What a man says is a window into his soul, what we choose to hear is a window into ours.
To my dearest Eva, I find myself in a state of inner turmoil. While I had assured you that I would never support this man, the tides have changed. His grip on our party has become so strong that opposing him is futile and possibly dangerous. I know I am not alone in expressing concern about his irrational behavior and uncontrolled outbursts, and how this will manifest once in office. I have been reassured by the people close to him that they will have a system in place to control his most dangerous tendencies. Although I remain skeptical, as a party member I find it’s time for all of us to support this man to lead our nation. He has promised to return this nation to its previous glory, to rebuild what was once the strongest and most feared military in the world. He calls upon us to cleanse our nation of immigrants and criminals.[1] They are consuming our resources and taking the jobs that are rightfully ours. They are vermin, infesting [2] our country, coming after our possessions, our prosperity, our future. He has gone so far as to say, these undesirables are poising the blood of our nation.[3] His speeches have resonated with the vast portion of the population. His disparaging comments and radical tendencies do not dissuade his supporters but instead galvanize their support of him all the more. His nationalist stance and his plan for mass deportation [4] has overwhelming approval from the general population, including the Christian community. Many church leaders have spoken openly, encouraging their followers to get behind him. His narrow escape of the recent assassination attempt on his life has many evangelicals calling it providence,[7] and proclaiming that he is the chosen one to lead our nation and restore what is rightfully ours. His influence and ability to dominate the political game has created a whirlwind of power that is consuming everyone in its path. Most have already pledged to him their loyalty.
I am familiar with those that surround him. They are the keepers of the guard rails, but their character is no better and maybe worse. I, for one, do not believe they want to or will be able to restrain him. Unfortunately, with the control that he has over the party, I find the only path for my political future is to fall in line and support this flawed man. Failure to do so would threaten my own political ambitions. The absolute power that he desires corrupts absolutely; including everyone around him, even me.
The years ahead may validate my concerns, but by then I am afraid it will be too late.
Herr Hart, Berlin 1933
Within 6 months of taking office Hitler had total control of the government. The guard rails were gone.
This letter, although fictitious, accurately reflects messages contained in Hitler’s writings and speeches, his support among the population, and the conversations taking place around him. Hitler rose to prominence during the collapse of the German economy in the late 1920s and early 1930s. His economic policies and charismatic personality appealed to a large, disenfranchised population that was hungry for change. Hitler placed blame for both the economic collapse and high unemployment on the Jews and the Weimar Republic. He continually repeated the false narrative that Jews and other minority groups had taken jobs and owned businesses which should belong to those of the Aryan race. He preached hatred as a unifying message, attracting hundreds of thousands of followers.
Soon he began the containment of the “undesirables” into ghettos to await deportation[12] .
Looking back, it’s hard to fathom how this could happen. Equally incredible is that this took place at a time when the population in prewar Germany was 93% Christian[8]. Hitler makes no attempt to hide his plan with smoke and mirrors. As early as 1924 he wrote that “Aryan’s were the genius race and Jews are a parasite” [6].His speeches were clear on his view of world order; a superior Aryan race and the need to exterminate Jews and anyone else he deemed as undesirables. While in prison, for his part in a failed coup attempt, he penned the first volume of Mein Kampf[9], titled “Revenge”, and the second volume after his release from prison. Mein Kampf lays out in detail his plan for territorial expansion and how to handle the “Jew problem”. By 1939 Mein Kampf had sold over 5 million copies and had become required reading in Germany. With everything laid bare, the Christian population of pre-war Germany knew what to expect and embraced it. We need to understand how he was able to solidify a Christian nation to carry out his plan against humanity.
Antisemitism in Germany goes back generations. When WWI came to an end, Hitler and much of the population blamed the Jews for losing the war. They blamed the Jews along with the Wiener Republic for concessions agreed to in the Treaty of Versailles. With a built-in target, he channeled the hate of a nation upon the Jew, describing them as “subhuman” [5]. His campaign of propaganda and fear drowned out reason and empathy. Hitler convinced the “Aryan” population that it was providence for him to lead them in their fight to secure their seat at the top of German society, politically and economically. To bring his plan to fruition he needed more than superficial support of the Christian base. He would need to create a crusade mentality by which Christians could justify, to themselves, the barbaric treatment and murder of the Jewish population. They found their answer in a 16-century German theologian. Martin Luther was a large part of the fabric of 1930s Germany. The Nazi propaganda machine used select writings by Martin Luther from his later years to solidify Christian Nationalism alongside Hitlers plan to eradicate the Jewish population. Employing Luther’s “On the Jews and Their Lies” [10], to give the perception that the crimes they were preparing to unleash on the Jews across Europe, had Luther’s posthumous approval. Luther’s image was even used in many Nazi propaganda publications[11].
If you could go back to 1933 Germany, would you be a voice calling on the Christian leaders to reconsider all they were giving up for earthly gain. Would you call on Christians to not support a hate filled political leader and his nationalist ideology, to not be complacent when the politicians and their supporters twist scripture and the writings of theologians. Would your silence be enough to relieve you of any responsibility for the verbal and physical attacks on populations different from your own.
In a weak attempt at redemption after the war many German Christians acknowledged that they were aware of the ghettos and deportations but denied knowing of the extermination camps. Really???
Kristallnacht Nov 9th – 10th 1938.
Summary:
Throughout history demonic leaders have tried to harness the power and support of the Christian Church. This was true for 1930s Germany, where a vast majority of Christians chose not to hear or just ignored the evil in Hitler’s words. They formed an unwritten alliance with Hitler, a “quid pro quo”. They would support Hitler’s sadistic plan against minority populations in order to secure their personal desires: wealth, prestige, and political power. Under the guise of Luther’s words that it was “to the Glory of God” they hid their self-serving ambitions.
Why a “Cautionary Tale for Evangelicals”?
Once again, too many Christians are choosing not to hear or to just ignore the same evil rhetoric of the past as it is being regurgitated in today’s speeches and writings. Rhetoric that is attacking and dehumanizing a minority population as a unifying message, promising containment centers and mass deportations, threatening to authorize the military to enter our cities to control the population. These words cannot be confused with those of a moral leader, much less a Godly leader. This time it is American Christians who are in the market for a “quid pro quo” unwavering support and in return; a promise to protect our wealth, prestige, political power, and the appointment of conservative judges. Current propaganda has created a culture of fear. Fear of the replacement theory, fear of losing our place in society, fear of reduced wealth, fear of lost traditions. This constant message, that you and everything that defines you is under attack, overpowers rational thought. It instills mob mentality,[13] beginning the process of convincing oneself that the wrong answer is right. The Christians of 1930 Germany went through the same mental gymnastics. They sacrificed everything, chose an authoritarian leader and his message of hate for the promise of earthly rewards and an earthly nation.
What will our choice be?
History has the appearance of repeating itself when what worked in the past is replicated
1 – 6 Mein Kampf (Stackpole Sons)/Volume 1/Chapter 11 – Wikisource, the free online library
Many of the terms marked were repeatedly reused in Hitlers other writing and speeches. They all or a variation of them can be found in chapter 11 of Mein Kampf.
Here are a few; “All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning,” – “He poisons the blood of others but preserves his own blood unadulterated” –
“Whenever Aryans have mingled their blood with that of an inferior race, the result has been the downfall of the people who were the standard-bearers of a higher culture” _ “he will remain master so long as he too does not succumb to blood-defilement” – “The great civilizations of the past have all been destroyed simply because the originally creative race died out through blood-poisoning” –
“A new wave of civilization arrives, and lasts until those who uphold it once more go down in the blood of alien peoples” – “The Aryan surrendered the purity of his blood” – “He poisons the others’ blood, but preserves his own” – “and in a turn of the hand the united people becomes a swarm of rats carrying on bloody battle” – “He remains a typical parasite” – “but also the end of these national parasites themselves” etc.
7 Religious views of Adolf Hitler – Wikipedia
8 christain population 1933 germany – Google Search
10 On the Jews and Their Lies – Wikipedia
11 Nazi Propaganda Depicting Martin Luther | Facing History & Ourselves
12 Holocaust Memorial Day Trust | Ghettos and deportations (hmd.org.uk)
13 What Is Mob Mentality? (webmd.com)
Authors note; I had a long-standing policy of never reading Mein Kampf. I knew in writing this post I would need to revisit that commitment. I couldn’t get past the feeling in doing so I was defiling millions of souls. We need to be vigilant in our opposition to those groups, such as white supremist and Christian Nationalist, that revere this book as part of their ideology and the leaders that coddle them.