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Journal of Contemporary History
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Nazism and Christianity: Partners and Rivals? A Response to Richard Steigmann-Gall, The Holy Reich. Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945

Doris L. Bergen

University of Toronto

This response accepts Richard Steigmann-Gall's argument that nazism and Christianity were less sharply opposed than popular and much scholarly opinion have assumed. Personal ties, institutional links and ideological common ground connected nazism and Christianity, and many members of the nazi elite considered themselves to be devoted Christians. Steigmann-Gall makes a significant contribution by focusing on such ‘Christian nazis’, in contrast to the ‘nazi Christians’ that others have examined. But he could do more to clinch his case. By defining religion solely in terms of belief, he ignores important aspects of nazi–Christian co-existence: for example, the fact that Church membership remained extremely high in Germany throughout the nazi era. His assumption of an especially close nazi–Protestant nexus obscures the significant cooperation of the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, by denying the existence of tensions between nazism and Christianity, he fails to consider the defensive posture of Church leaders, a stance that motivated much of their eager accommodation of National Socialism.

Key Words: Antisemitism • Christianity • German Christians • German Church History • National Socialism • Nazism

Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 42, No. 1, 25-33 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0022009407071629
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