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LINK The Great Scandal: Christianity's Role in the Rise of the Nazis

“You know what happens when atheists take over—remember Nazi Germany?” Many Christians point to Nazism, alongside Stalinism, to illustrate the perils of atheism in power.[1] At the other extreme, some authors paint the Vatican as Hitler’s eager ally. Meanwhile, the Nazis are generally portrayed as using terror to bend a modern civilization to their agenda; yet we recognize that Hitler was initially popular. Amid these contradictions, where is the truth?

A growing body of scholarly research, some based on careful analysis of Nazi records, is clarifying this complex history.[2] It reveals a convoluted pattern of religious and moral failure in which atheism and the nonreligious played little role, except as victims of the Nazis and their allies. In contrast, Christianity had the capacity to stop Nazism before it came to power, and to reduce or moderate its practices afterwards, but repeatedly failed to do so because the principal churches were complicit with—indeed, in the pay of—the Nazis.

Most German Christians supported the Reich; many continued to do so in the face of mounting evidence that the dictatorship was depraved and murderously cruel. Elsewhere in Europe the story was often the same. Only with Christianity’s forbearance and frequent cooperation could fascistic movements gain majority support in Christian nations. European fascism was the fruit of a Christian culture. Millions of Christians actively supported these notorious regimes. Thousands participated in their atrocities.

What, in God’s name, were they thinking?

HippieChick58 9 Mar 8
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8 comments

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1

A lot of people either DO NOT know or simply don't want to know that during the Nazi WWII era a PACT was made between Hitler and Nazi High Command AND the Vatican for 2 MAIN Reasons.
One being that the Nazis Guaranteed NOT to bomb the Vatican, NOT to persecute Catholics, and the other, WAS to create what became know as the Odessa Ratline, an escape route funded by the Nazis and operated by the Vatican for the SOLE and SINGULAR purpose of getting Nazi Hierarchy and War Criminals out of Germany should the Nazi War Machine fail.
It has been ESTIMATED that from that Pact, the Vatican made between 6 and 7 MILLION ( value at that time btw)in Gold, Jewels and precious pieces of Art, of which at least 90% was Stolen from the families and Victims of the Holocaust, etc, etc.
The economy of SUPPOSEDLY Neutral SPAIN also profited well from the Nazis during WWII by accepting and reselling Nazi Gold to the estimated tune of between 8 and 10 Million Dollars in value during the WWII era.
And the SWISS Banks were not so shy and demure either.

2

When I read this I take in the entire first paragraph, then skip to "European fascism was the fruit of a Christian culture." This brings me to the point of where I can understand what happened in America in the last 4 plus years. It all becomes a different subject then. Strikingly the same once religion enters in. We did not see our own "ism."

2

Well that deals a massive blow to those who insist that Hitler was an Atheist and ALL the Nazis were as well doesn't it.
Well done for posting that but you can bet you'll cop flak from a few at least.

Joseph Stalin was an Atheist.

@CuddyCruiser Stalin went to a religious school as a young person and then from ages 15 through 20 was a seminary student at a place for the training of eastern orthodox priests and was a top student who was known for reading and quoting the bible. Whether he was an athiest at heart remains unknown. He was a bloodthirsty monster, which was not beyond the behavior of christians.

@CuddyCruiser to add that I have been in Russia 3 times and there is a large orthodox church going population. That Russian are communists and athiests by definition is a myth. And there remains a large Stalin cult not unlike the Trump cult.

@CuddyCruiser Joseph Stalin, born as Loeb Besarionis dze Jughashili was the youngest son of a Russian Orthodox Lay-Preacher, became the Bearer of the Russian Orthodox Church's Triple-Armed Cross at the age of 11 years, married in the Orthodox Church at 21 years of age, his wife died from complication of Giving Birth to their still-born daughter 3 and a half years later.
He remained a member of the Russian Orthodox Church right up until his death.
I don't know where you get your often erroneous information from, be it the backs of Cereal Boxes, the walls and doors of Public Lavatories, etc, etc, BUT I humbly suggest that you ACTUALLY try reading BOOKS for a change.
You do KNOW what books are and look like I assume?

@Triphid What have i said is wrong? That Stalin is an Atheist? I read that in a book about the history of WW II and in the “Rise and fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer. And have seen it on documentary’s on the history channel. And what else have I posted on here is untrue? And if I did, why did you not respond to it then?

@CuddyCruiser YOU stated that Joseph Stalin WAS an Atheist.
100% INCORRECT as both @healthydoc and myself have TRIED to how you.
You HAVE READ 1 Book on the History of WWII and 1 on "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
May one ever so humbly enquire as to WHICH University you wish to take up your tenure as Professor Emeritus of Modern History perchance?
Oh, and btw, I did NOT say 'untrue', I did, IN FACT, ASK "where you get your often erroneous information from...."

@Triphid How Often? What else have i commented on is false?

@CuddyCruiser YOU WANT me to list them?

@Triphid Most of the comments I post on here are mainly my opinions and what is on my mind. But if your claiming certain things I posted are false and inaccurate, then I would like to know what it is.

@CuddyCruiser "Opinions'/What is on my mind," okay, BUT when making comments re-history and things re-sciences, etc, it may well help if one CHECKS the facts FIRST and Foremost.

@Triphid Ok. I thought what I read about Stalin Being an atheist was true. And let’s face it, nowadays with all the false info out there, it’s easy to make an error. But I have spent a lot of time reading and studying the years of the Third Reich.

@CuddyCruiser As one who has Post-Grad Degree in both Modern and Ancient History I would NOT be overstating if were to say I would have read far more books written by far far more Authors on BOTH of those subjects than you have.
And by no means am I boasting/bragging or what-so-ever you may well think.

2

The way Hitler brainwashed Germans is no different than the way Trump brainwashed his followers. Hitler blamed Jews and Communists, where Chump blamed Mexicans and those from “shithole countries”. His followers see him as “God” in the same manner as many Germans saw Hitler. They also saw how they could sway by charm and propaganda.

The Nazis’ interest in the United States policies and laws regarding American Indians originated with Adolf Hitler himself. In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler discussed U.S. laws and policies and noted that the United States was a racial model for Europe and that it was “the one state” in the world that was creating the kind of racist society that the Nazi regime wanted to establish. In a 1928 speech, Hitler stated that Americans had “gunned down the millions of Redskins to a few hundred thousand, and now keep the modest remnant under observation in a cage

@Healthydoc70 Yes, I agree with 110% on that, I have read and re-read Mein Kampf ( My Struggle in English btw) numerous times over the last 50+ years.
The correlations between the "Final Solution" as per the Nazi Ideologies regard Jews and the 'Untermensch" and the Genocide committed by the Americans on the Indigenous Native Americans sticks out like a very sore and swollen thumb.
Remember, if you will The Trail of Tears where approx. 7,000 men, women and children from the Cherokee peoples and their allied " Civilised Nations" were herded like cattle from the Carolinas to Oklahoma, of the 7,000 that started the walk ONLY approx. 3,000 survived, the SLAUGHTER and attempted Genocide committed by George Armstrong Custer on a quiet, sleeping, peaceful Indian village containing ONLY women, children, babes in arms and OLD men PRIOR to the the Battle of the Little Bighorn where Custer got exactly what was due to him, i.e. his Genocidal Arse kicked firm up between his ugly, bigoted shoulders, the ' introduction' of the Bounty of Baubles, Beads, Booze, during French-American Wars etc, etc, for Scalps by the French and English Settlers to the Native American Indians BEFORE the War of Independence, the 'providing of KNOWINGLY Infected blankets riddled with Smallpox' to the Native Americans, the buying, selling/trading of Native American Women and girls by the White Settlers, poisoning of water-holes used by the Native Indians by the Whites, need I go on further.
The Great American Holocaust is STILL alive and kicking BUT no-one dares to bring Charges of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, etc, against the U.S. do they?
WHY NOT when the U.S. was and is, imo, just as bad, if not, WORSE than the Nazis were?

We should also remember that Hitler's ideals and even his appurtenances were happily imported by numerous Americans during the 1930's. The German American Bund sponsored a rally at Madison Square Garden in early 1939 that filled the arena with 20,000 Nazi-saluting American fascist racists and their sympathizers. World War II drove these fasicsts into hiding, but their views are in the DNA of all too many Americans, as recent events have demonstrated.
[npr.org]

4

I do not pretend to have all the answers where it concerns human behavior but I do have a suspicion that the messianic mentality among Christians opens them up to assign the role of Messiah to someone like Hitler, or today, like Trump. Their process, infused in them from early childhood, lacks critical thinking and includes blind faith. They seem to have a need to worship a graven idol. I can't say that applies to all Christians. There are some loving, thinking people who are Christians. I just think those people would be that way even if they weren't Christians.

So this leads me to believe that the effect of Christianity, and other religions, is to foster a dangerous mentality of relinquishing one's need for critical thinking and opening up multitudes to blindly follow anyone who knows how to wield effective crowd manipulation. Thanks to their early indoctrination in religion (Thou shall have no other thoughts of your own or you will go to hell), multitudes are sitting ducks.

2

Jews killed Jesus, that was justification enough for Pius XI the nazi pope, the rat lines, the catholic church is one of the most corrupt but their followers don't see this just like they don't want to see pedophile priests and how the vatican protects them

7

Not surprised at all that Christians allowed and participated in the atrocities. Similar to the current evangelical support of Trump!!!

It’s the exact same thing brother.......only things different are Geography, the words spoken and individual(s) that promote it.

5

Christians answer to authority without question, they weren't thinking, just following orders.

Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, the Vichy French and the Irish collaborators were all Catholic. What a PR coup for the church when they dodged any blame.

That’s all they know. And have absolutely no desire to change it either.

@Buttercup virtually all Nazis were church going catholics and lutherans.

@Healthydoc70 Definitely so considering ALL Nazi belt-buckles had the words " Gott mitt Uns" (God is with Us) stamped into them.

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