Michael Brooks
The persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nazi regime led to the imprisonment of many Catholics in concentration camps. Clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted and arrested on false charges, while Catholic schools, press, trade unions, and youth leagues were eradicated. Dachau concentration camp was used by the Nazis to imprison many Catholic priests, with 2,579 out of 2,720 clergy prisoners being Catholic. In addition, Catholic laypeople were also imprisoned and murdered in concentration camps, with their deaths numbering in the thousands.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Catholics sent to concentration camps | Clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted and sent to concentration camps. |
| Catholics who opposed the Nazis were arrested and sent to concentration camps. | |
| Dachau concentration camp was used by the Nazis for Catholic priests. | |
| Catholic priests, nuns, and laypeople were among those killed by the Nazis. | |
| Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. | |
| Monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation. | |
| Catholic priests were subjected to exhausting labour and pseudo-medical experiments. | |
| Catholic clergy who survived Nazi repression later died at the hands of communists. |
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What You'll Learn
Catholic clergy, nuns and lay leaders were targeted
Catholic clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted by the Nazis during World War II. Clergy were closely monitored, frequently denounced, and arrested on trumped-up charges of currency smuggling or "immorality". They were also targeted for their opposition to the Nazi regime, with many arrested for speaking out against the Nazis, aiding Jews, or refusing to remove religious symbols from schools. Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated, and monasteries and convents were expropriated.
The Nazis' efforts to control the churches, termed the Kirchenkampf (the war against the church), resulted in the persecution of Catholics who opposed them. While Catholics were not legally attacked for their religious beliefs, those who resisted the regime were arrested and murdered for "crimes" against the state. Prominent Catholic lay leaders were among those murdered, and thousands of Catholic activists were arrested. Overall, an estimated one-third of German priests faced reprisals, and 400 German priests were imprisoned in the dedicated Priest Barracks of the Dachau concentration camp. Dachau also held nearly 1,000 Polish priests, with a total of 1,034 priests dying in the camp.
Intimidation of clergy was widespread, with Cardinals and Bishops being shot at, having their residences ransacked, or being jostled and their homes vandalized. Catholic clergy were sent to various concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Mauthausen, and Buchenwald. In addition to priests, nuns also suffered repression, with some imprisoned at the Bojanowo concentration camp and others sent to Germany as slave labor. Many nuns shared the same fate as priests, with some being executed for their resistance to the Nazis.
The Nazis' systematic persecution and genocide resulted in the deaths of millions of Jews, but Catholic clergy and nuns were also among their victims. Half of Poland's Catholic clergy, monks, and nuns were repressed during World War II, with more than 2,800 killed. Researchers attribute this targeting of clergy to their role as upholders of national culture and identity.
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Catholics were persecuted for aiding Jews
The history of the Catholic Church and Judaism is long and complex, with periods of cooperation and conflict. The Catholic Church has a history of antisemitism, which was institutionalised in the Middle Ages through the creation of discriminatory laws and the establishment of the Inquisition. This led to widespread persecution of Jews, including forced conversions, expulsions, and pogroms.
However, during the Holocaust, some Catholics risked their lives to aid and rescue Jews. For example, Gertrud Luckner, a pacifist and member of the German Catholics' Peace Association, supported victims of political persecution and worked to secure safe passage abroad for refugees, including Jews. She also investigated the fate of Jews being transported to concentration camps, and obtained food, clothing, and money for prisoners. Another Catholic, Margarete Sommer, worked for the Welfare Office of the Berlin Diocesan Authority, where she coordinated Catholic aid for victims of racial persecution, including Jews.
Catholics who aided Jews did so in spite of their own persecution by the Nazi regime. Clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted following the Nazi takeover, often on trumped-up charges. Priests were watched closely, denounced, and arrested, and Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. Anti-Catholic propaganda was also staged, and monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation. Hundreds of Catholic clergy were sent to concentration camps, and an estimated one-third of German priests faced some form of reprisal.
While the Catholic Church in Germany offered organised, systematic resistance to some policies of the Third Reich, its efforts were largely focused on opposing government interference in the Church rather than on protesting the regime's anti-Jewish policies. German bishops feared that public protests against the persecution of Jews would invite retaliation against Catholics. However, some Catholic lay and clergy resistors did speak out publicly against the persecution of Jews, and the Church has since taken steps to address the harm caused by past persecution of Jews, including issuing apologies and working to improve relations between the two religions.
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Dachau: a dedicated Priest Barracks
The Dachau concentration camp was used by the Nazis to incarcerate many of their most despised adversaries, including Catholic priests. In December 1940, Berlin ordered the commandants of all concentration camps to send their priest prisoners to Dachau in Bavaria. Dachau was the only concentration camp with a Catholic chapel, where Mass was celebrated regularly. The priests were housed in a separate "priest block" and were subjected to particularly harsh treatment by the SS guards.
Of the 2,720 clergy imprisoned at Dachau, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Catholic. The majority of these priests were Polish, with 1,748 in total, and 411 were German. Of the 1,034 priests who died at the camp, 868 were Polish. 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 sent to death and labour camps, with 300 dying 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 cattle cars used for transportation.
The persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nazis in Germany was widespread and systematic. Clergy were closely monitored, frequently denounced, and arrested on trumped-up charges. Catholic schools, press, 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. An estimated one-third of German priests faced reprisals, and 400 were sent to the dedicated Priest Barracks of the Dachau concentration camp.
The Nazis' efforts to control the churches were termed the Kirchenkampf (the war against the church). While Catholics were not legally targeted because of their religion, those who opposed the Nazis were arrested and murdered for "crimes" against the state. Catholics in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, France, and Germany were arrested for speaking out against the regime, aiding Jews, or refusing to remove religious symbols from schools. Thousands of spies and informants provided a constant stream of reports to the Gestapo and SD, resulting in the arrest, torture, and execution of Catholics up until the end of the war.
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Catholic priests were targeted for especially brutal treatment
The Roman Catholic Church was subjected to persecution in Nazi Germany. Clergy members were closely monitored, denounced, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated, and welfare institutions were either interfered with or transferred to state control. Monasteries and convents were also targeted for expropriation.
Dachau Concentration Camp was established in March 1933 as the first Nazi concentration camp. From 1940, Dachau became the concentration point for clerical prisoners of the Nazi regime. A dedicated Clergy Barracks was established at Dachau, and it became the centre for the imprisonment of clergymen. Of the 2,720 clerics recorded as imprisoned at Dachau, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Roman Catholics. The remaining 1,545 priests were liberated by the allies on 29 April 1945.
Priests were targeted for especially brutal treatment in concentration camps. Wilhelm Braun, a Catholic theologian from Munich, became the first churchman to be imprisoned at Dachau in 1935. Blessed Otto Neururer, a parish priest, was sent to Dachau for "slander to the detriment of German marriage" after advising a girl against marrying a senior Nazi's friend. He was executed at Buchenwald in 1940 for conducting a baptism there, becoming the first priest killed in the concentration camps. Saint Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite, was killed with a lethal injection after defending Jews and press freedom. Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg died en route to Dachau in 1943. Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder died of hunger and illness in 1942. Blessed Alojs Andritzki, a German priest, was given a lethal injection in 1943. Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, a Czech priest, died of typhoid in 1945.
In addition to the physical brutality inflicted upon them, Catholic priests were also subjected to psychological torture and intimidation. Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber was shot at, and Cardinal Theodor Innitzer had his Vienna residence ransacked in October 1938. Bishop Johannes Baptista Sproll of Rottenburg was jostled, and his home was vandalised. Propaganda satirising the clergy was also widespread.
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Catholic martyrs of the Holocaust
The Catholic Church was a target of the Nazis, and many Catholic martyrs died in the Holocaust. Clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted following the Nazi takeover, often on fabricated 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 the Dachau concentration camp. The Nazis also interfered with or took control of Catholic welfare institutions. Catholic schools, presses, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. Anti-Catholic propaganda and "morality" trials were also staged, and monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation.
The 108 Martyrs of World War II, also known as the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs, were Catholics from Poland killed during World War II by Nazi Germany. The group comprises 3 bishops, 79 priests, 7 male religious, 8 female religious, and 11 laypeople. They were beatified on June 13, 1999, by Pope John Paul II in Warsaw, Poland.
Some of the Catholic martyrs of the Holocaust include:
- Maria Antonina Kratochwil, a School Sisters of Notre Dame nun who helped Jewish girls in prison. She died as a result of the torture she endured while imprisoned in Stanisławów.
- Jozef Pawlowski, a priest from Kielce who was executed by hanging in Dachau for helping Jews.
- Zygmunt Pisarski, a priest from Lublin who was shot for risking his life to save communists.
- Maria Klemensa Staszewska, a nun who was executed at Auschwitz because she hid Jewish girls in a convent.
- Katarzyna Celestyna Faron, who offered her life for the conversion of an Old Catholic bishop. She was arrested by the Gestapo and condemned to Auschwitz, where she endured the abuses of the camp and died on Easter Sunday 1944.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, many Catholics were sent to concentration camps during World War II. Clergy, nuns, and lay leaders were targeted and arrested on false charges, with thousands of Catholic activists also being arrested.
Catholic clergy were targeted by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. Dachau concentration camp was used by the Nazis for many of its most-hated enemies, including Catholic priests.
Yes, Catholic nuns were also sent to concentration camps. For example, 400 nuns were imprisoned at Bojanowo concentration camp.
Yes, Catholics were persecuted by the Nazis. Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties, and youth leagues were eradicated. Catholic clergy were closely watched, and Catholic worship within churches in Germany was "restricted or oppressed".
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