The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945
To what extent is Christian doctrine accountable for Nazism and its historical legacy? In The Holy Reich (Cambridge University Press, June 1, 2003) esteemed historian Richard Steigmann-Gall grapples with this question, and forces us to confront new and disturbing answers. Despite the popular belief that Nazi ideology rejected Christianity, many members of the Nazi elite - including SS Obergruppenfuehrer Dietrich Klagges, the prime minister of Brunswick, who made Hitler a German citizen - viewed themselves as good Christians. At the same time, prominent pastors praised the Nazi program, especially its antisemitism, but also its anti-marxism and anti-liberalism. In this penetrating argument, Steigmann-Gall demonstrates ideological bonds between Nazism and Christianity by exploring the political and religious views of key players on both sides.
He delves deeply into the original sources to chart the personal religious feelings of Nazi leaders - including Goebbels, Goering and Hitler - and their supporters. Rejecting the common misconception that the Nazi elite suppressed Protestantism and Catholicism, he cites numerous cases in which Nazi party members enthusiastically embraced Christianity and often the clergy as well. A strong case is made throughout: instead of representing an assault on Christianity as such, he reveals how the Nazis' ideology fit within a Christian framework. The Christian God provided Hitler's henchmen with an understanding of Germany's "ills" and their "cure." Extensively researched and incisively reasoned, The Holy Reich is one of the most disturbing and important new contributions to Holocaust studies.
The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945 by Richard Steigmann-Gall
Fiche Technique
- Title : The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945
- Author : Richard Steigmann-Gall
- Pub. Date : 01/05/2003
- Publisher : Cambridge University Press
- ISBN-13 : 9780521823715
- ISBN : 0521823714
Editorial Reviews - The Holy Reich
Steigmann-Gall, a history professor at Kent State, adds a new chapter to the story by investigating the way that Christianity functioned within the Nazi party itself.. Using party pamphlets and writings of key members, he demonstrates that as early as 1920 the group declared that it represented the standpoint of a positive Christianity, which provided the tenets of its anti-Semitic and antimaterialist stance Steigmann-Gall uncovers new information and helpful insights about the period.
A number of studies have examined the relationship between Nazism and the German Christian churches (most notably Klaus Scholder's well-known The Churches and the Third Reich). There are, of course, also studies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth and others that explore the relationship between the Reich and the church in terms of the Christian protest against Nazism. Steigmann-Gall, a history professor at Kent State, adds a new chapter to the story by investigating the way that Christianity functioned within the Nazi party itself. Using party pamphlets and writings of key members, he demonstrates that as early as 1920 the group declared that it represented the standpoint of a positive Christianity, which provided the tenets of its anti-Semitic and antimaterialist stance.
Many of the Nazi elite believed that their own party doctrine and Christianity shared common themes such as the opposition of good against evil, God against the devil and the struggle for national salvation from the Jews and Marxism. This positive Christianity enfolded both Catholicism and Protestantism, for the Nazis believed that confessional disunity presented the greatest challenge to national unity. Steigmann-Gall examines the leaders of the party and shows how many of them contributed to the view of an intimate relationship between Nazism and Christianity. He also explores how the Nazis identified the Jews with the Devil and believed that God would liberate them from this evil. Although this revised dissertation plods along in workmanlike fashion, Steigmann-Gall uncovers new information and helpful insights about the period. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
About the Author
Richard Steigmann-Gall is assistant professor of history at Kent Sate University. He received his BA and MA at the University of Michigan, and PhD at the University of Toronto. He has earned fellowships and awards from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism in Israel, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Geschichte in Göttingen. His research interests include modern Germany, comparative fascism, and religion and society in Europe. He has published articles in Central European History, German History, Social History, and Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte.