The German Catholics Since the anniversary of Herr Hitler's accession
to office, January 30th, falls on a Saturday, the day of the week customarily chosen by the Fiihrer for his more dramatic announcements to the world, it is not surprising that its advent should be awaited with some curiosity. So far as the report is true that Herr Hitler's speech will be devoted mainly to internal affairs, it is awaited with considerable apprehension by Roman Catholics, for the struggle between the Nazi Party and the Church shows no sign of abating. It is ominous that Herr Julius Streicher, editor of the. notorious Stunner, flushed with his achievements in the anti-Semite field, is turning his vitriolic attacks on the Catholic Church. The real fight is for the minds of the young, and all the signs are that victory will go to Herr Baldur von Schirach's Hitler- jugend. Even in his precarious state of health the Pope nerved himself this week to receive five German Cardinals and Bishops and discuss the outlook with them. The struggle for the child in Italy ended in a not unreasonable compromise, and a settlement on that basis in. Germany would no doubt be welcomed by the Church, But the true Nazi believes in the worship of nothing but the State, and unless the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches are prepared for a . resistance that might be carried to the point of martyrdom, their fate is likely to be progressive surrender to pagan forces.
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