Germans vs. Nazis — Humane vs. Cruel

When examining the history of WW2, it’s worth noting that not all Germans were Nazis, and not all Nazis were Germans. The difference is significant.

Of the population of Germany, not more than 10% were members of the National Socialist Party. “Nazi” is an abbreviation for “National Socialism” and Hitler never won a majority in any true election. He and the National Socialists took power; it was not given to them.

By contrast, the majority of Germans were bullied and oppressed by National Socialism, which took away their rights and liberties, and coerced them into the war effort. The differences between ordinary Germans and Nazi Party members was clear during the war.

In combat, Germans acknowledged both their opponent’s humanity and their own. By contrast, Nazis clung to the idea of “total war” and refused to surrender: Hitler ordered fighting to continue even when he had admitted that defeat was inevitable. The National Socialist perseverance in battle despite certain downfall was a tragic and horrid waste of human life.

On the battlefield, the behavior of the Germans differed from the behavior of the staunch Nazis. In July 1944, as the U.S. soldiers were in a near-stalemate with German forces in western France, an American officer named Major General Robert Chauncey Macon found his units at the end of a long fight to be only a few yards from where they’d started. General Macon lost 1400 men and gained only 200 yards of territory.

The fighting stopped and the sun set. Then, as historian Martin Blumenson writes, a dramatic and humane gesture came from the commander of the German forces whom General Macon had attacked all day:

That night the opposing German commander returned to Macon the medical personnel his troops had captured. He sent a note to explain that he thought Macon might need the medics more than he did. But the German added a cautious postscript. If the situation was ever reversed in the future, he hoped that Macon would return the compliment and the favor.

The thinking of the German commander differed from the thinking of the Nazis. This distinction is clear in the writing of another German officer, two months later.

This officer saw that victory for the Allies was unavoidable, defeat for the Nazis was inescapable, and that any further fighting was a senseless and cruel waste of human life. Generalfeldmarschall Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge boldly addressed these words to Hitler in a letter in September 1944:

Should the new weapons in which you place so much hope, especially those of the air force, not bring success — then, my Führer, make up your mind to end the war. The German people have suffered so unspeakably that it is time to bring the horror to a close.

Hitler’s senseless demand to continue combat despite certain defeat manifested the Nazi disregard for people. General Ferdinand von Kluge’s strong words written directly to Hitler embody the thoughts of the ordinary Germans: it was time to end the war and save lives.

Hitler’s Personal Hatred of Christianity and Naziism’s Persecution of Christians

A central theme in the National Socialist Party was its opposition to the Christian faith and its opposition to Christian churches. At times, this opposition was hidden; at other times it was obvious. Hitler, as the leader of the party, understood that a strongly Christian population would not cooperate with his plans.

But Hitler also had personal reasons for hating Christians.

Writing about Hitler, historian Michael Rosenwald states: “He loathed Christianity.” Young Adolf accepted the ideas of his father, Alois Hitler, who “thought religion was essentially a scam.”

Another historian, Bradley Smith, reports that Alois “looked upon religion as a series of conventions and as a crutch for human weakness” and expressed “a firm opposition to” religion.

Adolf, following his father’s lead, rejected “religion as a teenager,” Rosenwald adds. Adolf “followed his father’s religious path straight into infamy” and “was full of contempt for everything” spiritual, “pious, and divine.”

Because Adolf Hitler had scorn for all religions, his ultimate goal was to eliminate them. He began by infiltrating and weakening the Christian churches. He needed to impair them, because they would be the source of opposition and resistance. Once the churches were enfeebled, Hitler could begin his full assault on Judaism: the Holocaust. He planned to totally eliminate Christianity, as Michael Rosenwald phrases it, “but first, he had to finish off the Jews.”

The word ‘Nazi’ is an abbreviation for ‘National Socialist Party.’

Because Naziism was an irrational and passionate movement, it was filled with ambiguities and internal contradictions. Some of those ambiguities were there by design, like vague phrases in the race laws, to allow Nazi authorities to do as they pleased and not be hampered by the rule of law. Some of the internal contradictions were the result of the inherent irrationality of Naziism: although Naziism opposed all religion, some officers within the National Socialist Party embraced brutal and primitive forms of pagan religion.

For the purposes of propaganda, Hitler was quite willing to say nice things about religion in general and about Christianity in particular. He could drop these deceptions in 1933 once he had taken complete power. For example, in the early years of the National Socialist movement, the Nazis were quite careful to avoid direct verbal attacks on Christianity and churches. Later, however, they decisively ended the public practice of Christianity and replaced it with their own substitute pseudo-religion.

Frederick “Fritz” Redlich wrote a psychiatric study of Hitler, noting that Hitler “adhered to his father’s views that religion was for the stupid and old women.” He took these childhood lessons from his father into adulthood: as the National Socialist dictator, he “was effectively opposed by Catholic and Protestant theologians” who organized underground resistance groups to weaken the Nazi war effort and rescue Jews. The Nazis murdered thousands of Christians. In 1942, during meetings with his officials, he explained, “I will have them shot.”

Hitler hated Christianity for several reasons: it would encourage anti-Nazi activities, and it promoted forgiveness and respect for human life. “Christianity is the craziest thing a human brain in its madness could produce,” he said.

Assuming that he’d win the war, Hitler had plans, as historian Alan Bullock writes: “Once the war was over, he promised himself, he would root out and destroy the influence of the Christian churches in Germany.”