Catholic and Protestant Faith Communities in Thuringia After the Second World War, 1945-1948
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Catholic and Protestant faith communities in Thuringia after the Second World War, 1945-1948 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History in the University of Canterbury By Luke Fenwick University of Canterbury 2007 Table of contents Abstract 1 Acknowledgements 2 List of abbreviations 4 List of figures and maps 5 Introduction 6 Chapter 1: The end of the war, the occupiers and the churches 28 Chapter 2: The churches and the secular authorities, 1945-1948 51 Chapter 3: Church efforts in pastoral and material care, 1945-1948 77 Chapter 4: Church popularity and stagnation, 1945-1948 100 Chapter 5: The social influence of the churches: native Thuringians and refugees 127 Chapter 6: The churches, the Nazi past and denazification 144 Chapter 7: Church conceptions of guilt and community attitudes to the Nazi past 166 Conclusion: The position and influence of the churches 183 Maps 191 Bibliography 197 II Abstract In 1945, many parts of Germany lay in rubble and there was a Zeitgeist of exhaustion, apathy, frustration and, in places, shame. German society was disorientated and the Catholic and Protestant churches were the only surviving mass institutions that remained relatively independent from the former Nazi State. Allowed a general religious freedom by the occupying forces, the churches provided the German population with important spiritual and material support that established their vital post-war role in society. The churches enjoyed widespread popular support and, in October 1946, over 90 percent of the population in the Soviet zone (SBZ) claimed membership in either confession. This thesis is a social history that examines the position of the churches in Thuringia, as a case study, between 1945 and 1948 and aims to evaluate their social and moral influence on the population. It seeks to readdress the considerable dearth of historiographical attention given to the role of the churches in people’s everyday lives. In summary, despite a general religious revival in 1945, the popularity of the churches was both short-lived and superficial. Although the churches were industrious in attempting to provide for everybody, the acute destitution encountered by the Thuringian population in 1945 was a chronic problem that undermined the authority of the churches. This was revealed in the inability of the churches to influence faith communities to regularly attend church, to welcome refugees and to feel some responsibility for the Nazi past. Meanwhile, by 1948, the dominant political party, the Socialist Unity Party (SED), had tightened its control over social life in the SBZ. Instead of heeding the voice and dictates of the churches, the population fell into an ideological apathy that favoured the SED, despite the party’s own widespread unpopularity. The result was the almost unchallenged, increasing power of socialism in the SBZ that ultimately led to the establishment of the German Democratic Republic under the aegis of the SED with the churches’ acquiescence. 1 Acknowledgements The submission of this dissertation closes a truly interesting chapter of my life. The vicissitudes of the past year have been both trying and rewarding. I feel compelled to acknowledge those individuals who made this project realisable where it otherwise would not have been. Firstly, I am bound to thank my supervisors, Dr. Gareth Pritchard and Dr. Christopher Connolly, for their time and effort in sifting through some truly mediocre drivel during the writing process. Although my reactions to entirely justified criticisms have not always been welcoming, they have both taught me much not only about history and academic work but also about general work ethic and other life skills. Their advice has been invaluable and an indispensable resource that I shall, no doubt, continue to draw upon in coming years. Thank-you so very much. I am also indebted to the help of all those who aided me before and during my five week research trip to Germany. I thank Education New Zealand and the University of Canterbury for their very generous funding without which the trip would have been but a chimera. In Germany, I wish to acknowledge especially the archivists. In particular, Dr. Friedrich Künzel at the Evangelisches Zentralarchiv in Berlin, Dr. Manfred Agethen at the Archiv für Christlich-Demokratische Politik, Dr. Edgar Kutzner at the Bistum Fulda Archiv, Dr. Johannes Merz at the Diözesan Archiv Würzburg, Bettina Fischer at the Thüringisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Weimar and Uta Schäfer at Glaube und Heimat. I owe special gratitude to Dr. Michael Matscha at the Bistum Erfurt Archiv and Hans-Günther Kessler at the Landeskirchenarchiv in Eisenach. Dr Matscha was an invaluable aid in helping with my inquiries and was moreover more than willing to offer information and advice on more practical issues such as the Erfurt transport system, supermarkets and internet cafés. Many, many thanks. Herr Kessler was similarly anxious to help and a mine of information. He tirelessly retrieved documents and, in a marathon effort, photocopied 2 important documents at my behest almost ad infinitum. For his informed tour and commentary on the astonishing history of Eisenach (which belies its small size) and advice on cuisine, moreover, I am indebted. Perhaps this gratefulness is balanced somewhat by Herr Kessler’s cast-off remark that the Wartburg was ‘just up the hill’ from the archive. Plenty of effort and sweat later, I found myself gazing at the Wartburg, albeit from the wrong peak! Jests aside, I also cannot thank him enough. All of these people eased my burden and anxieties in what was my first, rather tentative trip out of Australasia. I would also like to mention my peers and friends at Canterbury: Marcus, Fiona, Brian and Jacinta, and more recently, Jeremy and Rosemary. We have had some good times. I look forward to many more. Finally, the greatest gratitude I bear toward my parents, Peter and Cheryl, and siblings, Ruth and Timothy. Thank you for your close presence and role in my life in the past 15 months. Most especially, mum and dad, the support and the love you have shown me over 23 years is a debt I can never hope to repay. I shall miss you enormously in the next period of my life. Ich wünsche euch alles Gute und liebe euch recht herzlich. Luke Fenwick Christchurch 31/5/2007 3 List of abbreviations ACDP – Archiv für Christlich-Demokratische Politik BEA – Bistum Erfurt Archiv BFA – Bistum Fulda Archiv BAE-M – Bischöfliches Amt Erfurt-Meiningen BdM – Büro des Ministerpräsidenten BGVE – Bischöfliches Generalvikariat Erfurt BGVF – Bischöfliches Generalvikariat Fulda BGVP – Bischöfliches Generalvikariat Paderborn GBVP bzw. Fulda – Bischöfliches Generalvikariat Paderborn bzw. Fulda: Pfarreien, Dekanate, Stiftungen, Einrichtungen etc. auf dem Gebiet der Heutigen Diözese Erfurt BK – Bekennende Kirche BKE – Bischöfliches Kommissariat Erfurt BKM – Bischöfliches Kommisariat Meiningen CDU – Christlich-Demokratische Union DAW – Diözesan Archiv Würzburg DC – Deutsche Christen DWK – Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission EKD – Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland EZAB – Evangelisches Zentralarchiv in Berlin FDGB – Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund FDJ – Freie Deutsche Jugend GDR – German Democratic Republic Gestapo – Geheime Staatspolizei GuH – Glaube und Heimat HJ – Hitlerjugend KPD – Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands JG – Junge Gemeinde LfV – Landesamt für Volksbildung LKAE – Landeskirchlichenarchiv Eisenach LKR – Landeskirchenrat der Thüringer evangelische Kirche LDPD – Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands NSDAP – Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei RM – Reichsmark SBZ – Sowjetisches Besatzungszone SED – Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands SMAD – Sowjetische Militäradministration in Deutschland SMATh – Sowjetische Militäradministration in Thüringen SPD – Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands SS – Schutzstaffel TeK – Thüringer evangelische Kirche ThHStAW – Thüringisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Weimar VELKD – Vereinigten Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche in Deutschland 4 List of figures and maps Figure I: Priests in active pastoral care: 7 May 1948 87 Figure II: TeK membership statistics, 1946-1949 116 Map I: Thuringian states 1826-1920 191 Map II: Land Thüringen from 1945 192 Map III: The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) after 1945 193 Map IV: The Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Thüringen (2007) 194 Map V: The Catholic Church in Germany after 1945 195 Map VI: The Thuringian section of the Fulda diocese after 1945 196 5 Introduction This dissertation focuses on churchmen and their communities in the period April 1945 to the end of 1948. Using Thuringia as a case study, it evaluates the position and role of the Catholic and Protestant churches in the aftermath of the Second World War and their influence over the population. The churches enjoyed a prominent position in occupied Germany, for they were the only large-scale organisations that survived the collapse of the Nazi regime. Many regions lacked government and administration and the churches stepped into the breach and provided a focal point for the wider community. The churches therefore became the advocates for the people and enjoyed a degree of independence from the occupation authorities in Germany.1 Many historians have commented on the fact that the churches in the western zones of occupation were allowed a large measure of autonomy by the French, British and American military administrations.2 What is less well known is that the Russians, also, 1 Hagen Findeis, Detlef