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Protestant Thought and the Nazi State 1933-1937 Adolf Hitler's KENNETH C. BARNES Support, Acquiescence, or Passive Disobedience: Protestant Thought and the Nazi State 1933-1937 Adolf Hitler's accession to power on 31 January 1933 meant a crisis for the Protestant churches of Germany. Hitler's Gleichschaltung at- tempted to bring even organized Christianity under Nazi control. Thus began the Kirchenkampf, a painful struggle which would redefine the na- ture of German Christianity. Historians have described in great detail the Nazi revolution in the churches, the creation of the united, more centralized Deutsche Evangelische Kirche, and the rise of the dissenting Confessing Christians.' However, most of this enormous literature deals with the fascinating political-institutional struggle. Fewer scholars have looked at the theological and intellectual dimensions of the conflict.2 In addition, scholars have portrayed participants in the conflict as either protagonists or antagonists, firmly on the side of Hitler's Reichskirche or in the rebel camp outside it. The literature tends to vilify theologians and churchmen associated with the national church and make heroes of Confessing Christians. This standard portrayal of German Protestantism under Hitler as inflexibly bipolar and adversarial reflects the preoccupa- tion of historians with politics rather than ideas. It also reflects the enormous influence that Confessing Christians had in theological faculties and church circles in postwar Germany and the fact that they wrote much of the history of the struggle. Only recently have historians taken a more skeptical outlook about the history of the Confessing Church.3 This essay will examine the differences in the social thought of the two The literature on the German church struggle (Kirchenkampf)is voluminous. A few of the best surveys include Ernst Christian Helmreich, The German Churches under Hitler. Background, Struggle, and Epilogue, Detroit 1979;J. S. Conway, The Nazi Per- secution of the Churches 1933-1945,New York 1968;and Klaus Scholder, Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich, 19852. 2 Frankfurt/Main, See Wolfgang Tilgner, Volksnomostheologie und Schopfungsglaube, Gottingen 1966; Hans Tiefel, "The German Lutheran Church and the Rise of National Socialism", Church History 41, 1972, pp. 326-336; Arthur C. Cochrane, The Church's Confession Under Hitler, Pittsburgh 1976; and Robert P. Ericksen, Theologians Under Hitler: Gerhard Kittel, Paul Althaus, and Emanuel Hirsch, New Haven 1985. 3 ShelleyBaronowski argues that the ConfessingChurch was not born out of political or humanitarian motives but primarily organized by conservative German elites who re- sisted Nazi intrusion into their traditional ecclesiasticalcontrol. Sec her "The Confessing Church, ConservativeElites, and the Nazi State", Toronto 1986. See also Richard Gutte- ridge, Open Thy Mouth for the Dumb: The German EvangelicalChurch and the Jews 1879-1950,Oxford 1976for his criticism of the ConfessingChurch's lack of action on the Jewish question. 152 groups in the German church conflict, but emphasize also the similari- ties of their views. It will be argued that neither group displayed a social ethic that would effectively restrict or even guide the state in secular matters. The theology and ethics of German Protestantism, in general, demanded obedience, or at least acquiescence to Nazi tyranny. The two groups in the German church struggle had very little contact with each other. One of the few places where representatives from both groups communicated was the young ecumenical movement that con- tinually organized international meetings from its headquarters in Ge- neva. Before 1933, the German Church Federation had played a promi- nent role in ecumenical affairs. German participation was, however, tenuous because of suspicions of internationalism, popular associations of ecumenism with Versailles (the Geneva location underscored this), and the German distaste for Anglo-American theological liberalism, which ran rampant at ecumenical gatherings. Of all the branches of the ecumenical movement, the Germans were most active in the Life and Work organization, founded with Stockholm Conference of 1925, be- cause its intention was to dwell on practical socio-economic matters rather than on divisive theological questions. With the schism following the Nazi church reforms of 1933, the Life and Work movement faced a predicament. The leaders in Geneva sym- pathized with the Confessing Christians and wished to ensure their par- ticipation in ecumenical affairs. They also wished, however, to maintain relations with the Deutschen Evangelischen Kirche (DEK). Somehow they managed to placate both sides. The hardline leadership of the new national church opposed the internationalism and liberal views of the ecumenical leadership, but they would not withdraw from the move- ment because that would leave Confessing Christians as the only repre- sentatives of German Protestantism. Continued participation by DEK authorities provided a way for them to state their case to the world com- munity, and to speak against "misrepresentations" about German church affairs in the foreign press.4 After 1933, the ecumenical leadership busily prepared for the huge Oxford Conference of 1937. As representatives of either the Confessing Church or DEK, leading German theologians and churchmen attended meetings, wrote articles, and prepared formal statements on the contro- versial but appropriate theme of the conference: "Church, Community, and State." Because the Life and Work movement was a forum in which both groups presented their views, a study of the rich and remarkable sources it generated provides a balanced and comparative view of Ger- man Protestant social ethics in this period.5 4 For a thorough examination of the role of the ecumenical movement see Armin Boyens, Kirchenkampf und Okumene 1933-1939. Darstellung und Dokumentation, Miinchen 1969; and Ronald C. D. Jasper, Gerorge Bell, Bishop of Chichester, London 1 967, pp, 1 00-1 20, 201-223. 5 The papers of the Life and Work movement are in the archives of the World Council of Churchesin Geneva. Hereafterthis collectionwill be cited as LW. .
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