Sarah Mitchell
The persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nazi regime resulted in thousands of Catholic men, women, and children being imprisoned and killed in concentration camps. The Nazis' goal was to de-Christianize Germany, and they saw the Church as an enemy of the state, with its leaders and clergy frequently facing violence and intimidation. Dachau concentration camp had a dedicated Clergy Barracks, where 400 German priests and 122 Czechoslovak Catholic priests were imprisoned, with many more thousands of Catholics from across Europe also imprisoned and killed.
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What You'll Learn
Priests, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted
The Nazis' long-term plan was to de-Christianize Germany after the final victory in the war. Their ideology could not accept an autonomous establishment whose legitimacy did not come from the government, and they desired the subordination of the church to the state. Catholics were suspected of insufficient patriotism, disloyalty to the Fatherland, or serving the interests of "sinister alien forces". Aggressive anti-church radicals like Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann saw the conflict with the churches as a priority concern, and anti-church sentiments were strong among grassroots party activists.
In October 1938, Nazi policy in the Sudetenland saw ethnic Czech priests expelled or deprived of income and forced to do labour, while their properties were seized. Religious orders were suppressed, private schools closed, and religious instruction forbidden in schools. In February 1933, Hermann Göring banned all Catholic newspapers in Cologne on the claim that Catholics were illegally engaging in politics. The ban was lifted shortly after, but Catholics had been sent a message. Shortly after, members of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Brownshirts, stormed a gathering of the Christian trade unions and the Catholic Centre Party and brutalized many of those in attendance.
The Nazis had to consider the possibility of nationwide protests if prominent clerics were arrested. While hundreds of ordinary clergy were sent to concentration camps, only one German Catholic bishop was briefly imprisoned in a concentration camp, and just one other expelled from his diocese. This reflected the cautious approach adopted by the hierarchy, who felt secure only in commenting on matters that transgressed the ecclesiastical sphere. Documents used in evidence at the Nuremberg Trials show that the Nazis were cautious with regard to the murder of church leaders and conscious of not wanting to create martyrs. Nevertheless, Catholic leaders frequently faced violence or the threat of violence, particularly at the hands of the SA, the SS, or Hitler Youth.
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Clergy were intimidated and arrested
The Nazis' long-term plan was to de-Christianize Germany after their final victory in the war. Their ideology could not accept an autonomous establishment whose legitimacy did not come from the government, and they desired the subordination of the church to the state. Catholics were suspected of insufficient patriotism, disloyalty to the Fatherland, or serving the interests of "sinister alien forces". The Nazis' anti-church sentiments were strong, and they saw the conflict with the churches as a priority concern.
Under Himmler's deputy, Reinhard Heydrich, the Security Police and SD were responsible for suppressing enemies of the Nazi state, including "political churches" and their clergy who opposed the Hitler regime. Such dissidents were arrested and sent to concentration camps. According to Himmler biographer Peter Longerich, Himmler vehemently opposed Christian sexual morality and the "principle of Christian mercy", which he saw as a dangerous obstacle to his planned battle with "subhumans".
Intimidation of clergy was widespread. Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber was shot at. Cardinal Theodor Innitzer had his Vienna residence ransacked in October 1938, and Bishop Johannes Baptista Sproll of Rottenburg was jostled and his home vandalized. In 1937, the New York Times reported that Christmas would see "several thousand Catholic clergymen in prison". Clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted following the Nazi takeover, often on trumped-up charges of currency smuggling or "immorality". Priests were watched closely and frequently denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. From 1940, a dedicated Clergy Barracks was established at Dachau concentration camp.
In Poland, the Nazis brutally suppressed the Catholic Church, most severely in German-occupied areas. Thousands of churches and monasteries were systematically closed, seized, or destroyed. Church leaders were especially targeted as part of an overall effort to destroy Polish culture. At least 1,811 members of the Polish clergy were murdered in Nazi concentration camps, with an estimated 3,000 members of the clergy killed. Hitler's plans for the Germanization of the East did not include Catholicism. The actions taken against Polish Catholicism were part of Generalplan Ost, which, if carried out, would have eventually eradicated the existence of the Poles.
During the German occupation of Poland (1939–1945), numerous clergy, monks, diocesan administrators, and officials of the Church were arrested, deported to the General Government, taken to concentration camps in the Reich, or simply shot. Altogether, some 1,700 Polish priests ended up at Dachau, half of whom did not survive their imprisonment.
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Catholic priests were expelled from Sudetenland
The Nazis' persecution of the Catholic Church is well-documented. The Nazis claimed jurisdiction over all collective and social activity, and their ideology could not accept an autonomous establishment whose legitimacy did not spring from the government. They desired the subordination of the church to the state. Catholics were suspected of insufficient patriotism, disloyalty to the Fatherland, or serving the interests of "sinister alien forces". Anti-church radicals like Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann saw the conflict with the churches as a priority concern, and anti-church sentiments were strong among grassroots party activists.
Following its October 1938 annexation, Nazi policy in the Sudetenland saw ethnic Czech priests expelled, deprived of income, and forced to do labour, while their properties were seized. Religious orders were suppressed, private schools were closed, and religious instruction was forbidden in schools. This was part of a wider campaign against the Catholic Church, which saw the closure of monasteries and convents, the expropriation of religious orders, and the arrest and imprisonment of clergy in concentration camps.
The persecution of Catholic priests in the Sudetenland must be understood within the broader context of Nazi Germany's systematic campaign against the Catholic Church and its efforts to de-Christianize Germany. The Nazis' long-term plan was to de-Christianize Germany after the final victory in the war. They aimed to separate the people from the churches and their leaders, just as they had eliminated and suppressed the influences of astrologers, seers, and other "fakers".
The Nazis targeted clergy, nuns, and lay leaders, often on trumped-up charges of currency smuggling or "immorality". Priests were watched closely, frequently denounced, and arrested. From 1940, a dedicated Clergy Barracks was established at the Dachau concentration camp, where an estimated 400 German priests were imprisoned. Of the 2,720 clergy imprisoned at Dachau, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Catholic.
The persecution of Catholic priests in the Sudetenland and across Nazi-controlled territories demonstrates the Nazis' systematic attempt to dismantle and suppress the Catholic Church, intimidate its clergy, and advance their ideological goal of de-Christianization.
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Dachau Concentration Camp's Priest Barracks
The Dachau concentration camp was established in March 1933 as the first Nazi concentration camp. Dachau was chiefly a political camp, rather than an extermination camp, but of around 160,000 prisoners sent to its main camp, over 32,000 were either executed or died of disease, malnutrition, or brutalization. The Dachau complex included the prisoners' camp, which occupied approximately 5 acres, and the much larger area of the SS training school, including barracks, factories, and other facilities of around 20 acres. The camp was divided into two sections: the camp area and the crematorium. The camp area consisted of 32 barracks, including one for clergy imprisoned for opposing the Nazi regime and one reserved for medical experiments.
The Priest Barracks of Dachau Concentration (in German Pfarrerblock, or Priesterblock) incarcerated clergy who had opposed the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. From December 1940, Berlin ordered the transfer of clerical prisoners held at other camps, and Dachau became the centre for the imprisonment of clergymen. The priests were put into Barracks Blocks 26, 28, and 30 near the end of the camp street. Block 26 became the international block, and Block 28 was reserved for Poles—the most numerous group. Of a total of 2,720 clerics recorded as imprisoned at Dachau, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Roman Catholics. Among the other denominations, there were 109 Protestants, 22 Orthodox, 8 Old Catholics and Mariavites, and 2 Muslims. Members of the Catholic Society of Jesus were the largest group among the incarcerated clergy at Dachau.
A small number of clergymen at Dachau were held in private cells in the bunker, including high-profile inmates such as Dr. Johannes Neuhäusler, a Catholic auxiliary bishop from Munich, and the Protestant pastor Reverend Martin Niemöller. The Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg was the first priest killed in the Dachau concentration camps, dying en route to the camp in 1943. Blessed Karl Leisner, a deacon from Munster who was dying of tuberculosis, received his ordination at Dachau in December 1944. He died soon after the liberation of the camp.
The Dachau concentration camp was liberated in 1945. It was the longest-running concentration camp of the Third Reich.
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Catholics gave their lives to protect Jews
The Nazis persecuted the Catholic Church in Germany, sending thousands of Catholics to concentration camps. Clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted, and priests were watched closely, denounced, and arrested. Dachau concentration camp had a dedicated Clergy Barracks, where 2,579 out of 2,720 imprisoned clergy members were Catholic.
Catholics across occupied Europe gave their lives to protect Jews from concentration camps and death. For example, the Benedictine monk Dom Bruno (Henri Reynders) was active in the Belgian Resistance and organized escape routes for Belgian Jews. He found refuge for 320 Jewish children and was declared Righteous Among the Nations by Israel in 1964. In 1941 in the Netherlands, Catholics took part in strikes and protests against the Nazi treatment of Jews.
Some sources argue that Pope Pius XII did not do enough to help Jews during the Holocaust. For instance, he maintained a policy of neutrality and did not publicly oppose Hitler, fearing that doing so would turn off German Catholics. However, Pius allowed national church hierarchies to respond to their local situation under Nazi rule and established the Vatican Information Service to provide aid to war refugees. He also gave his blessing to the establishment of safe houses inside the Vatican and in monasteries and convents across Europe. On papal instructions, 4,000 Jews were hidden in Italian monasteries and convents, and 2,000 Hungarian Jews were given fake documents identifying them as Catholics.
In addition to these efforts by the Catholic Church, individual Catholics also took great risks to help Jews. For example, in Scandinavia, where the Catholic presence was small, the Christian Churches firmly opposed the deportations of Jews. In Denmark, almost all of the country's Jews were smuggled into Sweden and saved with the help of the Church. In Poland, more Jews were rescued by Catholics than in any other nation, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 450,000 people saved.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the Nazis imprisoned thousands of Catholics in concentration camps.
The Nazis aimed to de-Christianize Germany and saw the church as an enemy of the state. They believed the church was an autonomous establishment whose legitimacy did not come from the government and desired its subordination to the state.
Dachau Concentration Camp was the most feared concentration camp, which soon filled with thousands of Catholics. 122 Czechoslovak Catholic priests were sent to Dachau, of which 76 did not survive. 1,700 Polish priests were also sent to Dachau, of which half did not survive.
The Nazis suppressed religious orders, closed private schools, and forbade religious instruction in schools. They arrested, exiled, and executed Catholic leaders and clergymen, closed churches, monasteries, and convents, and confiscated church properties and funds.
