The Church at the Service of the State? The Attitude of the Authorities Protestant Churches in Nazi Third Reich in the Years 1933–1935

Abstract

This article pertains to the issue of religion in the Third Reich. It aims to show the attitude of Nazi authorities to religion. It also presents the reactions of the Evangelical Churches to the Nazi world outlook imposed externally on them and on the way of thinking enforced by totalitarian authorities. Numerous times the representatives and the faithful of the Evangelical Churches submitted to pressure and they embraced Nazi ideology in their beliefs, creating compilations of contradictory values. An example of such an approach is the attitude of a movement of German Christians. However, it is worth noting that despite the submissiveness of some of Christians, many of them were fighting with the Nazi world outlook and urged the return to clarity of Christ’s teachings and faith. Those people with their attitude testified to their faith and showed they were not afraid to sacrifice their lives for ideas they were professing.