DOCSLIB.ORG

National Socialist Family Law : the Influence of National Socialism on Marriage and Divorce Law in Germany and the Netherlands

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
National Socialist Family Law : the Influence of National Socialism on Marriage and Divorce Law in Germany and the Netherlands National socialist family law : the influence of national socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands Citation for published version (APA): Lenaerts, M. F. (2012). National socialist family law : the influence of national socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands. Maastricht University. https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20121108ml Document status and date: Published: 01/01/2012 DOI: 10.26481/dis.20121108ml Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement: www.umlib.nl/taverne-license Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at: [email protected] providing details and we will investigate your claim. Download date: 01 Oct. 2021 16,70 mm and divorce law in Germany the Netherlands The influence of National Socialism on marriage This book answers the question whether family law, in particular marriage and divorce law, in Germany and the Netherlands has been influenced by National Socialism in the period 1933-1945. In order to answer this question the author provides an in-depth analysis of National Socialism and the ideological role of marriage, family and children according to National Socialism. The book furthermore National Socialist gives an elaborate overview of the rules concerning marriage and divorce that existed in Germany and the Netherlands before the National Socialist take-over. Finally the book provides an in- depth analysis of the measures adopted by the National Socialists National concerning marriage and divorce law. Special attention is given to the attempts to revise Dutch divorce law. For this the author has made extensive use of the archives of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, that are only partially public. Family Law Family Socialist Family The influence of National Socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands Mariken Lenaerts Law Mariken Lenaerts National Socialist Family Law Mariken Lenaerts National Socialist Family Law Mariken Lenaerts National Socialist Family Law National Socialist Family Law The influence of National Socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands Dissertation to obtain the degree of Doctor at Maastricht University, on the authority of the Rector Magnificus, Prof. Dr. L.L.G. Soete in accordance with the decision of the Board of Deans, to be defended in public on Thursday 08 November 2012, at 12.00 hours by Maria Francisca Lenaerts Supervisors Prof. Dr. G.R. de Groot Prof. Dr. C.H. van Rhee Assessment Committee Prof. Dr. A.M.J.A. Berkvens (chair) Prof. Dr. C.J.H. Jansen (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen) Prof. Dr. G.E. van Maanen Dr. S.W.E. Rutten Prof. Dr. R. Schulze (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) ‘We can no longer afford to take that which was good in the past and simply call it our heritage, to discard the bad and simply think of it as a dead load which by itself time will bury in oblivion.’ Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1973), ix Voor papa ‘Lettertjes worden woorden, woorden worden zinnen, zinnen een verhaal…’ ‘A goal is a dream with a deadline.’ ‘I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.’ Douglas Adams Preface Being able to write a PhD thesis was my dream when I was still a law student, who had just switched from European Law School to the – in the eyes of many – somewhat obscure track of Metajuridica. It became a clear- set goal when I was appointed as junior researcher in July 2006. But as with many PhD theses it has been a constant struggle with deadlines; some dreams are hard to fulfil. At times I used a free interpretation of Douglas Adams’ quote: ‘I hate deadlines. I hate the nagging sound they make as they come close’. However, when I will place the final full stop at the end of my preface, my dream has been fulfilled, within the set deadline. New dreams can be and will be pursued. However, before I can start with that, I first have to express my gratitude to many persons who have helped me and at times even proved to be instrumental in achieving this goal. 9 First and foremost I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisors, Professor René de Groot and Professor Remco van Rhee, who have truly introduced me in the world of academic research by allowing me to work independently whilst in the mean time reflecting on my research and my tasks as a junior researcher. Others however, contributed to the realisation of this book as well. Therefore I would like to thank Yuri Michielsen-Tallman for introducing me to the initial topic of this research and helping me to secure a position as junior researcher at Maastricht University, Remme Verkerk, Richard Verkijk and Stefan Weishaar for providing me with interesting and very often helpful literature, Professor Trix van Erp-Jacobs for introducing me to the world of archival research, Professor Hildegard Schneider for her mental support during the past six, sometimes difficult, years, the NIOD Institute on War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies for allowing me to study their archives and in particular Sergio Leatomu who made an endless number of photocopies of all documents I needed, Bibiche Wymenga and Sead Kadic for kindly translating the summary into German, Henry Smaal for designing the cover and the lay-out of this book, Ine Corstjens and Suzanne de Jongste for the vital secretarial support and Emanuel van Dongen for endlessly enduring Genesis on repeat. Thanks also to all my (ex-)colleagues and friends at the faculty for turning my job from a mere job into a dream job (still!), in particular Emanuel van Dongen, Remme Verkerk, Serban Vacarelu and Tanja van der Meer. Tanja van der Meer deserves to be singled out here. I can not thank her enough for all her help and support in the past six years, which is still ongoing until this very day. Titles like ‘unofficial co-supervisor’ or ‘PhD godmother’ are definitely in order. Furthermore I would like to thank my father, for introducing me into the world of knowledge, my mother and Aafke for their continuous support and interest and my friends for keeping up with me so long and allowing me to neglect them horribly. Finally, when we are talking about ‘keeping up’; thank you Jacco. It’s done my love, it’s done. Let’s go! 10 Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................ 13 I. Introduction 16 1.1. Family Law during the Nazi Era ............................................................................................................................ 19 1.2. Research Questions and Scope of this Research ..................................................................................................... 19 1.3. Sources .............................................................................................................................................................. 20 1.4. Structure of the Research ..................................................................................................................................... 21 1.5. Translation of Terminology .................................................................................................................................... 22 II. Family Policy according to National Socialism 24 2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 25 2.2. The Origins of National Socialism ......................................................................................................................... 27 2.2.1. A Volk rooted in nature ................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Compulsory Sterilization, Euthanasia, and Propaganda: the Nazi Experience
    COMPULSORY STERILIZATION, EUTHANASIA, AND PROPAGANDA: THE NAZI EXPERIENCE Jay LaMonica I. COMPULSORY STERILIZATION, 1933-1939 When Adolf Hitler took power in Germany, one of his top priorities was to purify the race and to build the genetically pure Aryan man. It was an objective he had discussed in his early manifesto, Mein Kampf. One of the first major laws passed by the Nazi regime in 1934 was the forced sterilization program of those with hereditary illnesses. This program was intended to develop eventually into a full-scale program of euthanasia for those judged “unworthy of life,” especially the mentally and physically disabled. To prepare public opinion in greater Germany, a systematic and widespread propaganda campaign was put into effect to provide the scientific and political rationale for these proposals and to build support among the public at large. The Nazi propaganda program took advantage of a well-developed German film industry that was already being retooled as an instrument of the state in order to maintain and expand backing for the regime. The general pattern of slick, well-produced films utilized repetition of misleading and erroneous scientific information and statistics, coupled with powerful emotional images that confirmed pre-existing prejudices and stereotypes. These techniques were particularly effective when applied to the forced sterilization program and to the euthanasia program that would follow when public opinion was sufficiently prepared. These techniques were also used to inform and indoctrinate those personally involved in carrying out the initiatives and to help maintain their level of commitment. The scientific and medical communities that would implement these programs were already well-disposed to accept their theoretical underpin- nings.
    [Show full text]
  • Pioneer's Big Lie
    COMMENTARIES PIONEER'S BIG LIE Paul A. Lombardo* In this they proceeded on the sound principle that the magnitude of a lie always contains a certain factor of credibility, since the great masses of the people in the very bottom of their hearts tend to be corrupted rather than consciously and purposely evil, and that, therefore, in view of the primitive simplicity of their minds, they more easily fall a victim to a big lie than to a little one, since they themselves lie in little things, but would be ashamed of lies that were too big. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf' In the spring of 2002, I published an article entitled "The American Breed" Nazi Eugenics and the Origins of the Pioneer Fund as part of a symposium edition of the Albany Law Review.2 My objective was to present "a detailed analysis of the.., origins of the Pioneer Fund"3 and to show the connections between Nazi eugenics and one branch of the American eugenics movement that I described as purveying "a malevolent brand of biological determinism."4 I collected published evidence on the Pioneer Fund's history and supplemented it with material from several archival collections-focusing particularly on letters and other documents that explained the relationship between Pioneer's first President, 'Paul A. Lombardo, Ph.D., J.D., Director, Program in Law and Medicine, University of Virginia Center for Bioethics. I ADOLF HITLER, MEIN KAMPF 231 (Ralph Manheim trans., Houghton Mifflin Co. 1971) (1925). 2 Paul A. Lombardo, "The American Breed" Nazi Eugenics and the Origins of the Pioneer Fund, 65 ALB.
    [Show full text]
  • Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany
    Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:18 04 October 2016 Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany This book is about the ethics of nursing and midwifery, and how these were abrogated during the Nazi era. Nurses and midwives actively killed their patients, many of whom were disabled children and infants and patients with mental (and other) illnesses or intellectual disabilities. The book gives the facts as well as theoretical perspectives as a lens through which these crimes can be viewed. It also provides a way to teach this history to nursing and midwifery students, and, for the first time, explains the role of one of the world’s most historically prominent midwifery leaders in the Nazi crimes. Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:18 04 October 2016 Susan Benedict is Professor of Nursing, Director of Global Health, and Co- Director of the Campus-Wide Ethics Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing in Houston. Linda Shields is Professor of Nursing—Tropical Health at James Cook Uni- versity, Townsville, Queensland, and Honorary Professor, School of Medi- cine, The University of Queensland. Routledge Studies in Modern European History 1 Facing Fascism 9 The Russian Revolution of 1905 The Conservative Party and the Centenary Perspectives European dictators 1935–1940 Edited by Anthony Heywood and Nick Crowson Jonathan D. Smele 2 French Foreign and Defence 10 Weimar Cities Policy, 1918–1940 The Challenge of Urban The Decline and Fall of a Great Modernity in Germany Power John Bingham Edited by Robert Boyce 11 The Nazi Party and the German 3 Britain and the Problem of Foreign Office International Disarmament Hans-Adolf Jacobsen and Arthur 1919–1934 L.
    [Show full text]
  • The Treatment of the Disabled at the Eichberg Asylum for the Mentally Ill in Nazi Germany
    In Fear of the Frail: The Treatment of the Disabled at the Eichberg Asylum for the Mentally Ill in Nazi Germany Markus Benedi kt Kreitmair B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1995 THESIS SUBMlïTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Faculty of Arts (Department of History) O Markus Benedikt Kreitmair 2000 SIMON FRASER ONIVERSlTY March 2000 Ail rights resewed. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. me Wellingtm OnawaON KlAW O(G8waON K1AON4 Canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de rnicrofiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. The National Socialist era was a temfying time for Germany's disabled population.
    [Show full text]
  • Unfolding Transatlantic Eugenics in Disability Scholarship
    Articles “[L]ess than accessible and seriously disheartening”: Unfolding Transatlantic Eugenics in Disability Scholarship Gesine Wegner Abstract As a discussion between American historian Ruth Schwartz Conan and Disabil- ity Studies scholar Rosemarie Garland-Thomson illustrates, reaching consensus on what a term like eugenics means and how it might be used accurately in con- temporary discourse proves to be highly difficult. This article shows that Disabil- ity Studies methodologies enforce a reassessment of the United States’ eugenic past, and, further, that by looking at the ‘long arm’ of this eugenic ideology, Dis- ability Studies has provided ample ground for the reconsideration of eugenic discourses of normalization and their influence on biopolitical questions of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Looking at these discourses through a Literary Studies lens, I aim to stress the importance of creative nonfiction within Disability Studies writing. Disability Studies scholars challenge academic forms of knowledge production through unconventional aesthetics and change how questions of eugenics (past and present) are being addressed in the United States and beyond. 1 Introduction From heated discussions about genetic diagnosis and prenatal screening to questions of assisted suicide and life support: whenev- er eugenics are brought into the equation, the term most frequently functions as a means of accusation, subsequently leading to debates about the appropriateness of the word for current bioethical discus- sions. In what contexts is it justified to call a practice eugenic, and, more importantly, how do we define the term in the first place? These fundamental questions characterize an online debate about the past and present of eugenics held by Disability Studies scholar Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and historian Ruth Schwartz Cowan (Cowan and Garland-Thomson).
    [Show full text]
  • Love Between Women in the Narrative of the Holocaust
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2015 Unacknowledged Victims: Love between Women in the Narrative of the Holocaust. An Analysis of Memoirs, Novels, Film and Public Memorials Isabel Meusen University of South Carolina - Columbia Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Comparative Literature Commons Recommended Citation Meusen, I.(2015). Unacknowledged Victims: Love between Women in the Narrative of the Holocaust. An Analysis of Memoirs, Novels, Film and Public Memorials. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/3082 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Unacknowledged Victims: Love between Women in the Narrative of the Holocaust. An Analysis of Memoirs, Novels, Film and Public Memorials by Isabel Meusen Bachelor of Arts Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 2007 Master of Arts Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 2011 Master of Arts University of South Carolina, 2011 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2015 Accepted by: Agnes Mueller, Major Professor Yvonne Ivory, Committee Member Federica Clementi, Committee Member Laura Woliver, Committee Member Lacy Ford, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies © Copyright by Isabel Meusen, 2015 All Rights reserved. ii Dedication Without Megan M. Howard this dissertation wouldn’t have made it out of the petri dish. Words will never be enough to express how I feel.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Vergeet Niet Dat Je Arts Bent' : Joodse Artsen in Nederland 1940-1945
    ‘Vergeet niet dat je arts bent’ : Joodse artsen in Nederland 1940-1945 Citation for published version (APA): van den Ende, H. L. (2015). ‘Vergeet niet dat je arts bent’ : Joodse artsen in Nederland 1940-1945. Uitgeverij Boom. https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20150402he Document status and date: Published: 01/01/2015 DOI: 10.26481/dis.20150402he Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.
    [Show full text]
  • National Socialist Family Law Legal History Library
    National Socialist Family Law Legal History Library Volume 16 Studies in the History of Private Law Series Editors C.H. (Remco) van Rhee (Maastricht University) Dirk Heirbaut (University of Ghent) Matthew C. Mirow (Florida International University) Editorial Board Hamilton Bryson (University of Richmond) Thomas P. Gallanis (University of Iowa) James Gordley (Tulane University) Richard Helmholz (University of Chicago) Michael Hoeflich (University of Kansas) Neil Jones (University of Cambridge) Hector MacQueen (University of Edinburgh) Paul Oberhammer (University of Zurich) Marko Petrak (University of Zagreb) Jacques du Plessis (University of Stellenbosch) Mathias Reimann (University of Michigan) Jan M. Smits (University of Tilburg) Alain Wijffels (Université Catholique de Louvain, University of Leiden, CNRS) Reinhard Zimmermann (Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Hamburg) VOLUME 8 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/lhl National Socialist Family Law The Influence of National Socialism on Marriage and Divorce Law in Germany and the Netherlands By Mariken Lenaerts LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Wedding Feldwebel (Sergeant) Seil, ’s Hertogenbosch (the Netherlands), April 1944. (Beeldbank WO2 – NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Cover illustration and figures designed by Henry Smaal grafisch ontwerp, www.henrysmaal.nl Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lenaerts, Mariken, author. National Socialist family law : the influence of National Socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands / By Mariken Lenaerts. pages cm. — (Legal history library ; volume 16) (Studies in the history of private law ; volume 8) Based on author’s thesis (doctoral - Maastricht University), 2012. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-90-04-27930-8 (hardback : alk.
    [Show full text]
  • The Itinerary
    HARALD SANDNER HITLER THE ITINERARY Whereabouts and Travels from 1889 to 1945 VOLUME I 1889–1927 Introduction Where exactly did Hitler reside from the time of his birth on 20 April 1889 in the Austrian village of Braunau am Inn, then part of Austria-Hungary, until his suicide on 30 April 1945 in Berlin at a time when the Third Reich was almost entirely occupied? This book is a nearly exhaustive account of the German dictator’s movements, and it answers this question. It !rst o"ers a summary of all the places he lived and stayed in, as well as his travel details, in- cluding information about the modes of transport. It then puts this data in its political, military and personal/private context. Additional information relating to the type of transportation used, Hitler’s physical remains and the destruction he left behind are also included. Biographies on Hitler have researched sources dating back to the period between 1889 and 1918. Such biographers – especially in more recent times – were able to as- sess new material and correct the mistakes made by other authors in the past. Prominent examples include Anton Joachimsthaler (1989, 2000, 2003, 2004) and Brigitte Hamann (2002, 2008) ades of Hitler’s life. Hitler became politically active in 1919. Sources from the early years are scarce and relatively neutral. However, soon after that, the tone of the sources is in#uenced heav- ily by the political attitudes of contemporary journalism. Objective information waned, and reports were either glori!ed or highly disapproving. References to travel, the means of transport used, etc do exist to some degree, but are often also contradictory.
    [Show full text]
  • German Captured Documents Collection
    German Captured Documents Collection A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Prepared by Allan Teichroew, Fred Bauman, Karen Stuart, and other Manuscript Division Staff with the assistance of David Morris and Alex Sorenson Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2011 Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2011 Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms011148 Latest revision: 2012 October Collection Summary Title: German Captured Documents Collection Span Dates: 1766-1945 ID No.: MSS22160 Extent: 249,600 items ; 51 containers plus 3 oversize ; 20.5 linear feet ; 508 microfilm reels Language: Collection material in German with some English and French Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: German documents captured by American military forces after World War II consisting largely of Nazi Party materials, German government and military records, files of several German officials, and some quasi-governmental records. Much of the material is microfilm of originals returned to Germany. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. People Wiedemann, Fritz, b. 1891. Fritz Wiedemann papers. Organizations Akademie für Deutsches Recht (Germany) Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund. Deutsches Ausland-Institut. Eher-Verlag. Archiv. Germany. Auswärtiges Amt. Germany. Reichskanzlei. Germany. Reichsministerium für die Besetzten Ostgebiete. Germany. Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion. Germany. Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Comment on Richard Steigmann-Gall's the Holy Reich
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by DepositOnce Journal of Contemporary History Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications, London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi, Vol 42(1), 35–46. ISSN 0022–0094. DOI: 10.1177/0022009407071630 Manfred Gailus A Strange Obsession with Nazi Christianity: A Critical Comment on Richard Steigmann-Gall’s The Holy Reich Richard Steigmann-Gall’s study of ‘Nazi conceptions of Christianity’ is, with- out question, both an interesting and provocative contribution to recent debates on religious conditions and nazi ideology in the Third Reich and, by extension, to the current controversies concerning secularization processes and the history of twentieth-century religion in general.1 These debates have been ongoing for the last 15 years, usually under the rubric ‘political religion’ and in the context of more recent attempts at revising the older sociological secular- ization paradigms. Regrettably, however, Steigmann-Gall makes far too little reference in his revised dissertation, published in 1999, to this broad and sometimes international debate. In this respect, let it be said at the outset, his contribution is not as novel, original or revolutionary as he, and some of his book-jacket reviewers — not least the three prime eulogists Richard Evans, Michael Burleigh and Helmut Walser Smith — would have us believe.2 1 Richard Steigmann-Gall, The Holy Reich. Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945 (Cambridge 2003). The book is based on the author’s revised dissertation, ‘“The Holy Reich”. Religious Dimensions of Nazi Ideology, 1919–1945’, University of Toronto 1999. 2 See Jay Baird, To Die for Germany.
    [Show full text]
  • Die Evangelische Kirche in Der Sicht Der Nationalsozialistischen Führung 17
    KLAUS SCHOLDER DIE EVANGELISCHE KIRCHE IN DER SICHT DER NATIONAL­ SOZIALISTISCHEN FÜHRUNG BIS ZUM KRIEGSAUSBRUCH! Es gehört zu den nachhaltigsten Eindrücken, die das Studium von Regierungs- und Parteiakten aus der Zeit des Dritten Reiches vermittelt, welche zentrale Bedeutung einer Äußerung, einer Weisung oder einem Befehl des Führers von Anfang an zu­ kommt. Es scheint deshalb auch methodisch der richtige Weg, in der Frage nach dem Verhältnis der nationalsozialistischen Führung zur evangelischen Kirche von Hitlers Stellungnahmen und Entscheidungen auszugehen. Es soll deshalb im fol­ genden der Versuch gemacht werden, in großen Zügen das Bild zu rekonstruieren, das Hitler auf Grund seiner Informationen von der evangelischen Kirche hatte, und an Hand seiner Entscheidungen zu zeigen, welche Pläne er mit ihr verfolgte. Zu­ gleich soll dabei deutlich werden, welche Fülle divergierender Meinungen in der Führungsschicht von Staat und Partei über die Kirchenfrage bestand2. Die meisten Darstellungen von Hitlers Ansichten über Christentum und Kirche orientieren sich vor allem an zwei Quellen: an Hermann Rauschnings bekannter Wiedergabe eines Gesprächs vom Abend des 6. April 1933 mit der bezeichnenden Überschrift: „Der Antichrist"; und an einer Reihe von Äußerungen aus den Jahren 1941 und 1942, die Henry Picker in seinen Tischgesprächen aus dem Führer­ hauptquartier notiert hat. Nach Rauschning soll Hitler in jenem nächtlichen Ge­ spräch erklärt haben, daß er entschlossen sei, das Christentum in Deutschland „mit Stumpf und Stiel, mit allen seinen Wurzeln und Fasern" auszurotten3. Ganz ähn­ lich bezeichnet er im Dezember 1941 die Lösung der Kirchenfrage als „die letzte große Aufgabe unserer Zeit"4 und nennt wenig später, im Februar 1942, Christen­ tum und Kirchen eine „Kulturschande", die nach dem Krieg „beseitigt werden" müsse5.
    [Show full text]