This is Part II of the Nazi Master Plan: The Persecution of the Christian Churches, a study producing factual evidence of the Nazi purposes, policies and methods of persecuting the Christian Churches in Germany and occupied Europe. The scanned documents can be found here. Part I is here.

The new administration proceeded as rapidly as possible to use its power for the accomplishment of the Nazi Church program. Various measures were taken to impair the freedom of the clergy, and to secure the dissolution of religious associations. (For specific details, see Section V)

In his attempt to integrate the various Landeskirshen, Muller was aided by Dr. Jager, formerly State Commissioner for Church Affairs in Prussia, who in April 1934 was taken into the Spiritual Council as legal member and head of the Church Chancery. On 9 August 1934 Muller summoned a National Synod packed with Nazis to Berlin. It transferred all its powers to Muller and prescribed a form of oath for all pastors and church officials.

In spite of the formidable legal powers vested in the Reich Bishop, the attempt to control the Evangelical Church by those means failed. The Churches of Hanover, Wurttemberg and Bavaria, under the leadership of their respective bishops Marahrens, Wurm and Meiser refused to yield to pressure, and were supported by a vast majority of their pastors. When Wurm and Meiser were placed under house arrest, public demonstrations occurred in their support. On 20 October 1934 a civil court declared all of Jager’s acts in Bavaria to have been illegal. Opposition finally crystallized in the so-called Confessional Church, made up of the Churches of Bavaria and Wurttemberg and representatives of protesting Evangelical clergymen in other parts of Germany. On 29-31 May 1934 and 20 October 1934 the first and second Confessional Synods of the Evangelical Church of Germany were held at Barmen and at Dahlem respectively, and succceeded in uniting a large part of the German Evangelical Church in protest against the doctrines and Church policies of the Reich Bishop. Obviously the attempt to make the Church a united agency for the accomplishment of Nazi purposes had failed. Thus Reich Bishop Muller, although never being forced official to resign his position, was gradually superseded by other agencies of Nazi control, and faded from the scene.

b. The period of Direct Administration. Around the middle of 1935, a new attempt was made to establish unity within the German Evangelical Church, this time by the use of Government authority rather than through the agency of the German Christians operating within the Church Government. To this end the powers of the government in Church affairs were strengthened. On 26 June 1935 a Law on the Settlement of Legal Questions Arising in the Evangelical Church deprived the Evangelical churches of their gith to sue before the regular courts, and set up a special administrative court (Beschluasstelle) with the power of final decisions in such matters. This deprived the Churches of the rights of self-administration and protection in the civil courts to which as corporations of public law they were entitled to under Article 137 of the Weimar Constitution. On 16 July 1935 Hitler announced the creation of the post of Reich Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs. One of the first acts of the new minister, Dr. Hanns kerrl was to transfer the Beschlusstelle from the Ministry of Interior to his own jurisdiction. On 24 September 1935 the organization of the ministry was further developed by a Law for the Safeguarding of the German Evangelical Church by which “The Reich Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs is empowered, for the restoration of orderly conditions in the German Evangelical Church and the Regional Evangelical Churches, to issue ordinances with binding legal force.” On 20 March 1937 the Minister for Church Affairs delegated the administration of the Church to Dr. Werner, president of the Church Chancery of the German Evangelical Church. On 10 December 1937 appointment was made permanent, and he was authorized to promulgate ordinances on all church matters except questions of faith and worship. Thus the exercise of control over the entire Church administration was placed in the hands of government appointees. In this way formal legal validity was given to all subsequent acts directed against the German Evangelical churches.

The principal victims of the ensuing persecution were members of the Confessional Church. At first an attempt was made to conciliate them by the appointment on 14 October 1935 of church committees, on which friends of the Confessional Synod were represented, for the government and administration of the Churches. Although some of the protesting Landeskirchen were thereby reconciled, many of the Confessionals refused to accept the authority of these committees. This was met with a series of repressive measures against the Confessional Church. On 2 December 1935 the Minister for Eccliesiastical Affairs declared their central organs (Provisional Church Government and the council of Brethren of the Confessional Synod) illegal. On 2 December 1935 the authority of the Church Ministry was expressly denied by Dr. Niemoller, leader of the Confessionals.

In May 1936 the leaders of the Confessional Church addressed a memorandum to Hitler denouncing the anti-Chrisitian acts of the government. When this was met with further acts of repression, the failure of the church committee to effect a reconciliation was admitted by Ecclesiastical Minister Kerrl, in a report to Hitler. From that time onward the official attitude was that the Confessional Church was illegal, and its activities were persecuted to the point where they became almostly completely ineffective. For specific instances of this persecution, see the following section.

3. The Christian Sects. Certain of the smaller Christian sects, especially the Jehovah’s Witnesses, (Ernste Bibelfroscher) and the Pentecostal Association (Freie Christengemeinde) were particularly objectionable from the Nazi standpoint because of their advanced pacifist views. Since they were without important influence at home or abroad, it was possible to proceed against them more drastically than against the larger Christian churches. Both groups were therefore declared illegal and there were times when almost no adherent of either group was outside a concentration camp. For specific instances of this persecution see Micklem, op.cit. p. 51, and Franz Zuercher, Kreuzzug gegen das Christentum [Zurich, 1938, Europa-Verlag], p. 32-33.)

B. Policies Adopted in the Incorporated Areas.

In areas like Alsace-Lorraine or western Poland, and to some extent in Austria, where the Nazis were attempting to incorporate a substantial non-German population into the bodyof the Reich, local church organizations were feared primarily as potential centers of national resistance to German domination. The policies adopted against the Churches in these regions were therefore particularly severe, the most seriously afflicted being western Poland. A summary statemtn of the measures taken in these regions, together with a vigorous protest against them, is to be found in the memotrial of 15 December 1942 addressed to the German Minister for Church Affairs, the German Minister for the Interior and the Chief of the Chancery by the German Catholic bishops assmebled at Fulda. For specific deatils see Section V.

C. Policies adopted in other Occupied Areas.

In other occupied areas, which were designed to support but not to take a leading part in the Nazi campaign of world conquest, the need to impose a unified Nazi philosophy was less great than in other regions. Thus there were no general motive for persecution in these areas. In regions, like Slovakia, where the Churches proved generally cooperative with the occupying authorities, they were officially favored.

But in countries where the spirit of national resistance was widely supported bythe local churches, the Nazis felt no compunction about persecuting them vigorously. The countries to suffer most in this respect were the General Government of Poland and occupied Norway. For specific instances of persecution in those areas see Section V.

V. Methods used to Implement The Policy of Persecution

In order to implement their general policy of persecution, the National Socialists interfered at every possible stage in the activities of the Christian churches. Sometimes they accomplished their purposes by direct intervention of the Reich or Lan governments under their control or, in the case of Norway and other occupied but unincorporated areas, by intervention of a native puppet government. At other times they preferred to accomplish their purposes through the use of the SA, the Hitler Youth and other Party organizations. The principal forms of intervention were the following.

A. Interference With the Central Institutions of Church Government

The easiest way to achieve rapid results in the destructon of the Christian Churches was to paralyze their central institutions, and thus deprive them of the advantage of central leadership. This was accomplished either by the direct seizure and exploitation of those institutions by Nazi or pro-Nazi personnel, or by intereference with the effective operation of these institutions which could not be thus subjected to seizure and exploitation.

1. The Direct Seizure of Central Institutions Of Church Government. This could be most easily accomplished in the case of Christian Churches which had a long tradition of dependence upon state authority. This aspect of the persecution was generally carried out through the forms of law, without the necessity for any important admixture of illegal action. The most important cases of this sort were the following.

a. The Seizure of the German Evangelical Church. The steps whereby legal control over the central governing institutions of the German Evangelical Church was established, first on behalf of German Christian supporters of the Nazi government, later on behalf of the Nazi government itself as outline previously.

The problem of Proof. The major steps in this process are a matter of legal record. The principal laws and ordinances by which the seizure was accomplished were cited previously.

b. The Seizure of the Norwegian National Church. The Evangelical Lutheran State Church, to which 98.6% of the population adhered, was a state church established by royal decree. Church affairs were handled by the Department of Church and Education. When the Germans invaded the country and set up a Reichskomissar for the occupied Norwegian terrorities, they gained control over this central organization. Pro-Nazi Norwegians were placed in charge of the Department of Church and Education, subsequently replaced by the Ministry for Culture and Enlightenment. These powers were exercised in such a way that the entire Norwegian pastorate, with insignificant exceptions, decided on Easter Sunday, 1942, to make joint resignation of their public offices and salaries, thus proclaiming their conviction that the central institutions of the state church were no longer available for the accomplishment of Christian purposes.

The Problem of Proof. Although native Norwegian collaborators played the principal role in the persecution of the Norwegian church, it is a matter of legal record that final control over and hence final responsibility for their actions rests with the German Reichskomissariat for Norway. All necessary evidence with regard to the course of the church conflict in Norway can no doubt be obtained from Norwegian church authorities.

2. Interference with the Normal Operation of Central Institutions of Church Government. In the case of the Catholic and of some Protestant churches, the Nazis were unable to gain control of the central institutions of the Church government. In these cases they tried as far as possible to prevent these central institutions from operating. The methods used were more or less drastic, depending on the circumstances.

a. Legal Abolition of Central Institutions of Church Government. In accord with the generally cautious policies adopted by the Nazis in their campaign for the persecution of the Christian Churches, this device was sparingly used. The principal cases are the following.

1. Prohibition of Certain German Sects. Under the Nazi regime the organization and activities of the Ernate Bibelforscher and Feie Christengemeinde were declared illegal. They were rigorously repressed by the police.

The Problem of Proof. For general references, see previous. The dissolution of the Jehovah’s Witnesses was declared in violation of Article 1937 of the Weimar Constitution in a case decided on 26 March 1934 by the Special Court of Darmstudt (Juristicsche Wochenschrift 1934, p. 174) Most courts, however, upheld the decision of the government. For cases illustrating some of the ways in which members of this sect were persecuted, the following court decisions should be consulted.

(1) Refusal of a peddler’s license. Hayerischer Vermaltungagerichtshof, 8 May 1936 (Heger, Vol. 37, p. 533);
(2) Refusl of a permit to practice as a midwife. Sachaisches Observervaltungsgericht, 4 December 1936 (J.W. 1937, p. 1368);
(3) Dismissal of a postal clerk. Reichedienststrafhof. 11 February 1935 (Zietschrift fur Deamtenrscht 1935, p. 104);
(4) Refusal of the right to conduct family worship in the home. Reischsgericht, 17 February 1938 (J.W. 1938, p. 1018);
(5) Removal of children from the custody of their parents. Landgericht Hamburg, 6 may 1936 (Jgdrecht u. Jgdwohlfahrt 1936, p. 281.)
ii. Prohibition of the Central Governing Organs of the German Confessionals. On 20 December 1935 the Provisional Church Government and the Council of Brethren of the Confessional Synod were specifically declared illegal by the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs. Although the representative measures actually taken were not sufficient to prevent these groups from acting, this ruling prevented them from enjoying the privileges of public law corporations, to which the Evangelical Church was entitled under existing German law.

b. The Imposition of Financial Controls Upon the Operation of Church Governments. The principal Christian Churches of Germany had long derived their main financial support from state collected church taxes. To maintain effective control over these organizations it was therefore sufficient to deprive them of all other sources of revenue, and to impose state restrictions upon the expenditure of state collected funds. The Sammslungagsst of 5 November 1934 which placed severe restrictions on the right of churches and other organizations to solicit contributions was an important hindrance to the financial independence of all churches.

1. Financial Control of the German Evangelical Church. The establishment of financial control played a major part in the Nazi capture of the German Evangelical Church organization. Under earlier German law local church authorities had exercised considerable authority in determining the rate of and allocating the revenues from church taxes. On 11 March 1935 th Prussian government deprived the Prussian church of this power by setting up state controlled finance departments for the management of the finances of all Evangelical churches in Prussia. By ordinance of 25 June 1937 state controlled finance departments were set up for the German Evangelical Church and for each of the Provincial Churches, with the right to regulate the conditions of service of all officials of the general church administrations, of the pastors and of the local parish officials and employees. By an ordinance of 9 June 1937 it was provided that all church collections had to be subject to the approval of the central church authorities. Since the control of the central authorities of the German Evangelical Church was in Nazi hands this meant that all Protestant congregations, including those Confessional congregations which had been maintained by voluntary contributions, could be deprived of all financial support at the discretion of the Nazi authorities.

The Problem Of Proof. The legislation by which this control was exercised is a matter of record. For a specific instance of the way the resulting power was exercised, see Case 1.3

Case 1. The Financial Coercion of the Dahlen Parish. The Dahlen parish of the German Evangelical Church, being located in a fashionable part of Berlin, was comparatively prosperous. It enjoyed an income of around 400,000 marks, half of which exceed its immediate needs. When its pastor, Dr. Niemoller, leader of the Confessionals, was dmissed from his pastorate by the Reich Bishop Muller on 1 March 1935, the congregational assembly refused to obey the order, and asked him to continue to serve. They refused to transfer their income to the central church offices, and devoted about half of it to the Confessional Church. The transfer was finally enforced, however, bya commisioner apointed by the finance department.

The problem of proof. Evidence should be obtainable from Dr. Niemoller, and from other serving members of the parish.

c. Interruptiong of Official Communications within the Church Government. The effective operations of any large organization depends on the maintenance of free and confidential information between officials. This right was guaranteed for the Catholic Church in Germany by ARticle IV of the Concordat, which reads “In its relations and corresondence with bishops, clergy and other members of the Catholic Church in Germany, the Holy See enjoys full freedom. The same applies to the bishops and other diocesan officials in their dealings with the faithful in all matters belonging to their pastoral office.” Violations of this right played an important part in the total Nazi scheme for the persecution of the Christian churches. As early as 1935 the bishops were made to realize that their correspondence and telephone calls were subject to constant surveillance by the police.

The following cases might repay investigation.

1. Cases in Germany proper.

Case 2. In February, 1937 Dr. Zollner, the Chariman of the Reich Church Committee, was prevented by the police from visiting nine Confessional Pastors of Lubeck who had been arrested by the secret police. This interference with his attempted conciliation led to the resignation of Zollner and his committe on 14 February 1937.

The Problem of Proof. Evidence should be obtainable from serving Confessional leaders.

Case 3. When the bishop of Wuergburg, Mgr. Ehrenfied, travelled to Rome in November 1938, he was held up on the German frontier and had to stand by while all his luggage and documents were searched. Photostats were made of everything written in Latin.

The problem of proof. Case 3 is reported in The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the Third Reich, page 42. Since Mgr. Ehrenfried is alive and still bishop of Wuergzburg it would be easy to have himself as a witness.

Case 4. In 1935 the office of the Diocessan Administration of Feiburg in Breisgen was raided by the Gestapo.

The Problem of Proof. Case 4 is reported in the Persecution of the Actholic Church in the Third Reich, p. 41. Archbishop Groeber and every member of the Diocessan Administration of Freiburg who held his position prior to the rported incident might be witnesses.

Case 5. In 1937 fifty officials of the Gestapo searched the offices ofv the Administration of Cologne.

The Problem of Proof. Case 5 is reported in the Persecution of the Catholic Church in the Rhid Reich, page 41. Every member of the diocesan administration who held his position prior to the reported incident is a potential witness.

Case 6. In 1937 the offices of the Vicar General in Aachen were searched.

The problem of proof. Case 6 is reported in the Persecutio of the Catholic Church in the third Reich, page 42. Every member of the diocesaan administration who held a position prior to the reported incident is a potential witness.

Case 7. On 31 August 1938 Cardinal Faulhaber’s offices in Munich were searched.

Case 8. on 15 April 1939 the offices of the Bishop of Limburg on the Lahn were searched. The archives of certain ecclesiastical foundations were confiscated and carried away, together with the money belonging to them.

Case 9. In the Diocesan Administration buildings in Berlin the German bishops had set up an Information Bureau under the direction of Mgr. Banasch. This office was raided in December 1935. All papers were examined, and Mgr. Banasch was arrested and held in jail until March 1936.

ii. Cases in the incorporated areas.

Case 10. In 1938 a search was carried out in the ordinariates of Vienna, Salzaburg and Seckau.