Commonwealth and Foreign
THE NAZI GOSPEL AND THE CHRISTIAN
By G. A. ROWAN-ROBINSON
A YEAR'S stay in Germany, in the course of which I came into contact with people of various professions, opinions and ages, has served to convince me that, though the economic situation is still very critical, the country as a whole is becoming more reconciled to the regime, mainly on the grounds that no other form of government could probably have achieved more for the welfare of the masses or the raising of the country's morale. But it became increasingly obvious in the course of the year that in one direction at least the outlook was far from settled. The religious question is now beginning to assume a very serious aspect indeed, and may possibly have far-reaching results on the general internal situation in Germany. The govern- ment has been most unpleasantly surprised by the resistance which the Churches are offering to the totalitarian claims of the State and to National Socialist ideology, and has been forced to have recourse to measures which have alienated many of its former supporters in the hope of forcing the issue speedily.
The history of Germany during the last thousand years may be read as a long series of religious wars and struggles, which frustrated any attempt on the part of the people to unite. Men were willing to lay down their lives for their creed, but were totally disinterested in the fate of their country. In order to appreciate. the present situation, therefore, it should never be forgotten that the Church in Germany has wielded in the past greater power than in any country outside Spain, and that this power has been directed towards decimating rather than invigorating the national strength. Hitler saw the urgent need for welding all Germans into a strong and united body to put a stop to the disintegrating process that was setting in. His attack on the Church was launched on political grounds ; his aim was to assert the totalitarianism of the State, and to ensure that its chief rival should occupy an appropriately subordinate position.
The Church was not slow to reply to the challenge, and it soon became evident that the struggle could end in no happy compromise, but must be fought out to a bitter end. When the Nazis are driven to extremes they can be relied upon to be both brutal and tactless. Countless people, who were ready to acknowledge their debt to National Socialism for what it has achieved in other directions, have been driven into opposition by the unwarranted offensiveness of some of Hitler's more hot-headed subordinates. Anyone who may have listened to Dr. Goebbels' venomous tirade against Cardinal Mundelein and the entire Catholic Church in the Deutschland Halle last June must have been appalled by the meanness of the devices to which he resorted to capture public opinion for his cause.
But there is one body whom even Dr. Goebbels' crudest tirade fails to repel. The youth of the country expresses its unqualified approval of the Government's every action. Incapable of criticism and undiscerning in their applause, the children follow blindly the lead of their political mentors and learn to ridicule everyone and everything connected with the Church. The parents, if they have any views of their own, are afraid to impart them to their children ; for any originality of outlook on the part of someone applying for a job would be a great handicap to him. Theoretically no obstacles are put in the children's way if they wish to go to Church on Sundays ; but the authorities have their own ways of showing their displeasure both to the children and the parents.
As a substitute for orthodox religion, a kind of National Socialist Faith is being gradually evolved and preached in the schools. I was teaching recently in one of the new State- run boarding schools (The Nationalpolitische Erziehungs- anstalten) in which all the latest National Socialist theories are practised and tried out, so that it was possible to get a fairly clear idea of the kind of religion the Government is seeking to impose on the young.
The National Socialist Faith is based largely on racial and biological laws. It finds expression at present mostly in peculiar ceremonies known as " Feier." These can assume many forms. There is the " Morgenfeier," which is equiva- lent to morning prayers or chapel. It takes place in the school hall, which in some cases is a converted chapel, now swathed in blood-red swastika banners, and consists generally of short readings or recitals of stirring events in German history or heroic deeds of the Great War, interspersed with songs of a highly patriotic or martial flavour.
Another similar ceremony is the " Sonnenwendfeier," which takes place at the winter and summer solstices. On these occasions the school collects round a huge bor, The whole performance has been carefully rehearsed before- hand. Out of the ranks of boys, lined up in military forma- tions, single voices are raised in turn, intoning some short poem or quotation (mostly from one of Hitler's speeches) ; then on a given sign the entire school breaks into a patriotic song. Finally, the headmaster delivers an address, in which he stresses the significance of the ceremony, a thanksgiving for God's eternal gift of the sun, and points out that they are acting as their forefathers did centuries ago.
These ceremonies, though they have a comic side (which the Germans fail to see) are, in their way, impressive, especially so to boys of about fifteen or sixteen who are at an impression- able age. They feel that National Socialism can satisfy all their " religious " desires, and cease to trouble themselves about Christianity. The ranks of these young pagans are filling yearly, while those of the Church's supporters are emptying correspondingly. Herein lies the gravest danger to the Church's cause. Unless it can regain its hold on the younger generation, its influence in the country as a whole may seriously diminish.
But how long will this new sort of religion continue to make an appeal ? Will it be able, finally and conclusively; ever to supersede Christianity in Germany ? We are still too near 1933 to be able to see the Revolution in its true perspective and to sift its permanent results from its mere transitory symptoms. But, although the Church may for the moment appear to be losing ground and may even continue to lose ground in the near future, it is hard to imagine that a religion that has survived the storms of two thousand years can be eradicated so easily. I would suggest that this National Socialist Faith is merely an expression of the overstressed and distorted spirit of nationalism which'prevails in Germany at the moment, and which is due to an over-anxiety on the part of the Government to assure its position. When this spirit subsides—as it is bound to sooner or later—and a saner and more normal outlook returns, the Government may find it wise to admit the folly of its struggle with the Church and to make its peace in less authoritative terms than it is now using.
But Hitler still feels that relaxation of pressure in any direction will be construed to be a sign of weakness. Added to this there is the inherent suspicion in the German mind of anything that savours of a compromise, and the consequent unwillingness to meet an opponent half-way. If Hitler could only realise it, a politic retreat on the Church question would do far more to enhance his position than any amount of violent invective and forceful aggression. But reculer pour mieux sauter is a maxim that dictators have always found hard to practise.
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