Michael Brooks
The Catholic Church and its members were targets of Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Many thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe. Some Catholic priests, nuns, and bishops were ardent members of the Nazi Party, while others were sent to concentration camps, and even killed. The Church itself has been accused of complicity in the Holocaust, and there has been debate over its inaction and silence during the atrocities.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Catholics who died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe | Many thousands |
| Catholic clergy who died at Dachau | 1,034 |
| Percentage of clerics imprisoned at Dachau who were Roman Catholics | 94.88% |
| Catholic priests who died at Dachau | Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder, Saint Titus Brandsma, Blessed Alojs Andritzki, Blessed Otto Neururer, Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg, Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, Blessed Giuseppe Girotti |
| Catholic men, women, and children | Died as soldiers, in forced labor, as civilian casualties in the fighting, or as victims in the gas chambers |
| Catholic institutions that were ruined | Churches, cathedrals, monasteries, convents, schools, universities, and monuments |
| Number of prisoners in the Death Books listed as Roman Catholics | 32,000 (46.8%) |
| Number of prisoners in the Death Books listed as non-believers | 1,277 |
| Number of prisoners in the Death Books listed as adherents of Judaism | 30,000 |
| Number of prisoners in the Death Books listed as Muslims | 5 |
| Number of prisoners in the Death Books with a "religious denomination" blank | 184 |
| Number of prisoners in the Death Books with "denomination unknown" | 116 |
| Number of prisoners in the Death Books with no death certificates | 40,000 |
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What You'll Learn
Catholic martyrs of the Holocaust
While the Catholic Church faced persecution by the Nazi regime, and many of its members were victims of the Holocaust, it is also true that some Catholics supported the Nazis and turned a blind eye to the Holocaust. Many ex-Catholics were members of the ruling Nazi circles, and some Catholics supported the Nazis out of a twisted sense of nationalism, anti-Semitic beliefs, or for personal advancement.
However, the Catholic Church itself was a target of the Nazis. On June 6, 1941, Martin Bormann, one of the most powerful figures in the Third Reich, issued a secret decree against the Church. Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Poland led to the martyrdom of many Polish Catholics, including the 108 Martyrs of World War II, also known as the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs. These martyrs were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1999 and included 3 bishops, 79 priests, 7 male religious, 8 female religious, and 11 lay people. Among them were Ewa Noiszewka and Marta Wolowska, two Sisters of the Immaculate Conception who were executed for hiding Jewish children, and Maria Antonina Kratochwil, a nun who helped Jewish girls in prison and died as a result of the torture she endured.
Many thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe for proclaiming the truth to the Nazi regime. Dachau became the centre for the imprisonment of clergymen, and of the 2,720 clerics recorded as imprisoned there, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Roman Catholics. 1,034 Catholic priests died at Dachau, including the first priest to be killed in the concentration camps, Otto Neururer, who was executed in 1940 for conducting a baptism.
By the end of World War II, tens of millions of Catholics had died as soldiers, in forced labor, as civilian casualties, or as victims in the gas chambers. Catholic churches, cathedrals, monasteries, convents, schools, universities, and monuments lay in ruins, and the surviving Catholics in Europe were left with the task of rebuilding these institutions and repairing the spiritual damage done by the war.
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Catholic complicity in the Holocaust
The Catholic Church was a target of the Nazis, and many thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe. However, the Catholic Church has been accused of complicity in the Holocaust.
The greatest failing of the Roman Catholics was not in action but in inaction. The Catholic clergy and laity often remained silent while Jews were persecuted and killed. While Catholic officials condemned violence against the Jews, some approved of non-violent anti-Jewish discrimination. For instance, Cardinal Augustus Hlond of Poland openly approved of non-violent anti-Jewish discrimination. Further, the Vatican's involvement in sheltering victims of Nazism, especially children, has been questioned. In one instance, the Church resisted returning two Jewish brothers to their family after the war, claiming that they were Catholic. The brothers had been secretly baptized after their parents were killed in Auschwitz.
Catholics also turned a blind eye to the Holocaust, and others remained silent out of fear for their lives and the safety of their families. Further, there were many ex-Catholic members of the ruling Nazi circles, and some Catholics supported the Nazis out of nationalism, anti-Semitic beliefs, or for personal advancement. Hitler moved quickly to eliminate Political Catholicism, arresting thousands of members of the German Centre Party and dissolving the Catholic Bavarian People's Party government. The Nazis also closed Catholic institutions whose functions were not strictly religious, such as Catholic schools and newspapers.
The Nazis' long-term plan was to de-Christianize Germany after the final victory in the war. They desired the subordination of the church to the state and saw the church as a threat to their power. Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. Anti-Catholic propaganda and "morality" trials were staged, and monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation. Catholic clergy were watched closely, denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps.
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Catholic persecution by the Nazis
The Catholic Church was a target of Nazi persecution. The Nazis claimed jurisdiction over all collective and social activity, and the Catholic Church was viewed with fear and suspicion. Clergy were watched closely, denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. Catholic welfare institutions were interfered with or transferred to state control. Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were also eradicated. Monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation.
The Nazis' sterilization law, the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring, was offensive to the Catholic Church. Days later, moves began to dissolve the Catholic Youth League. Political Catholicism was among the targets of Hitler's 1934 Long Knives purge, which included the execution of the head of Catholic Action, Erich Klausener. Catholic leaders were initially more suspicious of National Socialism than their Protestant counterparts. Nationalism was not as deeply embedded in the German Catholic Church, and the rabid anti-Catholicism of figures such as Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue, raised early concerns among Catholic leaders.
In March 1935, Nazi authorities reacted to a protest statement read from the pulpits of Confessing churches by arresting over 700 pastors. In March 1937, the Gestapo confiscated copies of the papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge ("With burning concern") from diocesan offices throughout the country. In March 1941, Goebbels banned all Church media on the pretext of a "paper shortage".
Tens of millions of Catholics died as soldiers, in forced labor, as civilian casualties, or as victims in the gas chambers. Catholic churches, cathedrals, monasteries, convents, schools, universities, and monuments were left in ruins. Many thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe. Dachau Concentration Camp became the center for the imprisonment of clergymen, and of the 2,720 clerics imprisoned there, 1,034 Catholic priests died.
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Catholic deaths in concentration camps
The Catholic Church faced severe persecution in Nazi Germany. Clergy were closely watched, denounced, and arrested, and many were sent to concentration camps. The Nazis claimed jurisdiction over all collective and social activity, and Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. Monasteries and convents were also targeted for expropriation.
Dachau Concentration Camp became the centre for the imprisonment of clergymen from December 1940. Of the 2,720 clergy recorded as imprisoned at Dachau, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Roman Catholics. 1,034 Catholic priests died there. The remaining 1,545 priests were liberated by the Allies on April 29, 1945. Dachau inmates included many of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II.
Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder, a prisoner at Dachau, died of hunger and illness in 1942. Saint Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite, died of a lethal injection in 1942. Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg died during transport to Dachau in 1943. Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, a Czech priest, died of typhoid in 1945. Blessed Giuseppe Girotti died at the camp in April 1945. Otto Neururer, a parish priest, was sent to Dachau for "slander to the detriment of German marriage" after advising a girl against marrying a friend of a senior Nazi. He was executed at Buchenwald concentration camp in 1940.
Tens of millions of Catholics died as soldiers, in forced labor, as civilian casualties, or as victims in the gas chambers. Many thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe. Catholics in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, France, and Germany were arrested for speaking any form of criticism of the regime, aiding Jews, or refusing to remove religious symbols from schools.
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Catholic clergy in concentration camps
The Roman Catholic Church suffered persecution in Nazi Germany. Clergy were watched closely and frequently denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. Catholic schools, presses, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. Monasteries and convents were targeted, and prominent Catholic lay leaders were murdered.
One prominent Catholic victim was Erich Klausener, the president of Catholic Action in Germany. Klausener delivered a speech against the Nazi regime at the Catholic Congress in Berlin in June 1934. He was shot to death during the Night of the Long Knives, when Hitler annihilated much of his political opposition.
From 1940, Dachau Concentration Camp became the centre for the imprisonment of clergymen. Of the 2,720 clergy imprisoned at Dachau, 2,579 were Catholic priests. Most were Polish priests, with 1,748 Poles and 411 Germans. Of the 1,034 priests who died in the camp, 868 were Polish. The priests were housed in a special "priest block" and were targeted for especially brutal treatment by the SS guards. Dachau was chiefly a political camp, rather than an extermination camp, but of the 160,000 prisoners sent to its main camp, over 32,000 were either executed or died of disease, malnutrition, or brutalization.
It is estimated that at least 3,000 other Polish priests were sent to other concentration camps, including Auschwitz. Several thousand nuns were also sent to camps or killed en route. Many clergy were imprisoned at Dachau for fulfilling "priestly duties", such as conducting a service for a deceased communist or performing a baptism. Others were arrested on the basis of being suspected of activities hostile to the State.
In total, tens of millions of Catholics died as soldiers, in forced labor, as civilian casualties in the fighting, or as victims in the gas chambers.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, many thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe.
Yes, the Nazis persecuted the Catholic Church. Clergy were sent to concentration camps, religious orders had their properties seized, and some youth were sterilized.
This is a matter of debate. Some sources claim that Pope Pius XII was complicit in the Holocaust and that Catholic priests, nuns, and bishops were ardent members of the Nazi Party. However, others argue that Catholic leaders did what they could to help Jews, given the threat to their fellow Catholics.
Yes, out of 2,720 clerics imprisoned at Dachau, 1,034 Catholic priests died there.
Yes, Edith Stein, a Jewish woman who converted to Catholicism, is considered a martyr by the Catholic Church. However, many Jews argue that she was killed because of her Jewish heritage rather than her Christian faith.
