Was Hitler a Product of Christianity?

A collection of excerpts from the writings of Hitler demonstrating his rejection of and hostility towards Christianity.

"To substantiate the assertion that the cruelty and lies of Adolf Hitler derived not from the bible, but from disobedience to the bible, this website will briefly examine the following twelve basic observations."

The most enthusiastic advocate of the "Hitler-was-a-Christian" school that I am aware of is a certain Mr. Jim Walker. He has put together a very professional-looking website entitled "Hitler's Christianity [http://www.nobeliefs.com/Hitler1.htm]. With nice layout, photos, and different colored letters, he asserts that Hitler was a Christian. More than that, he claims that Hitler had a strong belief in Jesus and the bible, and that Hitler acted according to the bible.

Going over his site, I noticed five characteristic attitudes underlying his entire approach. The first of these is (a) hostility; a deep hostility toward Christianity is an essential ingredient of Mr. Walker's website. A second element is (b) a lack of historical information. A great deal of attention is devoted to Hitler's words - little or nothing is said about what actually happened to the churches in the Third Reich, or about the intellectual background of National Socialism. A third element is (c) a profound illogic, that stresses the most tenuous and vague similarities and ignores stark black and white contrasts. A fourth element is (d) inaccuracy - there are frequent misstatements of fact. Fifthly, there is (e) a vast ignorance of biblical Christianity.

"If Hitler was motivated by a supreme being, or convinced that his success was providential, it is hard to see that he was referring to the same God worshipped by Christians. These elements of his orations were dramatic and poetic figures of speech, and the immortality he stood for was of the earthly type, in which heroic legends and monumentalist architecture alone would preserve a great name or event for generations. This analysis stands entirely apart from the actions committed in Hitler’s name which shatter any pretence of Christian leaning. In conclusion, it is reasonable beyond doubt to say that Hitler was not at any stage of his life a Christian."

"My conclusion is that Hitler, although he was brought up and confirmed as a Catholic, had abandoned Christianity by the time he was in control of Germany. Importantly though, he was not an atheist either. Read on to find out more…."

Recounts Christian opposition to Hitler's activities in occupied Europe

Provides evidence that Hitler persecuted Christian churches.

"[D]ocuments that prove Nazi’s planned to “eliminate Christianity and convert its followers to an Aryan philosophy” are now on the online version of Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion (Hotchkin, 2003, p. 3). The church did much to fight Nazism, but not nearly enough. Nonetheless, there is no way that they can they be held as the cause of Nazism."

"Yes, he did make public claims to Christianity even while he was in power and persecuting Christians. But those public professions were simply lies. He made them in order to win the support of the German people, but in reality he wanted to do away with Christianity as it had hitherto been known and pervert it into a mere facade for Nazism and worship of himself as the ultimate leader."

"Hitler considered himself religious, but had only contempt for organized religion and the teachings of the church about Jesus. Hitler had his own private view of Jesus, that of an economic revolutionary and Jew hater.... If the question is "was Hitler in the tradition of mainstream Christianity" then the answer is no.

The problem of saying "Hitler was a Christian" when by "Christian" is meant something totally different from normal usage and historical context, is that the sentence ceases to mean anything.... The only "value" in saying "Hitler was a Christian" with an iconoclastic meaning for "Christian" is as a tool of anti-Christian propaganda towards the end of misleading people."

Don't be fooled by this type of rhetoric. The Epistle of James makes the point that it is useless to claim to have faith but have no deeds. (James 2: 14-26) The outrageous, cruel and vicious actions of Hitler vis-a-vis the Jewish people, gypsies, and other non-Aryan groups shows the absolute vacuity of his "faith."

What about Nazi Germany? The Cadre has a page devoted to the spurious and usually insincere claim that Hitler was a Christian. Overy, who is a secular historian, notes that Nazism was incompatible, and seen as such by Hitler, with Christianity. Paganism, though not something Hitler actively engaged in, was popular among important Nazi leaders . . . .

In all honesty, I find the anyone who believes Hitler to have been a Christian is living in the heights of self-deception. Sure, he occasionally claimed Christianity, but nothing in his life reflects a true belief in Jesus. I have never seen anything that suggests that Hitler continued to attend church (church membership being something far different than being active in the church -- ask any pastor), or anything that suggests Hitler made himself accountable to a Pastor or Priest in anyway. In fact, his execution of Christian pastors, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, should be enough to convince anyone with half a brain that he was not a Christian.

Not much doubt what kind of book(s) Nietzsche is talking about here, and Hitler would no doubt agree. The Christian Bible, and even more so, the Hebrew Bible, bore such a stink in the latter’s mind. Given Nietzsche’s utter contempt for Christianity, it should come as no surprise that he held its values and morals in the lowest possible opinion. Yet, when Hitler actually escaped those morals, rather than merely sneered at them, one must wonder if Nietzsche would have had any idea of what would come of it.