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The German Faith Movement (''Deutsche Glaubensbewegung'') was a religious movement in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
that existed between 1933 and 1945, closely associated with
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
professor Jakob Wilhelm Hauer. The movement sought to move Germany away from
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
towards a religion that was based on
Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological dating, chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the Bri ...
and
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
ideas.


History

In 1933, Germany's population of almost 60 million belonged to either the Catholic Church (20 million members) or the Protestant Church (40 million members). Many Christians were initially drawn to supporting Nazism due to the emphasis on "positive Christianity," noted in Article 24 of the 1920
National Socialist Program The National Socialist Program, also known as the Nazi Party Program, the 25-point Program or the 25-point Plan (), was the party program of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP, and referred to in English as the Nazi Party). Adolf ...
. However, two distinct Protestant factions emerged as Christians in Germany were divided along political lines. The " German Christians" (''Deutsche Christen'') emerged from the German Evangelical Church, adhering closely to the nationalistic and racial teachings of the Nazis and ultimately deferring to the Führer's authority. The second faction was the " Confessing Church", which opposed the "German Christians" and swore allegiance to "God and scripture, not a worldly Führer." The Confessing Church moved to counteract the Nazis' grouping of all German people into a singular Protestant church (German Christians) in order to "de-Judaize" Christianity. Jakob Wilhelm Hauer founded the German Faith Movement in response to the Nazi government's intended indoctrination of children with Christianity and attempting to outlaw all critiques of the faith. He was initially not an obvious supporter of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and had earlier started the Köngener Bund, a German Protestant youth movement, which attracted many young Germans due to its opposition to
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
as well as to
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. His allegiance changed however, joining the Combat League for German Culture (''Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'') in May 1933. Hauer then joined the Hitler Youth later that year, in December. The once liberal anti-nationalist was then inducted into the SS and SD in August 1934. Hauer became the ''Führer'' of the German Faith Movement when it was constituted in May 1934. His reign was short-lived, stepping down on April 1, 1936. Hauer was a critic of traditional Christianity but was compelled to create the German Faith Movement as a way to preserve freedom of conscience.


Composition

The movement initially invited various different groups, including religious free-thinkers (at first even including Jews), racialists, and political opponents of the Nazis, to join a group that was seemingly antagonistic to the Nazi Church. However, racialists, including Hauer, did not believe Jews should be included in the movement, thus leaving only racialists and those who had abandoned German Christianity (i.e. unconventional) to compose the German Faith Movement.


Peak era and rituals

The movement's ceremonies involved sermons, German classical music and political hymns. The movement had around 200,000 followers at its height (less than 0.3% of the population). Following the Nazi accession to power, it obtained rights of civil tolerance from
Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...
, but never the preferential treatment from the Nazi state for which Hauer campaigned. However, in the years that followed Hauer's abdication of his title as ''Führer'' of the Movement, the Movement largely served as a
NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
appendage. The development of the German Faith Movement revolved around: * the propagation of the '
blood and soil Blood and soil (, ) is a nationalist slogan expressing Nazi Germany's ideal of a racially defined Body national, national body ("Blood") united with a settlement area ("Soil"). By it, rural and farm life forms are idealized as a counterweight t ...
' ideology * the syncretism of Christian ceremonies with pagan equivalents; the most favored pagan deity being the sun, as can be seen from the flag of the faith movement * the cult of Hitler's personality * the spread of
Norse paganism Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic paganism, Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse language, Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into Germanic peoples, distinc ...
throughout Germany Similar movements have remained active in Germany since 1945 outside mainstream educational and social structures.


See also

* Neopaganism in German-speaking Europe * Positive Christianity * Religion in Nazi Germany


References


Sources

*Hauer, William et al. (1937); ''Germany's New Religion: The German Faith Movement''; London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Written with Karl Heim & Karl Adam; trans. from German by T.S.K. Scott-Craig & R.E. Davies. *Nanko, Ulrich (1993); ''Die Deutsche Glaubensbewegung. Eine historische und soziologische Untersuchung'' (German: the German Faith Movement - a historical and sociological examination); Religionswissenschaftliche Reihe Bd. 4. Diagonal, Marburg (Lahn). *Poewe, Karla (2005); ''New Religions and the Nazis''; Routledge. {{Authority control Germanic mysticism Germanic neopaganism Modern pagan organisations based in Germany Modern pagan organizations established in the 1930s Far-right modern pagan organizations Nazi Party organizations Occultism in Nazism Religious organizations established in 1934 Religious organizations disestablished in 1945 Defunct modern pagan organizations