The Nazi "Church": Nazism as Ersatzreligion

<p>"German Christianity is a distortion. You are either a German or you are Christian."</p> <p>~ Adolph Hitler</p> <p>In the last decade, scores of religious scholars have dissected the concept of the Third Reich as a religion. Their theories depict a vast range of extremes from National Socialism portrayed as a secular or political religion to painting the Nazis as anti-Christian pagans. The "Nazi Church" was neither a political religion nor was it simply paganism; instead, National Socialism became its own religion which replaced traditional German Christianity at a time when a nation, ripe for questioning God, was suffering from the aftermath of a disastrous war.</p> <p>Hitler's Third Reich was as much a religion to the citizens of war-torn Germany as is extremist Islam to lost young men in North Africa. Just as fundamentalist religious leaders bait their chosen followers with a chance for the afterlife, Hitler convinced an entire nation that he would lead the Master Race into the thousand year millennium.</p> <p>It was exactly what his countrymen needed to hear, but to rule the world, Hitler thought it was necessary to annihilate another culture.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Harris, Carol McKinley

Contributors dc:contributor

• Carl Raschke, Ph.D.
• Sarah Pessin
• Sandra Dixon

• Hitler
• Nazi Church
• Nazism
• Religiosity
• Third Reich
• Religion
• Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/273

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1272