Party's policy towards Christian churches in the early years of the Third Reich.

Recommended Citation

Tatara, Christopher (2013) "Hitler, Himmler, and Christianity in the Early Third Reich," Constructing the Past: Vol. 14: Iss. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/constructing/vol14/iss1/10