How serious was opposition from the Church to the Nazis?C aim – to explain how much opposition there was from the church

B aim – to assess how much and how serious opposition from the church wasA/A* aim – to assess how serious opposition from the church was including

ways of measuring opposition

This is Hitler shaking the hand of the pope in

1933.

What kind of relationship does Hitler

have with the pope?

Why do you think this is?

Concordat – define

Feedback

• Mumin and Ewan – evaluate sources to link back to question

• Geoffrey and Faaruq – explain in detail as if reader doesn’t know anything about the topic

• Hasan and Scott – neaten presentation (underline titles) and add detail to tasks

• All others – evaluate sources to explain why they’re different and to answer the question

What do these photographs suggest about the Nazis and the church?

What would you expect a church to do?

Does this photograph surprise you?

The Reich Church and German Faith Movement

• Tried to get all of the protestant churches to join together into an official Nazi Reich Church.

• Most Germans stayed loyal to their local churches rather than the new Reich church.

• Hitler tried to start a new religion called the German Faith Movement, this wasn’t Christian, it was based on ancient German pagan mythology and on celebrating the Aryan race. It was a failure.

• Most churchgoers supported the Nazis as they agreed wit the Nazis traditional ideas – there were simply some individuals who spoke out.

Summarise this point!

Galen Galen was a Catholic Bishop of Munster, near the Rhineland. He was appointed by Pope

Pius XI, who had signed the Concordat, and the SA attended his consecration. Galen made sure students would still be taught Catholicism in Catholic schools from 1933. From 1934 he criticised the Nazis racial ideologies and arguing that it was ridiculous to refuse the old testament because it was Jewish. In January 1934 he gave a sermon openly criticising Nazi racial policy, particularly the idea that disabled children should be euthanised. In 1936 the Nazis tried to remove Catholic crucifixes from Catholic schools, Galen led a protest against it and eventually they were replaced. The SS visited him to try to pressure Galen into renouncing his statements against Nazi ideology in 1934. He refused despite the threat of violence. Galen helped the pope in Rome to research and write the 1937 encyclical which criticised what the Nazis were doing. In response the Nazis arrested and intimidated Catholic clergy for being loyal to Rome instead of Germany.

In 1941 Galen now criticised the lawlessness of the Gestapo – they kept taking over church property and using it for whatever they liked. He also said that the Nazis were murdering disabled children in the T4 Euthanasia Programme, argued that the Nazis were threatening human rights and that Christians should resist the taking of human life. The sermons were printed and distributed illegally. He also began to criticise forced sterilisation and concentration camps.

The Nazis didn’t arrest Galen because it could have caused open rebellion – he was very popular in Munster and had a lot of followers. Soon Munster was bombed terribly. The Nazis prevented him publishing, speaking to large groups or travelling to other towns and cities – so silence him that way.

Why did Galen oppose the Nazis?

How did he oppose the Nazis?

What happened to him?

How serious was this opposition?

NiemollerIn Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist...

When they locked up the social democrats,I remained silent;I was not a social democrat.

...then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew...

When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.

Niemoller• Niemoller wanted Germany to have a strong leader.

He initially voted for the Nazis as they offered this and said that they would support Christianity. Niemoller didn’t like the German Christians – a pro-Nazi Christian faction – as they seemed to follow Nazi racial ideology and German culture more than their own religion – they even said they would reject the old testament because of its Jewish associations. Niemoller set up the Confessing Church to oppose it – he argued that he wanted to focus on Christianity, avoid the politicisation of church leaders and welcome converted Jews. Niemoller then realised he was being spied on by the Gestapo. He became increasingly critical in his sermons in Berlin. He continued to preach and gain more supporters. Kn 1937 he was arrested and eventually sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He survived the war.

Why did Niemoller oppose the Nazis?

How did he oppose the Nazis?

What happened to him?

How serious was this opposition?

Bonhoffer• Also a founding member of the

Confessing Church.• Like Galen he also opposed

Hitler’s euthanasia programme and the Nazis genocidal programme from 1939

• He was also involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler with the German Military Office in 1943 and was arrested by the Gestapo for this. He was executed for this 2 weeks before WWII ended.

Why did Bonhoffer oppose the Nazis?

How did he oppose the Nazis?

What happened to him?

How serious was this opposition?

Why did the church oppose the Nazis?

How did they oppose the Nazis?

What happened to them?

How serious was this opposition?

How serious was opposition from the church?

• It is difficult to determine congregation numbers. But we can look at the religious leaders...

– Number of Protestant pastors: 18,000– Number of these strongly adhering to German Christian

faction as of 1935: 3000– Number of these strongly adhering to Confessing Church

faction as of 1935: 3000• Number of these arrested during 1935: 700

– Number of these not closely affiliated with or adhering to either faction: 12,000

How serious was opposition from the church to the Nazis? Use these statistics to support your answer.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/lack-of-christian-opposition-to-hitler/3286.html

What do these sources suggest about opposition to the Nazis from the

church?

How serious was opposition from the Nazis?

• Point about young people answering the question

• Evidence (source)• Explanation (evaluation and

own knowledge)• Evidence (source) • Explanation (evaluation, own

knowledge and cross reference)

• Link back to question

• You’ve just written a paragraph!

Put your cross on the line and justify using the following

points.

1933 Concordat Reich Church

GalenNiemoller

Bonhoffer

C

B

There was a lot of

opposition

There wasn’t

very much opposition

Opposition was a very

serious threat to the

Nazis

Opposition was not a

very serious threat to the

Nazis

How serious was opposition from the Church to the Nazis?C aim – to explain how much opposition there was from the church

B aim – to assess how much and how serious opposition from the church wasA/A* aim – to assess how serious opposition from the church was including

ways of measuring opposition

A/A* - Explain how you would measure opposition. Then

explain how serious opposition from the church was.

Homework – Due Monday 13th October

• The New Deal solved the problems of America’s Depression. How far do you agree with this statement? (10 marks)

• Warning – you will have a knowledge test next Wednesday on America, the Cold War and Britain. It will be around 40 questions with a short factual answer needed. You will have a single on it. This is for you and I to identify where gaps are in your knowledge.

This was a typical timetable in a Nazi schools.What do you notice about it?

Would it have reduced or increased opposition from young people?

How serious was opposition from young people to the Nazis? C aim – to explain ways opposition from young people was serious and not serious

B+ aim – to give an overall and supported judgement

• The Nazis wanted to get the support of young people to make sure everybody growing up would support the Nazis and ensure Nazism remained in Germany. They got the support of young people by making sure lots of young people joined the Hitler Youth. In 1923 Hitler Youth had 1000 members, by 1933 it had 2.3 million members , by 1936 it had 5 million members when it became compulsory. All schools also had to follow the Nazi curriculum which included teaching anti-Semitic ideas.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6z3LsUp35Y&safe=active 2 min 50s – Hitler Youth

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPwpR0Bm9xQ&safe=active – 50s League of German Maidens

• With your partner write down everything which shows that there wouldn’t have been much opposition from young people. Include ideas about...– The Nazis focusing on young people – Hitler Youth– League of German Maidens – Education

Opposition from youth

• How did youth people oppose the Nazis? • What kind of opposition was this? • How serious was this opposition? Think about membership

numbers – joining the Hitler Youth was compulsory. • Write a report by the Gestapo in 1944 explaining how

serious opposition was to the Nazis.

The White Rose group was formed by around 20 students at Munich University. They published anti-Nazi leaflets, but were discovered and executed in 1943.During the war, 'swing' groups were formed. These were more wealthy young people who rejected Nazi values, had more casual sex, drank alcohol and danced to jazz. There were more violent groups called the Edelweiss Pirates. Most cities in Western Germany had a small Edelweiss Pirates group – they were more uncommon in East Germany. They daubed anti-Nazi slogans, sheltered deserters and beat up Nazi officials. In 1944, the Cologne Pirates (the Edelweiss Pirates based in Cologne) killed the Gestapo chief, so the Nazis publicly hanged 12 of them.

Assessing seriousness

• How do we assess how serious a threat is?

• How serious was the threat from young people?

What do these sources suggest about how serious opposition was to the Nazis from young people?

How serious was opposition from the Nazis?

• Point about young people answering the question

• Evidence (source)• Explanation (evaluation and

own knowledge)• Evidence (source) • Explanation (evaluation, own

knowledge and cross reference)

• Link back to question

• You’ve just written a paragraph!

How does this show there was serious opposition?

How does this show there wasn’t serious opposition?

Do these sources