Because darkness hates the light, Christ’s church has always gone through times of oppression and persecution. The Bible says Christians should not be surprised when the world’s animosity is directed toward them (1 John 3:12). Even if persecution has not always been widespread, it can always be found somewhere in the world. Until Christ’s return, enemies of the church will oppose her. Interestingly, although there has been much persecution throughout history, there are not scores of books on the topic. I suppose the subject of persecution is not one that sells books as quickly as trending Christian topics. At the same time, it is beneficial for us to be familiar with stories of persecution to help us better pray for Christians who are persecuted today. We should never forget our brothers and sisters around the world facing opposition (Heb 13:3). It is also good for us to know about persecution so we can better face it if it ever comes our way.

On the topic of persecution, one that should be on reading lists is J. S. Conway’s The Nazi Persecution of the Churches 1933–1945 (NPC). Conway (d. 2017) was a professor of history at the University of British Columbia in the 1960s. His scholarly focus was on the European churches and the Holocaust during World War II. He wrote numerous articles about that period of church history. NPC is Conway’s most important book. It has been republished and translated into various languages. In fact, NPC might be considered one of the most significant resources for the study of the church in Nazi Germany during 1933–1945.

NPC has eleven chapters. For the most part, the chapters follow the chronology of the Nazi persecution of the church beginning in 1933. The chapters give various details about and insights into Hitler’s persecution of the Catholic and Protestant churches. The first few chapters talk about church oppression in the early years of Nazi Germany, and the last chapter is about “the Final Settlement” of 1945, when persecution became more severe. But there is overlap between the chapters because the ways the Nazis oppressed and persecuted the church were connected throughout those years. To understand the Nazi persecution of the church in 1944–1945, one has to go back to the mid-1930s to get a fuller picture of it.

For example, in 1933 the Nazi government and the Catholic Church signed a Concordat (Reichskonkordat), which was a treaty between these two parties that was supposed to guarantee religious freedom for Catholics. It also restricted Catholic clergy from engaging in political activity. The Concordat required that bishops take an oath of loyalty to the Nazi Party. Catholics believed this document would offer them protection. Some even believed it showed that Hitler was an ally of the Church. The Nazis viewed the Concordat as a relatively insignificant document that would help bolster their international identity and keep the Catholic Church from exerting political influence. Although Hitler gave lip service to the Concordat, he violated its terms when it was politically expedient for him to do so. Conway discusses the Concordat in the various chapters of NPC to help show how the Nazi Party oppressed and persecuted the church from 1933 to 1945.

One of the many intriguing details of NPC is Conway’s description of Hitler’s view of Christianity and the church. When Hitler became Reich Chancellor in 1933, many Christians were hopeful and even excited, thinking his leadership would benefit the church. Hitler did, indeed, say various things that made him sound like a friend of the faith and a fan of the church. In reality, Conway notes, when Hitler came to power in 1933, he already had a fundamental hostility to Christianity and the church (1–2). He detested Christianity and the church for various reasons, many of which stemmed from his hatred of Jews and diabolical animosity toward any possible political rivalry in Germany. As Conway wrote, “A totalitarian state can tolerate no form of rivalry” (259).

Yet Hitler was a shrewd politician. He knew he needed the church’s support to attain his political goals. Since a majority of Germans were either Protestant or Catholic, Hitler did not want to openly oppose these groups and lose their support, especially during the war. Therefore, he avoided offending Christians and did things that seemed to benefit the churches in Germany. For example, during the first years of his rule, he attended some Catholic services (14). He used the term providence in his speeches and often used religious language in a positive way. Behind closed doors, however, his tone and language were quite different. Not long after he became chancellor, he told an associate that neither Catholicism nor Protestantism had a future in Germany. He then stated that his goal was to stamp out Christianity in Germany, “root and branch” (15). If he could use the church to help his political regime, he would do so. If not, the church would suffer his rage. This was what Hitler called “an iron fist in a velvet glove” when it came to dealing with the churches (120). The church could be coddled as a propaganda tool or smashed if that did not work out.

At the same time, Hitler was trying to Nazify the church or remake religion into his political liking for his political purposes. Hitler and others in the Nazi Party wanted to replace historic Christianity with a nationalistic, racialist religion for the land and people of Germany (143). In other words, the aim was to politicize Christianity to the point it was no longer truly Christian. They knew religion had a place in a nation. They wanted a “Christian” religion free from the trappings of historic Christianity and full of Nazi ideology (139, 144–45). In this religion, the Old Testament was to be avoided because of its Jewishness. Jesus was portrayed not as a weak Jewish man who died naked on a cross but as a hero (52). This “Christian” religion was, as Conway called it, a Nazi pseudo religion, a new, paganized political religion for Germany and the supreme Aryan race (146).

This nationalistic religion, of course, had no room for Jews or other non-Aryans. It was about blood and land. Conway gives many details of this religion in chapter 6 of NPC. This chapter was a very extensive look at the religion of Hitler and his followers. It should be noted that Hitler’s views were fluid and various people in the Nazi Party had different ideas about what to do with the church. Things get extremely complicated when politics and religion mix!

NPC, of course, does give numerous detailed examples of how the Nazi Party oppressed and persecuted the Catholic and Protestant churches. Early on in Hitler’s rule, various pastors, priests, and churches were being surveilled to make sure they did not oppose Nazi policy. Pastors and priests were forbidden to use any language that was derogatory to Hitler or his policies. German authorities also seized buildings owned by the church for so-called war use (279). In 1934 there was a group of pastors who opposed Nazi ideology. This group, called the Pastors’ Emergency League, consisted of seven thousand members. Many of these pastors ignored the “muzzling decree” and bravely spoke out against Nazi policies. Those who were caught were suspended by the Gestapo and publicly denounced (74).

The churches were eventually also prohibited from any religious activities outside the specific church buildings. The most vocal anti-Nazi pastors and priests were sent to prison camps or simply executed. Their executions were often covered up and kept secret (91–93). In NPC, Conway does not go into great detail about other murderous schemes of Hitler, but he does mention what numerous history books give more information on: the diabolical extermination of many Jews and minorities in Nazi Germany.

There are many more details from the NPC that I could share here, such as the significance of the Barmen Declaration, the fanaticism of German nationalism, or the work of Martin Niemöller and others like him. Suffice it to say that this book extensively covers the various nuances of the political and religious aspects of Nazi Germany and the churches in Germany from 1933 to 1945. It is not a black-and-white history, to be sure. Some Christians fiercely opposed Nazism from the beginning. Others were ambivalent. Still others thought it was a good thing, at least for the first years. Some Germans were Christians in name only and were not hesitant to adopt racist and nationalistic political views. And some in the Nazi Party were not as hostile to the church as others in the party. The war also complicated the matter. In NPC, Conway also wrestles with this common question: Why didn’t Christians in Germany do more to stop the Nazi terror? This is a thorny question and has a complex answer. To learn how to better answer it, I recommend reading NPC.

I should note that NPC also includes several appendixes containing selections of original sources, such as official statements from notable people, church groups, and Nazi agencies. These appendixes contain fascinating information straight from the sources, helping readers understand some of the main points Conway argues in the book. There are also extensive biographical notes at the end of the book, along with a detailed bibliography. Conway certainly did his homework before writing this book.

As Conway argues in NPC, it is evident and beyond dispute that Hitler and his Nazi regime were enemies of both Protestant and Catholic churches. Furthermore, they were foes of historic Christianity. At best, Hitler tolerated the church for political reasons. He viewed the church as a disposable tool for his nationalistic, pagan, racist goals. If the church could somehow help him attain these goals, he put up with it. If the church showed any signs of getting in the way of these goals, he tormented it. But for Hitler and the Nazi Party, ultimately the Christian church had to go. From quiet suppression to political suffocation to outright murder, Hitler attempted to muzzle and destroy the church. Many anti-Christ forces have made the same attempt in the past. And in the future, many will make similar attempts until Christ’s return at the end of time. But try as they may, no evil force will ever prevail against the church of Christ, for he is her sovereign defender.

’Mid toil and tribulation

And tumult of her war,

She waits the consummation

Of peace forevermore;

Till with the vision glorious

Her longing eyes are blest,

And the great church victorious

Shall be the church at rest!

 

—Samuel J. Stone, “The Church’s One Foundation”

©Shane Lems. All Rights Reserved.

J. S. Conway, The Nazi Persecution of the Churches 1933–1945 (1968; repr., Regent College Publishing, 2001).

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Post authored by:

• Shane Lems

  

  Shane Lems is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and has a DMin from RTS Orlando. He has been a church planter and pastor in the URCNA. Since 2013 he’s been serving as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Hammond, WI. He is married and has four children. Shane has written numerous articles for Modern Reformation, New Horizons, and other publications. He is also the author of Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition and manages a book blog, The Reformed Reader.

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