Hitler had wasted no time in dealing with his political opponents. Opposition from the churches was more difficult to handle as Hitler could not declare all-out war on Christianity when so many Germans were Roman Catholics or Protestants. The programme of the Nazi Party said that they believed in "positive Christianity". It spoke of "freedom for all religious denominations".
In fact, Hitler despised the Christian religion. The Old Testament was the story of the Jewish people, while the New Testament message of Christ, himself a Jew, was one of love for all members of the human race. "We will have no other God but Germany", thundered Hitler, making it clear that the duty of the churches was to support Nazi rule, not to criticise it. In years to come worshippers in the churches would listen to readings from Mein Kampf and bow before the swastika, but for the present Hitler pretended that he had no quarrel with the churches as long as they did not interfere with Nazi rule.
In July 1933 Hitler signed an agreement with the Pope, whereby it was agreed that the Catholic Church would operate freely provided its members did not become involved in politics and the Pope ordered bishops to take an oath of loyalty to Hitler. Hitler openly broke the agreement by closing down Catholic schools and youth clubs and arresting thousands of priests on trumped up charges of smuggling and sexual immorality. In 1937 Pope Pius XI published Mit Brennender Sorge ( With Burning Anxiety ), accusing the Nazis of breaking the agreement and practising hateful racialism. He condemned Nazism as anti-Christian. Priests and nuns were arrested and sent to labour camps.
Germany's Protestants belonged to 28 church groups. In 1933, under Nazi pressure, they agreed to unite to form a "Reich Church". Hitler tried to take over the Protestant church in Germany directly when he got his own candidate, a member of the German Christian Movement of fanatical Nazi supporters, elected as Bishop of the Reich. The keenest members of the Reich Church called themselves "German Christians". They wore Nazi uniforms and gave the German greeting. Their slogan was "The swastika on our chests and the Cross in our hearts". Some Protestants, inspired by the World War One U-boat captain Martin Niemoller, broke away to form their own church. More than 6,000 pastors joined Niemoller's church, leaving only 2,000 in the Reich Church. This was a clear challenge to Nazi power. As a result some 800 pastors were arrested. In his last sermon before being arrested in 1937, Niemoller urged his congregation "to obey God rather than man". Along with thousands of other Protestant ministers, Niemoller was sent to a concentration camp where he remained until he was freed by the Allies in 1945.
Hitler had made sure that the churches could not lead any effective resistance to Nazi rule, but he had not destroyed the independent spirit of many Christians. Some religious sects refused all co-operation with the Nazis. Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, followed the teaching of the Bible not to take up weapons in any cause. So they refused to serve in the army or to have anything to do with the Nazis. In retaliation, the S.S. imprisoned whole families of Jehovah's Witnesses. About a third of all Jehovah's Witnesses were murdered in concentration camps. Many other sects and groups were also suppressed. The Salvation Army, Christian Scientists and Seventh Day Adventists all disappeared. Even astrologers, faith healers and fortune tellers were banned.
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