German Schools: Confessional Schools--NAZI Era (1933-45)

Figure 1.--One of Papal official Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII was a major factor in the negotiations) concerns in negotiating the Concordat with the NAZIs was denominational schools like this one. The Vatican agreed to give up what Hitler called political Catholicism. The Cathloic Center Party had been one of the major political parties before the NAZI takeover. In return Hitler in the Concordat pledged to respect the Church andc its role in German society, inclusing scholols, youth groups, and charities. In fact like his other pledges he not only did notv do this, but once firmly in power moved against the Church. His ultimate goal was to de-Christianize Germany and build a new secular state religion. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of thev class.

Within only a few months after the NAZI seizure of power, Franz von Papen and Hermann Göring went to Rome and met with Pope Pius XI (April 1933). The NAZIs negotiated a Concordat with the papacy (summer 1933). Papal official Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII was a major factor in the negotiations). Cardinal Faulhaber congradulated Hitler after the signing of the Reich Concordat. The Catholic Center Party fell in with other parties to support the regime and was then along with other political parties disbanded. Pacelli and other papal officials hoped that the Concordat would serve as a shield for the church. This was of course based on the assumtion that Hitler would adhere to agreements he signed. As one historian writes, "the agreement lent Hitler international credibility, criminalized Catholic political activity, and demoralized bishops and priests who opposed Nazi rule." [Loconte] The Reich Concordat conceded to Pacelli the right to impose the new Code of Canon Law on German Catholics and promised several actions to safeguard Catholic education, including possible new schools. Pacelli and the papacy in return assented to the withdrawal of Catholics from political and social activity. [Cornwell] The NAZIs subsequently launched the Currency and Immorality trials which reached a highpoint in 1935 and 1936 led to the fining and imprisonment of hundreds of clergy. The NAZIs desired to de-Chritisnize Germany, but did not want to openly attack churches. They began by attcking the reputation of Catholic clerics, especially those working in primary and secondary schools. The NAZIs by the onset of World War II had managed to closed down or take over confessional schools as well as private schools, both day schools and boarding schools. This essentially ended the diversity in education that had existed before the NAZI take over.

Religious Role in Schools

Unlike France and the United States, religion was not excluded from German classrooms. Religion before the NAZIs played an important role in German schools. There were relatively few private schools in Germany, either denominational schools or secular schools. There were, however, quite a number of confessional schools. Many public schools were confessional schools. And this involved considerable diversity. This was accomplished through confessional schools. These were public schools financed and operated by the state and teaching a state compiled curriculum. At these schools, sectarian religious ceremonies and teaching was permitted. The Weimar Republic was prganized by Scocialists and the Social Democrats (SPD) were the major political party. There was a desire among Socialists and Communists who desired to reduce the role of religion and one attempt was to promote secular schools that would teach secular values and loyalty to the new Republic. This was one of the issues that surfaced when the Weimar Constotution was written. The Catholic Center Party as well as conservatives Protestants managed to block the abolition of confessional schools. A compromise was reached that allowed confessional schools to continue. Thus during the Weimar era, confessional schools dominated the Germn education system. There were about 53,000 public primary and secondary schools, almost all were confessional. This included: Evangelical--meaning Lutheran (55 percent), Catholic (28 percent), non-denominational (15 percent), and secular (less than 1 percent. There were also 97 Jewish confessional schools. [Monsma and Soper]

Concordat (1933)

Within only a few months after the NAZI seizure of power, Franz von Papen and Hermann Göring went to Rome and met with Pope Pius XI (April 1933). The NAZIs negotiated a Concordat with the papacy (summer 1933). The discussions took place against a background of iminent threats--the possibility that the SA Stormtroopers would be unleashed on Catholics unless the papacy accepted NAZI demands. There were a number of attacks on Catholics that caused considerable concern. Papal official Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII was a major factor in the negotiations). Cardinal Faulhaber congradulated Hitler after the signing of the Reich Concordat. The Catholic Center Party fell in with other parties to support the regime and was then along with other political parties disbanded. Pacelli and other papal officials hoped that the Concordat would serve as a shield for the church. This was of course based on the assumtion that Hitler would adhere to agreements he signed. As one historian writes, "the agreement lent Hitler international credibility, criminalized Catholic political activity, and demoralized bishops and priests who opposed Nazi rule." [Loconte] The Reich Concordat conceded to Pacelli the right to impose the new Code of Canon Law on German Catholics and promised several actions to safeguard Catholic education, including possible new schools. Pacelli and the papacy in return assented to the withdrawal of Catholics from political and social activity. [Cornwell] Historians have criticized the Church's acceptance of the Concordat. Pacelli would argue that the Church was placed in a on-win situation. It had to accept the lesser of two evils. With out the Concordat, Catholics would have been at the mercy of SA and Gestapo thugs. With the Concordat they had legal grounds on which to seek justic through the courts.

Catholic Center Party

The Catholic Center Party (BVP) was founded at the onset of the German Empire (1871). (It is commonly referred to as just the Center Party.) Its initial goal was to defend Catholic interests against the largely Protestant policies of Otto von Bismarck. The Empire had been formed around largely Protestant Prussia and the Protestant Hohenzollern Protestant monarchy. As the Socialist and Communist political parties grew, both Bismarck and the the BVP found common ground in opposing this development. The BVP gradually grew in size and became one of Germany's principal politicalm parties. As a result, the BVP was often a member of coalition governments organized by Bizmarck and his succsors. Several chancellors were from the BVP in both Imperial Germany and the subsequent Weimar Republic (Matthias Erzberger, Wilhelm Marx, Heinrich Brüning and Franz von Papen). When Presudent Hindenberg appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor (January 1933), Hitler invited the BVP to join his government and Franz von Papen was appointed vice-chancellor. All BVP in the Reichstag voted for the Enabling Bill which gave Hitler and the NAZIs dictatorial powers (March 1933). Hitler od course felt a particular hatred for the Jews, but after arresting Communists, he moved very quickly against the BVP which as a major party was a threat to his still fragil minority government. Hitler dissolved the BVP (June 1933). Von Papen was forced out of the government. Catholics thought that by withdrawing from politics, they would be allowed to continue not only their religious activities, but also their charity and youth work, including education. Some BVP members like Von Papen saw this as an acceotable batgain as Hitler was supressing the Communists and Sicialists.

Currency and Imorality Trials

The NAZIs singled out the clergy for ridicule, humiliation and arrest. They launched the Currency and Immorality trials which reached a peak (1935-36). They resulted in the imprisonment and fining of hundreds of clergy, commonly on trumped up charges. This was part of a much larger effort to de-Chritisnize Germany. Hitker did not vwant to openly attack churches. He began by attacking the reputation of clerics, especially those working in primary and secondary schools. The Gestapo accused priests, monks, lay-brothers and nuns of “perverted and immoral” lifestyles, meaning homosexuality and paedophilia. These arrests were normally made by the Gestapo rather than the regular police because the Gestapo was politically reliable and willing to arrest clerics whether or not they had actually committed crimes. The Gestapo priceeded to set traps in order to manufacture bogus evidence. In one Gestapo operation, priests were respnded to desperate entrities to administer the last sacraments to unknown nindivisuals in hotel rooms. When they reached the hotel, they would find prostitutes. Gestaponagents took photographs which were later be produced in court. By this time the NAZIs were increasingly subverting the judicial system. [New York Times, May 1936.] Lawyers who represented NAZI targets were commonly arrested. And Gobbels saw to it that these charges were featured in often lurid front page stories. The details were often so salacious that some parents kept the newspapers from their children.

Charity

German churches stood at the forefront of charitable activities. Another aspect of the NAZI assault on churches was an attack on church charities. The NAZIs also targeted secular charities as well. The primary NAZI tactic was to bring all charities under the control of the Party's Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (People's Welfare Organization, NSV). This became the second largest of the Party's mass organizations. The charity organizations that the NSV did not take over were mostly church charities, but new regulation restricting fund raising made it virtually impossible for the churchs to finance their extensive charity operations. The largest find raising operation in Germany was Winter Aid. Here Hitler Youth children played a major role. The impact of the NSV monopolizing charitable fund raising was mostly felt with in areas outside education. It did have, however some affect on education. Desprived of funds, the churches were less able to support school activities. And NSV control over welfare meant that parents could be pressured to withdraw their support for confessional schools.

Parents Meetings

When the NAZIs seized power, the vast proportion of German children were being educated in confessional schools. It was parents who determined the denomination involved or whether there should be secular. And the NAZIs had a wide range of influencing how parents voted. Low income parents could be denied NSV welfare assisstance at the same time that NAZI restrictions on church fund raising meant that the churches had to severly curtail their welfare activities. Parents could also be pressured at work or actually visited at home by Party functionaries. NAZI propaganda campaigns such as the Currency and Imoraliy Trials influenced some. And there were also meetings where the SA was used to determine the vote in the same way the Reichstag was forced to acceed to NAZI demands by SA bully boy tactics. [Burleigh, p. 261.]

Teacher Transfers

Another NAZI tactic was to transfer teachers. Protestant teachers were transferred to Catholic areas and Catholic teachers trabsferred to Protestant areas. This made it difficult for them to engage in religious services and teaching. [Burleigh, p. 261.]

Hitler Youth Activities

The Hitler Youth organization played a role in the process of undermining religion in schools. Eventually virtually all childre at age 10 joined the HJ. The political indoctrination of the children included attacks on religion. The children might bring up what vthey had been taught in school discussions. And instructors teaching religion who challenged what the HJ members were being taught night come to the attention of the authorities. Here we do not have details on the extent such confrontations occurred or how many of the children reported teachers. Another tactic was to schedule HJ activities on Sunday to prevent church attendance or to interfere with other church activities which may have been organized at the confessional schools. We have found reports of these NAZI efforts, but it is probably sxomething that is difficult to quantify.

Community School Curriculum

Once the NAZIs had control of the school and created a secular or community school, they could proceed to attack religious belief. At many schools, clerics were excluded. And teachers could openly criticize religious belief.

Closing Denominational Schools

The NAZIs by the onset of World War II had managed to closed down or take over confessional schools as well as private schools, both day schools and boarding schools. This essentially ended the diversity in education that had existed before the NAZI take over.

Individual Schools

We would like to assess just what occurred at the state (confessional) schools as well as the small number of private schools. We have pages on a few specific schools. One such school is the Collegium Josephinum in Bonn. We do not yet have details on what occurred during the NAZI era. It is a topic we would like to assress if any of our German readers have details.

After the war

The attacks on the churches sid not end with the demise od the NAZIs (1945). The Soviets in their occupation zone installed Communists in power. And the East Herman Communists used many of the same tactics that the NAZIs used to weaken the churches.

Sources

Burleigh, Michael. The Third Reich: A New History (Hill and Wang: New York, 2000), 965p.

Cornwell, John. Hitler's Pope.

Loconte, Joseph. "The Decade of Appeasement" The Daily Standard (February 7, 2008). Dr. Loconte is a senior fellow at Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy.

Monsma, Stephen V. and J. Christopher Soper. The Challenge of Pluralism: Church and State in Five Democracies.

The New York Times (May 1936).

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Created: 1:36 AM 11/27/2009
Last updated: 8:42 AM 7/24/2013