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Nazism is a secular ideology. While a nominal Catholic, Hitler detested Christianity as a "weak religion" and only cooperated with Christian religious leaders as a means to the ends of gathering followers. Whether he was an Atheist, I don't know, but it's pretty idiotic to judge a broad set of spiritual beliefs on the basis of one person, megalomaniacal sociopath or otherwise.
I find it hard to believe that Hitler was an atheist based on the volumes written on him and his own speeches and writings in which he frequently invokes God and considers himself to be doing God's work. Also, one of his main critiques of Marxism and socialism was the inherent atheism.
Whether or not Hitler was a certain religion is more debatable, even he affirmed his Catholicism. I think he viewed National Socialism as a religion unto itself to eventually replace the existing 'sects' of religion with a unified national religion controlled by the state. At least that is alluded to in his writings as well as others within the Nazi party. Of course, this would have been a non-sequitor to the people he needed to follow him, so his first actions were to get the 'buy-in' from the religions and begin integrating them in some capacity into the state appartus. Mussolini followed much the same path in securing the support of the Catholic Church in Italy when it was obvious he would have much preferred the Church to simply become an organ of the state.
Of course, none of that means he didn't believe in God nor does it mean that he considered himself a 'god'. Instead I think it shows an amount of disdain for the existing organized religion of the time that he wished to reform into his own 'pure vision' that was compatible with Nazism.
Actually it does because one of the recurring memes here is that Hitler and the Nazis were examples of homicidal nature of atheism. If Hitler was indeed a theist of some sort that argument would be discredited and the theist can't have that.
Actually, the exact opposite is true. What you and your ilk are CONSTANTLY doing is claiming that Hitler was a Christian, and that everything he did was a result of that.
You really can't call bull$hit when you're standing neck-deep in manure.
This is what is closest to the truth. Hitler and his minions were pragmatists. If kissing up to the Pope silenced the Pope, they kissed up to him. If killing Dietrich Bonhoffer - an Lutheran pastor - silenced him, that's what they did.
Hitler was no more a Christian than he was an atheist. He did whatever he felt was necessary to achieve his goals. So all this arguing is ridiculous.
Actually, the exact opposite is true. What you and your ilk are CONSTANTLY doing is claiming that Hitler was a Christian, and that everything he did was a result of that.
You really can't call bull$hit when you're standing neck-deep in manure.
Well, it's hard to say he wasn't when he said he was and gave constant speeches and left many writings in which he professed a belief in a Christian deity and the importance of Christian morality as a cornerstone of the German people. While he certainly doesn't fit the "Christian mold" in its purest sense, he was certainly not an atheist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big George
This is what is closest to the truth. Hitler and his minions were pragmatists. If kissing up to the Pope silenced the Pope, they kissed up to him. If killing Dietrich Bonhoffer - an Lutheran pastor - silenced him, that's what they did.
Hitler was no more a Christian than he was an atheist. He did whatever he felt was necessary to achieve his goals. So all this arguing is ridiculous.
I don't think it's ridiculous to discuss Hitlers beliefs; afterall I think we all accept the notion that people, even national leaders, are governed to an extent by their personal belief systems. When the discussion "jumps the shark" is when people begin to paint broad generalizations about a certain belief because it may or may not have been shared by Hitler.
While I agree with the idea of him being a pragmatist, I still find little evidence that Hitler believed in anything but a Christian inspired deity, meaning a God that acted with provenance in the affairs of the world. Indeed Hitler saw himself and often stated, that he was doing "God's work". Where he most definitely disagreed with Christianity in general was the organization of the churches and which he saw as 'weak' and corrupt. Hitler did often speak and write about Jesus, but his Jesus was not the peaceful sacrificial lamb. No, his Jesus was more of a warrior fighting against the scourge of Judaism. Hitler really liked the whole "Jesus in the Temple" thing.
So, while it would not be correct, I believe, to characterize Hitler as really being Catholic or Protestant, his views on God were certainly much more in the sphere of Christianity then they were towards atheism, agnosticism or some form of rationalist deity.
As an old History teacher I had often been intrigued by the connection between the Roman Catholic Church and the Germany of the 1930-s and 1940-s. I know some folks may think its a bit of a stretch, but I had often thought about the chances of a rather Romantic view taken by Church leaders of resurrecting the old Holy Roman Empire (962-1806). Some of themes I see reflected in the idiologies of the NAZI movement such as the blatant anti-semitism, the view of Slav-s as a cultural and military threat, the concerted effort to establish a consolidated Europe and the close association with a Catholic Christian agenda would seem to support this. I think it is also interesting that a number of German allies such as Slovakia and Croatia were heavily connected to the Catholic Church. It also probably didn't hurt that "Communist" (read also: "atheist") Russia was not only Slavic but also identified with the Orthodox Christian Church much like the antagonism between Croatia and Serbia.
Now in terms of Hitler and his Catholicism---well..... my sense is that the "Catholic Card" was played just like any other feeler extended to a potential ally. The Catholic Church of the 19th and 20th Century wielded spectacular power until about Vatican II. To have them on his side certainly didn't hurt his campaign, right?
FWIW.
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