Ethan Walker
During World War II, the Roman Catholic Church suffered persecution under Nazi Germany. Clergy were closely watched, denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. Many Catholic priests, nuns, and monks were among the victims of the Holocaust. Thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe.
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What You'll Learn
Catholic clergy killed in concentration camps
During World War II, the Roman Catholic Church suffered persecution in Nazi Germany. The Nazis claimed jurisdiction over all collective and social activity, and the Catholic faith was restricted to such a degree that it disappeared almost entirely from public life. 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. Anti-Catholic propaganda and "morality" trials were also staged.
The Dachau concentration camp was used by the Nazis for many of its most hated enemies, including Catholic priests. Of the 2,720 clergy sent to Dachau, 2,579 were Catholic priests, along with uncertain numbers of seminarians and lay brothers. Most were Polish priests, 1,748 in all; there were also 411 German priests. 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. Wilhelm Braun, a Catholic priest from Frankfurt an der Oder, became the first clergyman imprisoned at Dachau in 1935.
In addition to Dachau, it is estimated that at least 3,000 other Polish priests were sent to other concentration camps, including Auschwitz. Priests from across Europe were also condemned to death and labor camps: 300 priests died at Sachsenhausen, 780 at Mauthausen, and 5,000 at Buchenwald. These numbers do not include the priests who were murdered en route to the camps or who died from diseases and exhaustion in the inhuman cattle cars used to transport victims. Several thousand nuns were also sent to camps or killed on the way.
Blessed Otto Neururer, a parish priest, was executed at Buchenwald concentration camp in 1940 for conducting a baptism there. Neururer was the first priest killed in the concentration camps. Other Catholic clergy who died at Dachau include Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder, who died of hunger and illness in 1942; Saint Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite who died of a lethal injection in 1942; Blessed Alojs Andritzki, a German priest who was given a lethal injection in 1943; Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, a Czech priest who died of typhoid in 1945; and Blessed Giuseppe Girotti, who died at the camp in April 1945.
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Catholic priests and nuns killed by Nazis
The Catholic Church was a target of the Nazis, and Catholic priests and nuns were among those persecuted and killed during the Holocaust. Clergy were watched closely, and frequently denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. Welfare institutions were interfered with or transferred to state control. Catholic schools, presses, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. Anti-Catholic propaganda and morality" trials were also staged. Monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation.
In total, an estimated one-third of German priests faced some form of reprisal in Nazi Germany, and 400 German priests were sent to the dedicated Priest Barracks of Dachau Concentration Camp. Of the 2,720 clergy imprisoned at Dachau from Germany and occupied territories, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Catholic. 1,034 Catholic priests died there. Dachau was used by the Nazis for many of its most hated enemies, including Catholic priests.
In addition to Dachau, priests were sent to other concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, and Mauthausen. It is estimated that at least 3,000 Polish priests were sent to these camps, with thousands dying: 300 at Sachsenhausen, 780 at Mauthausen, and 5,000 at Buchenwald. These numbers do not include those murdered en route to the camps or who died from diseases and exhaustion in the inhumane transport conditions. Several thousand nuns were also sent to camps or killed on the way.
The Nazis' systematic persecution and genocide led to the deaths of 6 million Jews in Europe, but Catholic clergy were also among their victims. Half of all Poland's Catholic priests, monks, and nuns suffered repression during World War II, with more than 2,800 killed at Nazi and Soviet hands. Clergy were particularly targeted as upholders of national culture and identity. Of the nearly 2,800 clergy of all denominations incarcerated at Dachau, 1,773 were priests from Poland, of whom 868 were killed. Others were subjected to forced labor and pseudo-medical experiments. Despite the horrors, many priests continued to offer spiritual support to their fellow inmates.
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Catholic Poles targeted by Nazis
The invasion of predominantly Catholic Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939 ignited World War II. The Nazis targeted Polish Jews for extermination and categorized ethnic Poles, most of whom were Catholic, as an inferior race. The Jews were rounded up into ghettos or sent to extermination camps, while the ethnic Polish intelligentsia, priests, and politicians were targeted for elimination.
The Nazis' persecution of the Church was particularly severe in the territories it annexed to Greater Germany, where they set about systematically dismantling the Church. This included arresting its leaders, exiling and murdering its clergymen, and closing churches, monasteries, and convents. 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.
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 estimates placing the number at around 3,000. The Dachau concentration camp was used by the Nazis for many of its most hated enemies, including Catholic priests. Of the 2,720 clergy imprisoned at Dachau from Germany and occupied territories, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Catholic. Many clergymen were also murdered en route to the camps or died from diseases and exhaustion in the inhumane cattle cars used to transport victims.
In addition to the clergy, thousands of Catholic activists were arrested, and prominent Catholic lay leaders were murdered. The Nazis also interfered with or transferred Catholic welfare institutions to state control. Catholic schools, presses, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated, and monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation. Anti-Catholic propaganda and "morality" trials were also staged.
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Catholic institutions closed by Nazis
The Catholic Church was a target of the Nazis, and the Third Reich intended to eliminate Catholicism and the Christian religion. Hitler moved to suppress political Catholicism, and the Nazis arrested thousands of Centre Party members. The dissolution of the Centre Party left Germany without a Catholic party for the first time.
Hitler closed all Catholic institutions whose functions were not strictly religious. This included Catholic schools, presses, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues. Catholic welfare institutions were also interfered with or transferred to state control. Monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation, and the Nazis falsely claimed that the properties were needed for wartime necessities. The Jesuits, in particular, were targeted. In annexed regions of Poland, Nazi officials closed churches, seminaries, and convents, and most priests were arrested or executed. Catholic educational institutions were closed down, and professors and teachers were sent to concentration camps. Catholic presses were shut down, and the church seminaries were dispersed.
The Nazis also interfered with Catholic welfare institutions. They attempted to transfer hospitals to state control, but large numbers of handicapped people remained under the care of the churches when the Nazis commenced their infamous euthanasia program. The murder of invalids took place on German soil and involved interference in Catholic welfare institutions.
In addition to closing Catholic institutions, the Nazis also targeted clergy members. Clergy were watched closely and frequently denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. Many Catholic priests, nuns, and bishops were ardent members of the Nazi Party and supported its policies. However, thousands of Catholic activists were arrested, and an estimated one-third of German priests faced some form of reprisal in Nazi Germany. Over 1,000 priests died at Dachau, and several thousand nuns were also sent to camps or killed on the way.
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Catholic martyrs of the Holocaust
During World War II, the Catholic Church was subjected to harsh persecution by Nazi Germany. The Nazis claimed jurisdiction over all collective and social activity, closely monitoring and frequently denouncing clergy members. Many Catholic priests, monks, and nuns suffered repression and were incarcerated in concentration camps, subjected to forced labour, and even killed.
The Dachau concentration camp held nearly 2,800 clergy members of all denominations, 1,773 of whom were Polish priests, with 868 perishing in the camp. In total, 1,034 Catholic priests died at Dachau. The Nazis also targeted Catholic welfare institutions, schools, presses, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues, which were eradicated. Religious orders were expelled from schools, and their properties seized. Seminaries were confiscated to prevent the training of new priests. Monasteries and convents were expropriated or destroyed, resulting in the permanent loss of countless works of religious art and artefacts.
In Poland, which had a large Jewish population, the Catholic Church played a significant role in resisting the Nazi occupation. During the German occupation of Poland from 1939 to 1945, thousands of Polish clergy were murdered, with an estimated 3,000 members of the Polish clergy killed, including 1,992 in concentration camps. The Nazis closed churches, seminaries, and convents, and arrested or executed priests. The suppression of the Catholic Church in Poland was part of Hitler's plan to eradicate Polish culture and pave the way for Germanisation.
The invasion of predominantly Catholic Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939 ignited World War II. The Nazis targeted Polish Jews for extermination and considered ethnic Poles, mostly Catholics, as an inferior race. While the Holocaust primarily targeted Jews, resulting in the deaths of 6 million Jews across Europe, thousands of Catholic men, women, and children also perished in concentration camps, Gestapo torture chambers, and other locations for resisting the Nazi regime.
The Catholic Church itself was a target of the Nazis, and many Catholic clergy members were martyred for their faith. Notable Catholic martyrs of the Holocaust include:
- Saint Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite who defended Jews and press freedom and died by lethal injection in 1942.
- Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg, who died en route to Dachau in 1943.
- Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, a Czech priest who died of typhoid in 1945.
- Blessed Giuseppe Girotti, who died at a concentration camp in April 1945.
- Blessed Otto Neururer, an Austrian priest who was executed at Buchenwald concentration camp in 1940 for conducting a baptism.
- Blessed Emilian Kovtch, who died at the Majdanek concentration camp and was beatified as a martyr in 2001.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, thousands of Catholic men, women, and children died in concentration camps, SS and Gestapo torture chambers, or in fields and villages across Europe.
Yes, Catholic clergy were incarcerated in concentration camps and faced repression, torture, and death. It is estimated that between 1939 and 1945, around 3,000 members (18%) of the Polish clergy were murdered, with 1,992 killed in concentration camps.
No, in addition to the clergy, many Catholic lay leaders were also murdered by the Nazis.
Yes, several thousand nuns were sent to concentration camps and many were killed en route. For example, 11 Polish nuns from the Holy Family of Nazareth were shot by the Gestapo in August 1943.
Catholics were killed for proclaiming the truth to the Nazi regime and for being seen as a barrier to Germanization. Clergy were particularly targeted as upholders of national culture and identity.
