A map of religion in Germany after unification and pre-wars - Predominantly religious between Catholics and Protestants
One could say that the Great War began with Christian motives behind it. Although it started behind political regimes, some were urging "people to see themselves as the agents of God's will," even depicting the enemies of them as "the embodiment of Satan" (192). In certain cases, such as this, one would say that Christianity fueled the fire of the war that became World War I. To Germans, they were simply following their Protestant pastor's advice of doing God's work. Would Christian Germans today desire to follow that biblical wish? To think back, Martin Luther worked very hard to make sure all Germans had access to the good teachings of the Bible. He wanted it to be a happy, personal encounter. This new notion that lead to WWI leads religion to be a destroyer and not a personal happiness at all. Martin Luther did not risk his life for biblical teachings to be seen as this. This war brought war upon the world and Germany and also a civil war, following multiple hardships including dollar inflation and deflation, finally ending at a point of some prosperity before the rise and fall of Weimar. The short rise and decline of Weimar lead to a rise in the Nationalist Socialist party that would allow Hitler to rise to power.
Martin Luther's bible - was it saving Germany or destroying it?
Hitler, in fact, was tied with religion and therefore, that ties religion back to Germany. Although Hitler believed that "he alone proclaimed the truth faith" (230). Hitler's National Socialist Party followed him greatly, and were excited to know that Weimar was dead; they celebrated like it was the Second Coming (245). At this point in time, Hitler was high-ruling and had a plan that was tied to his religious beliefs. Also at this time, Lutheranism was gaining popularity, as well, and those people even formed the Confessing Church, "whose members tirelessly attacked the National Socialists despite government reprisals and arrests" (253). At this point, it seems like religion vs. religion; shouldn't religion bring people together and not apart?
Overall, Hitler's beliefs were in his belief, to be biblical.
To explain, he believed in the Aryan group, which are "the bringers of light and redemption, a group of people who merely by belonging to a particular "race" embodied everything evil, bad, and deviant" and Hitler's group identified this as the Jews (254). Essentially, Aryans were the master race and Jews were simply in the way. The government at the time also implemented laws that were seen as "from above" (255). In which religion, especially one such as Christianity, would accept the targeting of a group to be right and gracious in God's sight? During this time, Hitler's deep desire for war and power to raise up a group of people that were more desirable lead to a second World War. To embody Hitler's belief, the book put it amazingly, "Hitler believed only select, homogenous peoples were capable of establishing a lasting empire, and that the Aryan race was hindered in its pursuit of the one through the divisive and corrupting nature of its age-old adversary, the Jews" (271).
A surprising picture of Hitler leaving a church after praying. He was religious, after all.
The Second World War was upon Germany, and Hitler was more than ready. In the meantime, "cathedrals, palaces, and old town centers went up in flames" (278). Now, cathedrals and other religious places were being torn down. Where is the religious righteousness physically and in the hearts of Germans at this time? Eventually, Hitler, like the towns and cathedrals, went down, as well. After the Second World War, we see Christianity righteousness become prevalent again in the rise of the Christian Democratic Union, as a new party (290). A leader of that party became a big name in German's recreation (yet again).
Overall, we can see Christianity playing a major role in the development of two wars. This interests me greatly because Germans fought for so long to be free of the Holy Roman Empire and have their religious choice, which ended up being predominantly Protestant. The unity only could last so long religiously, and it seemed to come together to tear them apart. The religious views of politicians lead them to more wars, destruction physically and also mentally and emotionally. The premise of a religion is essentially to bring people together, and Christianity, in particular, had a large part in bringing the Germans down once again. However, it interests me that it helped bring it back up again. People like Hitler misunderstand what religion is all about; this is clear because he believed he was the one who had the true faith. These people who take it too far are the ones who bring Germany down. The ones who see religion clearly are the ones to bring it back up, like those members of the Confessing Church and also those who formed the new political party. It also interests me that before that political party, mixing religion and politics was the reason Germany went into two more wars, but it came together again to make a righteous political party. Overall, Christianity can be seen as both a fuel to the fire and also putting out the flames of German demolition.
This picture symbolizes my paper - the destruction and starting of recreating of a church in Dresden after it was bombed in the war. The church played a major role in the demolition and the rebuilding of Germany in this time.
Word Count: 1,036 (not including picture captions)
Works Cited:
Schulze, Hagen. Germany: A New History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1998. Print.
http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=1339
https://stevehyde.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/luthers-bible/
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/did-you-know-that-adolf-hitler-was-a-christian/question-793883/
http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/travel/intdestinations/dresden-travel/2.html
