Mark Webber from the Institute for Historical Review takes an in-depth look over 2 podcasts at Christianity in Hitler’s Germany.
Part 1:
Much of what’s written about the role of Christianity in Third Reich Germany, and about Hitler’s views on religion, is grossly distorted or just plain wrong.
The official program of Hitler’s National Socialist Party expressed support for “positive Christianity,” and nearly all NS Party members were either Evangelical Lutherans or Roman Catholics. Christian crosses were displayed in many public-school classrooms and other public buildings, especially in Bavaria and other largely Catholic regions. German army soldiers’ belt buckles bore the words “God with Us,” and churches in wartime Germany were packed. Although Christianity had a favoured status in the Third Reich, Germans were free to profess any religious outlook, or none.
In many public statements Hitler affirmed a religious and spiritual outlook and expressed admiration for Christian ethics and traditions. But privately he grew steadily more critical of the Christian worldview.
Part 2:
Many people mistakenly accept the propaganda view that during World War II the US and its allies supported Christianity, while Germany and its Axis partners were satanically anti-religious. But America’s most important military ally was the Soviet Union, a belligerently atheist state that ruthlessly suppressed religion.