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Hitler’s Persecution of Jews: The Influence of Christianity
Written December 2005 Revised October 2008
This thesis is an historical case study analyzing the question: Why did Hitler persecute Jewry? Hitler’s persecution of Jews was heavily influenced by his hatred for their Judaic religious beliefs, as espoused in the Jewish Talmud and the Old Testament. There are three opposing hypotheses, which I will address, that also attempt to answer this question. Since all three fail to acknowledge the existence of Hitler’s Christian beliefs, I will establish that he was, indeed, a Christian; and that he was likewise influenced by his personal interpretations of the Christian message. Regarding these other hypotheses: the first is that Hitler was an occultist and was subsequently influenced by the anti-Semitic teachings he had received from various members of the Thule and Vril Societies and their publications. The second is that Hitler was a completely abnormal person, and subsequently carried out his crazed views against Jewry. This hypothesis postulates that Hitler wrongly interpreted, or even used the auspices of Christianity—allegedly, for his own ‘murderous’ ends. The third is that Hitler persecuted Jews out of political expediency. All three of these hypotheses will be counteracted by this study. I have used the following conceptual terms and working definitions herein— Occultist: Pagan believers with special emphasis granted to Ariosophy, the occult wisdom concerning Aryans. According to these occultists, the Aryan was superior to all other races, and Madame Blavatsky’s theory regarding the ‘Root Races’ was a linchpin of this belief system. They believed that the Aryan was the Race of Hope, and Aryans were encouraged to avoid miscegenation with “lower beings.” They also believed that the swastika was “the very act of creation” based upon a Norse legend. Another very important aspect of Ariosophy is that it denies the existence of God, and is staunchly anti-Christian.[1] Anti-Semitic teachings: The staunch anti-Semitic beliefs advocated by Ariosophy, which defined the Jews as a race of people, but more importantly, they viewed them as “an alien enemy race.”[2] Occult Members: The members who had relationships with Hitler, adhered to the beliefs and practices of Ariosophy, as defined above, and may have influenced him in their beliefs. The one member who had a known significant impact upon Hitler, as per documentation, was Dietrich Eckart.[3] However, Eckart was also a Christian and ardent supporter of Christ’s teachings and philosophies; hence, he was an atypical occultist, if he can actually be defined as an occultist at all. Publications: The books Hitler had read during his youth were mostly related to Germanic legend and mythology.[4] The only occult publication Hitler had devoured on a regular basis was Ostara. This magazine contained occult teachings and beliefs and was published by Liebenfels.[5] Abnormal: Hitler’s whole concept of the world, and history, were based on his own delusional, “unnatural,” irrational beliefs.[6] Crazed views: Hitler’s delusional beliefs that miscegenation was true original sin, that the Jewish race was bent on world domination, and that all non-Aryan races were inferior to the ‘master Aryan race.’[7] Jewry: The Jewish race.[8] Persecution: The forced removal of the Jewish race from Third Reich territories.[9] The terms contained in my proposed hypothesis are based solely on Hitler’s interpretations, not necessarily what the terms might literally mean, or even mean today. The Nuremberg Laws, which were inspired by Jewish racial laws in the Torah [Old Testament] according to Nazi-Sozi Julius Streicher,[i] defined Jews as any person in the German Reich who practiced the Jewish religion, or any person who was approximately 50% or more ‘racially’ Jewish.[10] According to Hitler, he had not always hated Jews.[ii] He said, “Gradually I began to hate them.”[11] It is possible, as some hypotheses claim, that his anti-Semitism stemmed from, or was enhanced by, the occult beliefs of the Thule Society. After researching quite heavily into this hypothesis, and after reading Hitler’s own words from myriad primary documents, including Hitler’s own notes regarding his “anti-Semitism,” I have found that his anti-Semitism most likely stemmed from the teachings of the Bible, and how he interpreted those teachings. Though, as documented by Bryan Rigg in Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers, Hitler may not have truly hated Jews, so much as he loathed their belief system(s). Subsequently, I am defining his hatred as his extreme dislike for. Hitler believed that Judaism advocated four precepts that he found destructive to Western culture: 1) hatred for Jesus; 2) domination of nature; 3) materialism; and 4) Bolshevism.[iii] All four of these precepts can be found in either the Talmud or the Bible, with the exception of Bolshevism. Even so, Hitler associated Christianity, as it was practiced by Catholics and alleged Christians—which he felt was in reality a gross distortion of what Christ’s teachings truly represented—with Bolshevism.[12] Hitler had read or studied both the Old Testament and portions of the Talmud and appears to have based his perception of Jewish religious beliefs on what these two doctrines advocated, as well as his own observations of, and experiences with, Bolshevism.[13] Hitler believed that these teachings were the true teachings that Jewry subscribed to, and he felt compelled to believe so, especially upon reading The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which he discusses in Mein Kampf. I should note here that when Hitler describes the religious beliefs of Jewry, he means the predominant beliefs advocated by Judaism. Hitler understood that Jewish law was inseparable from the Jewish religion, much like Islamic law and religion are one in the same. He perceived that there were not the two realms of secular and religious within Jewish society. Many scholars argue that Hitler adhered to occultism.[iv] First-hand primary evidence does not support this claim. Hitler told Martin Bormann, “It seems to me that nothing would be more foolish than to re-establish the worship of [Odin]. Our old mythology had ceased to be viable when Christianity implanted itself.”[14] Hitler never made any statement that can confirm his non-belief in God, yet hundreds of statements exist confirming his belief in God.[v] What his interpretation of God was is clear. He called God “Lord,” “God,” “Destiny,” and “Providence.” Hitler’s interpretation of Christianity is unusual, and certainly unorthodox, subsequently, it can only be fully understood from the perspective of an open mind. Hitler had studied both the Talmud and the Bible, which he himself, Wagener,[vi] and Degrelle have confirmed. Thus, I can say with a high degree of certainty that Hitler’s Aryanization of Christ came directly from ‘holy’ passages of the Talmud and the Bible; that it was not something that his crazy mind had conceived of from a baseless—or occultic—foundation. Other scholars, such as Bryan Rigg, have presented problematic, non-testable explanations for Hitler’s Aryan Christ and “de-Jewified” Bible. It is true that at some point Hitler was a member of the Vril Society—though never a member of the Thule Society—but it appears that he joined it solely for patronage.[15] He thought that their teachings were ridiculous and he disbanded nearly all of the secret societies and made them illegal once he came into power.[16] What is also clear is that Martin Bormann, a staunch anti-Catholic, was the culprit behind Church persecution.[17] Even though Hitler had absolute power, he refused to launch a crusade against the Churches.[18] His sole aim was to unify all the warring Christian factions into a single Reich Church, which would probably have been Catholic, as opposed to Protestant[19] although, Steigmann-Gall—in his book entitled The Holy Reich—has impressively argued that it may well have been more closely aligned with Protestantism, due to the latter’s more progressive nature. Furthermore, when Hitler had discovered that Bormann had closed down the convent of Eva Braun’s aunt, he reprimanded Bormann and had commented to Schaub afterwards, “he’s a bit pig headed,”[20]; he personally saw to it that no war was waged against any of the churches. I have found that of all the evidence I have researched regarding Hitler’s beliefs, he undoubtedly belongs in a religious category.[vii] He was extremely committed to what he deemed his ‘calling,’ the path set before him by Providence, which was essentially to carry on the work of Jesus Christ, and Dr. Luther, against the Jews.[21] He believed that Christ was the “greatest anti-Semite of all time,” and he venerated Christ as a “socialist revolutionary.”[22] Hitler’s thoughts about Christ’s life and His teachings are much like those of the late American President, Thomas Jefferson.[23] Hitler had once allegedly stated, “that what Christ had started, he would finish.”[24] Hitler’s hatred for Jews more than likely began with his Catholic education advocating that Jews were responsible for the murder of Jesus, which the Jews actually claim to be true in their Talmud. He called the Bible “that Jewish artifact”[25] and the Old Testament the “arsenal of the Antichrist,”[26] regretting that it had ever been translated into German.[27] He had this to say about the materialistic teachings in the Talmud: “And a religion in the Aryan sense cannot be imagined which lacks the conviction of survival after death in some form. Indeed, the Talmud is not a book to prepare a man for the hereafter, but only for a practical and profitable life in this world.”[28] [emphasis added] Here is a Talmudic excerpt, among many, which substantiates Hitler’s perception that Judaism advocated materialism: “Since the Goim [Gentiles] minister to Jews like beasts of burden, belong to a Jew together with his life and all his faculties: The life of a Goi and all his physical powers belong to a Jew… It is an axiom of the Rabbis that a Jew may take anything that belongs to Christians for any reason whatsoever, even by fraud; nor can such be called robbery since it is merely taking what belongs to him… All things pertaining to the Goim are like a desert; the first person to come along and take them can claim them for his own… It is permitted, according to the Torah, to lend money to an Akum [Christian] with usury. Some of the Elders, however, deny this except in a case of life and death. Nowadays it is permitted for any reason.”[29] Non-Jews are identified in the Talmud as “murderers, fornicators, unclean, dung, “not like men, but beasts,” “children of the Devil,” “bound for hell,” evil, “worse than animals,” and “slaves of Israel.”[30] Upon his study of the Bible and Talmud—both of which contain virulent terminology regarding non-Jews and Christ—Hitler would have come into contact with this virulent terminology regarding non-Jews. This may explain the roots of Hitler’s virulent terminology describing Jews as “sick,” “usurers,” “vermin,” “evil,” “Satanic,” “liars,” “antichrists,” and “Godless Bolsheviks.” Notice how many of these terms are ‘religious’ in nature, and also, how a few of them are quite comparable to the virulent terms used in the Talmud and the Torah describing non-Jews and Christians.[viii] Hitler’s private conversations and handwritten notes indicate that he believed he was doing the highest thing [for Germany] by creating a German-led, united European bulwark against Communism, and forcibly relocating Jews—the propagators of that ideology[31]—from the Reich.[32] He perceived Communism to be a proponent of nihilism and an “atheistic Jewish threat.”[33] In a conversation with Eckart, Hitler argued that the Jews had perverted Christianity,[34] and during a conversation with Bormann, Hitler acknowledged that even the Lord fought the Jews: For the Galilean’s object [Jesus’s doctrine] was to liberate his country from Jewish oppression. He set Himself against Jewish capitalism, and that’s why the Jews liquidated Him. Hitler made another statement to Bormann that suggests that the persecution of Christ was very likely one reason for his hatred for Jews; that the Jews had instigated Bolshevism—though he calls it “proto-Bolshevism”: Originally, Christianity was merely an incarnation of Bolshevism the destroyer. Nevertheless, the Galilean, who later was called Christ, intended something quite different. He must be regarded as a popular leader who took up his position against Jewry. Galilee was a colony where the Romans had probably installed Gaelic legionaries, and it’s certain that Jesus was not a Jew. Christ was an Aryan, and St. Paul used his doctrine to mobilize the criminal underworld and thus organize a proto-Bolshevism.[35] Furthermore, he told Bormann, “The Jews, by the way, regarded him [Jesus] as the son of a whore—of a whore and a Roman soldier.”[36] Here is the excerpt from the Talmud, which Hitler was more than likely referring to in this conversation with Bormann: For this son of Stada was the son of Pandira. For Rabbi Chasda tells us that Pandira [also Pantera] was the husband of Stada, his mother, and he who, as it is said in Pumbadita, deserted her husband. But his mother was Stada, Mary of Magdala.[37] [38] Hitler knew that the Jews regarded Jesus as “the son of a whore” and “the son of a Roman soldier.” Hitler called Jesus a “Gaelic legionnaire” because the Talmud claims that He was half Roman. The Romans were the ‘Teutons’ according to the Catholic Holy Bible,[39] which Hitler grew up studying; therefore, he could consolidate the information in the Talmud with that in the Bible to Aryanize Christ. Also, Hitler certainly revered Christ and Christianity, or he would not have talked for many, many hours on the subject. Even his secretaries commented on how much he talked about the Christian religion.[40] Hitler had allegedly once said, “There cannot be two chosen people. We are the people of God. Does that not explain it all?”[41] This quote implies that Hitler regarded the Jews as the antithesis of the Aryan race.[42] Perhaps he believed that Aryan superiority could come to the fore only after its antithesis was removed. He admired the Jews for their amazing will and incredible self-determination under the worst of conditions and catastrophes.[43] It is almost as though he may have admired them, as opposed to hated, and wanted the Aryan to emulate them in this respect. He wanted Germany to rule side-by-side with Britannia,[44] and evidence suggests that he believed wholeheartedly that Jewry stood in the way being bent on world domination: Never forget that the rulers of present-day Russia are common blood-stained criminals; that they are the scum of humanity which, favored by circumstances, overran a great state in a tragic hour, slaughtered and wiped out thousands of her leading intelligentsia in wild blood lust, and now for almost ten years have been carrying on the most cruel and tyrannical régime of all time. Furthermore, do not forget that these rulers belong to a race which combines, in a rare mixture, bestial cruelty and an inconceivable gift for lying, and which today more than ever is conscious of a mission to impose its bloody oppression on the whole world. Do not forget that the international Jew who completely dominates Russia today regards Germany, not as an ally, but as a state destined to the same fate…In Russian Bolshevism we must see the attempt undertaken by the Jews in the twentieth century to achieve world domination.[45] Hitler made accusations like this because he acknowledged that he had read Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion in Mein Kampf, which he probably received from Dietrich Eckart, who had ties with the White Russian Aufbau. Hitler was in close collaboration with the Aufbau in the early 1920s. This group was opposed to the Bolsheviks and claimed that the Bolshevik régime was dominated by Jews, and that they had carried out atrocities of the worst kind against the Russian people. Hitler claimed that 30 million Russians had been purged by the Soviet Jewish leadership, but more recent figures place the number as high as 45 million. Hitler spoke with Eckart regularly, as Eckart was the editor-in-chief of the National Socialist publishing organ. Hitler believed that the Jews were bent upon destroying and enslaving Gentiles, especially Christians, and that they were using Communism and capitalism to infiltrate victim nation-states, and democracy, coupled with their “slave morality,” in order to break and subvert the “noble morality” of the their victims. His beliefs were not wholly unfounded: With the notable exception of Lenin (Vladimir Ulyanov), most of the leading Communists who took control of Russia in 1917-20 were Jews. Leon Trotsky (Lev Bronstein) headed the Red Army and, for a time, was chief of Soviet foreign affairs. Yakov Sverdlov (Solomon) was both the Bolshevik party's executive secretary and -- as chairman of the Central Executive Committee -- head of the Soviet government. Grigori Zinoviev (Radomyslsky) headed the Communist International (Comintern), the central agency for spreading revolution in foreign countries. Other prominent Jews included press commissar Karl Radek (Sobelsohn), foreign affairs commissar Maxim Litvinov (Wallach), Lev Kamenev (Rosenfeld) and Moisei Uritsky. Lenin himself was of mostly Russian and Kalmuck ancestry, but he was also one-quarter Jewish. His maternal grandfather, Israel (Alexander) Blank, was a Ukrainian Jew who was later baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church. [See 13] Hitler appears to have subscribed to the belief that the Jews served no god other than money, and he supported this notion by giving Wagener the usual diatribe on the worldwide influence of Jewish usury, stockholding, banking, and media control. If Hitler was sincere about these beliefs and comments, then they explain, at least in part, why Hitler associated Communism—which he believed was atheistic—and capitalism—which he felt was individualistic and profit-driven in nature—with Jewry.[46] He suggests the Aryan man reject the “smug individualism of the past” and “look to Nature” and “interpret Christ’s words anew.”[47] Hitler felt that traditional Judeo-Christian doctrine was “an invention of sick brains” (this last quotation may in fact never have been uttered by Hitler).[48] Hitler venerated nature and loved animals; thus he had qualms with the “Jewish” idea—advocated in Genesis—that man’s role was “conqueror of nature.”[49] The principle of ‘domination of the natural world’ was one of the few aspects of Christianity Hitler denounced. This belief goes against the Biblical verse that man has to “be fruitful and multiply” and “dominate nature.” Hitler advocated a dogma calling for “Positive Christianity,” as evidenced in the Nazi Twenty Five Points.[50] He realized the importance of religion, especially when he referred to the Godless Bolsheviks to the East: Germany is the next great war aim of Bolshevism. How shall we explain Bolshevism to the German worker as an accursed crime against humanity if we ally ourselves with the organizations of this spawn of hell…The fight against Jewish world Bolshevization requires a clear attitude toward Soviet Russia. You cannot drive out the Devil with Beelzebub. It is evident from these statements that Hitler perceived the Jews to be followers of Satan. Thus, it is only correct to say that he thought Bolshevism was also Satanic and could not be trusted. In fact, in many of his speeches and in Mein Kampf (from which these quotes were extracted), he makes it quite clear that the Jews are a truly ‘godless race’. He was quite possibly alluding to Nietzschen ideology—when he recommended that the Aryan look to nature—as opposed to Judeo-Christian doctrine, but the main thing to keep in mind is the fact that Hitler had incorporated aspects of both ideologies into National Socialism. Hitler desired to “reform” Christianity, just as Luther had done, which would incorporate his ideas—regarding the Aryan, “Nature,” socialism, reason, and self-preservation—with those of Christian ideology. He called Jesus “the first socialist” and venerated him for making socialism a “divine” form of governance. It would not be far-fetched to conclude that he was also “inspired” by Luther, especially his views regarding Jewry;[51] thus Hitler advocated “reformation” by “unification” of the fractious churches in Germany to continue in Luther’s footsteps.[52] Hitler established the Institute for the Research and Elimination of Jewish Influences on Christian Living in Eisenach, which essentially “de-Jewified” the Bible.[53] Hitler admired Martin Luther, but condemned him for being far too soft on the Jews.[54] He claimed that the “clever Jew had duped Luther” and secretly utilized the Catholic Church and the Christian religion to propel his “proto-Bolshevism”: [Martin Luther’s] predilection of many years toward the Jews is a bit misleading…Oh, had he only seen them there…Then he would not have attacked Catholicism…Instead of glorifying the Old Testament, he would have branded it as the arsenal of the Antichrist…[55] The Old Testament was virtually the only part of the Bible Hitler condemned. He attacked it because it was a Jewish doctrine. Hitler never condemned the teachings of Christ, however he usually dismissed the pacifism Jesus preached.[ix] Though, he probably did so because Jesus did not always practice pacifism himself[56]: My feelings as a Christian point me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter…to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized the Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God’s truth! Was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. How terrific was his fight for the world against the Jewish poison…As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have a duty to be a fighter for truth and justice…For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people.[57] Hitler claimed that Jews were covertly involved with the “November criminals” and “Bolsheviks” in an early speech. Hitler went on by claiming that Germans needed to seek vengeance “in Holy hatred against those who have ruined us [emphasis added].”[58] Hitler’s main ‘theories’ regarding Jews most likely stemmed from the Bible, not the occult. The majority of the evidence supports the argument that Hitler’s “hatred for Jewish religious beliefs” was based on the teachings in the Bible. The very first item listed under the introduction to Hitler’s notes reads, “The Bible – Monumental History of Mankind.” Hitler notes that there are “two human types” in this world, “Builders and destroyers-----Children of God and Men.” This most likely refers to the tribes of Shem, one of which was the tribe of Judah, and Japheth. He goes on, “First people’s history (based on) the race law.” This refers to Israel, the first people, and how their history valued marriage laws, as per the Torah and Talmud. Obviously, this aspect of the Torah stood out to him. He goes on, “Arrogance ‘Man is Lord of Nature.’” This refers to the biblical passage regarding man’s domination of nature. He finishes with, “Racial purity the highest law. Miscegenation with inferior types means lowering the level of the whole [last word probably “race” or “creation”].” He probably got this from the Bible,[59] yet it is remotely possible that he adopted it from Ariosophy.[60] Genesis claims that the Jews are the descendants of Shem, and Hitler believed this teaching.[61] He seemed to have also accepted the teaching that Germans were descendants of Japheth.[x] The Catholic Bible refers to the descendants of Japheth as the “Teutons.” This would certainly explain where Hitler acquired his belief that the “Teuton conqueror” was the competitor of the “Jew.”[62] I believe Hitler thought these two Biblical ‘races’ had to compete to be worthy of the title of the ‘chosen’ race. This idea again comes to the fore when he claims that the Jew is the only enemy of deutschvölkisch (ethnic German nationalism).[63] Hitler’s version of the German Volk took on a religiosity of which the ethnic Jew could never be a part. Hitler would not allow most Jews to remain in the Reich because he felt that they would always revert back to their ingrained “religious beliefs” of “usury,” “Bolshevism,” “materialism” and the like, which he felt were alien to the Aryan concept of Volk. Were these ideas the crazy ideas of a man trapped in a delusional world of abnormality?[xi] Upon researching Hitler’s ‘person’ quite extensively, I must say that the evidence portrays him as strikingly rational, spiritual, intelligent, kind, generous, honest, and clear-thinking. However, even Hitler admitted his inclination to abnormality.[xii] The evidence does not portray him as irrational, crazy, cruel, un-Christian, atheistic, occultic, or unnatural. Hitler never appears to be delusional or insane, but I cannot completely rule out his lack of sanity near the end of his dictatorship, because he may have been under the influence of amphetamines. These were an acceptable treatment during his time for Parkinson’s-related symptoms. The question of Hitler’s ‘motives’ really boils down to why he may have ordered the ‘Endlösung’, which remains unproven.[xiii] This requires an analysis of Hitler’s ‘Christianness.’ If Hitler did indeed order the mass extermination of Jewry then there are three ways of looking at this decision. From a Christian perspective, if Hitler truly believed that the Jewish people were “the children of the Devil,”—as Jesus described them to be—and he really felt that he was doing “the work of the Lord,” then he would have to be considered justified in his actions. If, however, he did not really believe these things and had simply paid lip service to his people and the religious authorities, then he would have to be considered unjustified in his actions. Lastly, if Hitler and his alleged decision to “exterminate” nearly all of Europe’s Jews are to remain with the stigma of “evil” in non-Jewish society, then non-Jews, especially Christians, really must question the validity and motives of the Christian religion. They must question it if the non-Jewish societies are going to continue to allow Jews to live within their borders because the Jewish ethos is in complete contrast to the Christian ethos, as per the New Testament itself. The Jewish ethos perceives the non-Jewish world as a world of fools ripe for, and deserving of enslavement which is mentioned over and over in various sections of the Talmud as well as the Torah.[64] Would Christ condone this treatment of his followers by those he donned “vipers” and “children of the Devil?”[65] Luther vehemently denounced any and all cooperation and coexistence of Jews and Christians. He said, “Jews are young devils condemned to hell (E.32 p.276).”[66] Furthermore, he encouraged Christians to “deal with them [Jews] harshly,” because they commit all kinds of evils against Christ and His followers.[67] Indeed, Luther goes so far as to say: Maybe mild-hearted and gentle Christians will believe I am too rigorous and drastic against the poor, afflicted Jews, believing that I ridicule them and treat them with much sarcasm. By my word, I am far too weak to be able to ridicule such a satanic breed. I would fain do so, but they are far greater adepts at mockery than I and possess a God who is a master in this art; it is the Evil One [Satan] himself (E.32 p.286). Are Christians as well as non-Jews to believe that Luther was also evil, because he spoke of Jews in this way and advocated such atrocities as hanging Jews from gallows ten feet higher than any others?[68] Are we to condemn Luther, or better yet Jesus Christ Himself, for advocating anti-Semitism and violence against Jews?[69] Christ and Luther both openly advocated violence against Jews or the killing of Jews. Why is Hitler considered evil by Christians because he advocated or possibly ordered the mass killing of Jews while Luther and Christ are not? The Jewish people are certainly justified in their opposition to Luther, Christ and Hitler. However, the Christian opposition to Hitler’s measures is a blatant display of bigotry since Christians apparently judge Hitler by different measures than Luther or Christ. I should probably also mention the unparalleled brutalities wielded against the Amerindians by the Catholic Christians in the name of Christ. Are the Catholics who killed for so many years to be deemed evil as well? In that case the Jews are also evil because they, too, have repeatedly committed religiously motivated genocides against various ethnic groups. One need only read the numerous accounts of mass murder in the Old Testament for verification. The issue at hand here seems to be whether or not a Christian has Christ’s permission to persecute Jews. After all, it was Christ, not Hitler, who said “Bring the Jews before me and slay them.” Jesus is the moral exemplar here, so if his doctrine can be misconstrued then what good is it? God is supposed to be perfect, all-powerful, and omnipotent; so why is His doctrine not clear enough for Christians to accurately understand and follow? Even more confusing is the statement Jesus makes calling the Jews “the children of the Devil.” Was Hitler agreeing with Christ’s teachings when he said, “[the Old Testament] should have been branded as the arsenal of the Antichrist?” What is a Christian supposed to make of the aforementioned statement uttered by Christ if not to oppose the Jews? If Jesus claims that Jews are the Devil’s people then logically they would have to be the people ushering in the system of Antichrist as pointed up in the Book of Revelation. Who else is Christ’s enemy but Satan himself? It is my hope that this brief analysis will help people to better understand that the only real requirements for being a good Christian, as per the New Testament, are to love your brethren and do good unto them in Christ’s name. One need only study Hitler’s incredible social revolution for proof of his many good deeds. The only other requirement is to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. Hitler had fulfilled all of these requirements quite willingly.[70] As far as “loving one’s neighbor,” well, even Christ admitted to disliking the Jews and forcefully drove them from the Temple with a bullwhip. This is clearly not an example by the exemplar himself of “turning the other cheek.” How can any Christian be expected to follow St. Paul’s teachings when Christ did not adhere to them himself? If Hitler really did order the liquidation of Europe’s Jews, with the exception of the Mischlinge whom he personally exempted from persecution, then it was rightly so the Christian thing to do. Perhaps this explains why the Catholic Church exonerated itself from the situation and, why so many Germans, Christians, Poles, and various other predominantly Christian groups and individuals willingly participated in or largely ignored the liquidation process. Among those who ignored it were the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and numerous eastern European countries, such as Poland. None of these countries tried to stop, or for that matter even thwart the liquidation of Europe’s Jews. A good question to ask oneself right now is this: Were the Christians abroad as evil as Hitler for not stopping the liquidation of Europe’s Jews? Christianity was not the sole cause of Hitler’s persecution of Jews. However, it is almost certain that Hitler did not base his persecution of Jews solely upon the racist philosophies of various occultists like the Ariosophes or those of racist philosophes like Gobineau.[xiv] Moreover, he certainly did not carry on his relentless persecution of Jewry merely for political expediency. If Hitler had chosen the Jews merely as a scapegoat for Germany’s problems then why did he continue to persecute some Jews while exempting others? One does not exempt scapegoats under any circumstances. In addition, his measures against Jews, according to numerous sources, lessened overall support for him among many groups—not excluding wealthy Jews who may have offered or continued to finance him. In fact, Hitler’s harsh anti-Jewish measures may have prompted “international Judea” to declare war on Germany, thus severely lessening his ultimate chances of victory, especially with regard to his eastern campaign. The genuine belief that Hitler seems to have held—that he was doing his Christian duty by carrying on the persecution of Jewry, in spite of adversity—serves to explain his persecution much more solidly than either the scapegoat or racial hypothesis. As aforementioned, Hitler talked about Jewish religious values and theories far more than he conversed about racial ones. He also seems to have believed that he was doing a holy Christian deed, that both Luther and Christ would approve of, by persecuting Jews. Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that Hitler viewed the Jewish religion as a sort of cloak for their evil, anti-Christian, anti-Western, and godless motivations as a an ethnic-religious group. The evidence has also shown that Hitler did not view non-Germans as racially inferior in the way that many modern scholars portray him to have done, which exonerates him from the occultist and racist stigmas.[xv] I would like to further advance my conclusions by mentioning a few important concepts and observations I have been exposed to during my extensive research on this topic. If God is so incompetent in that He cannot even commit His intentions to be correctly interpreted in His own Bible, then suffice it to say that He is not as all-powerful and omnipotent as He claims to be, is He? If one wishes to condemn Hitler’s Christianity on the grounds that he misconstrued Christian teachings and bent them to his own evil will, then one will have to acknowledge that all Christians have misinterpreted the Bible since its inception; Hitler's conception of Christianity and Jesus Christ is no less accurate or correct than either Calvin's or Luther's. Luther's conception of Christianity played a crucial role in the Thirty Years' War, which subsequently led to the deaths of millions of Europeans and the dissolution of Christianity into warring factions—the opposite of what Luther had intended. The Catholic conception of Christianity led to the various mass murders and gross-scale tortures of the Inquisitions. The American conception of Christianity led to the near-extermination of Amerindians. Are we to accept that all of these Christians were evil because they all misconstrued the true teachings of Christ? In closing, what I have found is that Christianity served as the historical context upon which Hitler based his movement—it gave him a history, an ethos, and a socialist worldview that challenged historical Talmudic Judaism and the Jewish intellectual and social movements of his time; most notable among them, Communism. If one is going to place the blame for the persecution of Jewry during WWII on anyone, then one must place ultimate blame on Jesus. Without the doctrine of Jesus Christ, it is highly questionable whether Hitler would have had a successful historical and socio-political worldview from which he could draw with measurable success. Was Hitler’s Christianity the cause of WWII? Perhaps, but only from a metaphysical standpoint. The main reason for the war was monetary in nature.
13. Irving, David. Hitler’s War. London: Focal Point Publications, 2002.
[1] Wikipedia, “Nazi Mysticism,” http://www.answers.com/topic/nazi-mysticism. [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid. See also: Adolf Hitler, Hitler’s Second Book: The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf, trans. by Krista Smith, edit. by Gerhard Weinberg, (New York: Enigma Books, 2003), 204, 291. Note: Hitler dedicated Mein Kampf to Dietrich Eckart. [4] August Kubizek, The Young Hitler I Knew, trans. By E.V. Anderson, (New York: Tower Publications, Inc., 1954), 161-169. [5] Wes Penre, “Hitler and the Secret Societies,” Illuminati News, http://www.illuminati-news.com. [6] Ron Rosenbaum, Explaining Hitler, (New York: Random House, Inc., 1999), 99-117. [7] Adolf Hitler, Hitler’s Letters and Notes, transl. by Arnold Pomerans, commentary by Werner Maser, (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), 275-76, 362-65. [8] Bryan Rigg, Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers, (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2002), 14-18. [9] Martin Bormann, Hitler’s Table Talk 1941 – 1944: His Private Conversations, trans. by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, edit. by Hugh Trevor-Roper, (New York: Enigma Books, 2000), 235, 260. [10] Ibid, 15. [11] Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, translated by Ralph Manheim, (Boston: First Mariner Books, 1999), 63. [12] Hitler, Letters and Notes, 282. See also: Dietrich Eckart, “Bolshevism from Moses to Lenin: A Dialogue between Adolf Hitler and Me,” Chapter VI, translated by William L. Pierce, Historical Review Press, http://www.ety.com/HRP/booksonline/mosestolenin/moses6.htm. [13] Eckart, “Bolshevism from Moses to Lenin,” Chapter VI, http://www.ety.com/HRP/booksonline/mosestolenin/moses6.htm. See also: Mein Kampf, “the international Jew who completely dominates Russia today,” (p. 661) and Hitler’s Second Book: The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf, “The victims of this Jewish fight for dominance in Russia totaled twenty-eight to thirty million dead among the Russian people” (p. 232). Hitler’s figure is considered quite accurate, possibly even an underestimate, by many scholars. See: Daniel Michaels, “Examining Stalin’s 1941 Plan to Attack Germany,” Journal of Historical Review, http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v19/v19n6p40_Michaels.html. See also: Mark Weber, “The Jewish Role in the Bolshevik Revolution and the Early Soviet Regime,” Journal of Historical Review, http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v14/v14n1p-4_Weber.html. [14] Bormann, Hitler’s Table Talk, 61. [15] “Nazi Mysticism,” http://www.answers.com/topic/nazi-mysticism. [16] Ibid. [17] David Irving, personal interview, April 17, 2005. [18] David Irving, Hitler’s War, (London: Focal Point Publications, 2002), 181. [19] D. Cajus Fabricius, Positive Christianity in the Third Reich, trans. from 1937 original edition by D. Cajus Fabricius, (USA: Preuss, 2003). [20] Ibid., 184. [21] See Hitler’s Table Talk, 79, 135-145, Memoirs of a Confidant, 57-65, and Hitler’s Letters and Notes, 282-83. Hitler goes into great detail with Wagener on this issue and says, “And the struggle which the world and those churches that falsely designate themselves Christian wage against National Socialism – against us, who want only the fulfillment of Christ’s lifework – is nothing more than the continuation of the crime of the Inquisition and the burning of witches, by which the Jewish-Roman world exterminated whatever offered resistance to that shameful parasitism” (p. 65). [22] Otto Wagener, Hitler – Memoirs of a Confidant, trans. by Ruth Hein, edit. by Henry Ashby Turner, Jr., (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978), 140. [23] Thomas Jefferson. The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, (Costa Mesa: Noontide Press, 1989). [24] Rigg, Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers, 185. [25] Irving, Hitler’s War, 182. [26] Eckart, “Bolshevism from Moses to Lenin,” Ch. VI. [27] Irving, Hitler’s War, 182. [28] Hitler, Mein Kampf, 306. [29] Rev. I.B. Pranaitis, “The Talmud Unmasked: The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians,” biblebelievers.org, http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/talmud1.htm. [30] Ibid. [31] Bormann, Table Talk, 79. [32] Hitler, Mein Kampf, 382. [33] Hitler, The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf, 149. See also: Hitler, Mein Kampf, 379, 662 [34] Eckart, “Bolshevism from Moses to Lenin,” Ch. VI, http://www.ety.com/HRP/booksonline/mosestolenin/moses6.htm. [35] Bormann, Table Talk, 76 [36] Ibid. [37] Pranaitis, “The Talmud Unmasked.” [38] Translator’s note: The meaning of this is that Mary was called Stada, that is, prostitute, because, according to what was taught at Pumbadita, she left her husband and committed adultery. This is also recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud and by Maimonides. Author’s note: Pandira, the Roman soldier, was Jesus’ father. In some translations of the Talmud he is referred to as Pantera. [39] Holy Bible, Holy Trinity Edition, 1951. [40] Irving, Hitler’s War, 182-184. [41] Rigg, Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers, 15. [42] Hitler, Letters and Notes, 279, 283. [43] Ibid. Also mentioned in Mein Kampf on pp. 300-301. [44] Hitler, The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf, 8. [45] Hitler, Mein Kampf, 660-661. Note: Here he is referring to the Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion referenced on pp. 307 and 308. [46] Wagener, Memoirs, 185-192. [47] Ibid., 139-140. [48] Bormann, Table Talk, 142-144. [49] Hitler, Mein Kampf, 287. See also: Hitler, Letters and Notes, 279-80. [50] Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs by Albert Speer (New York: Galahad Books, 1970), 95. [51] See: “Martin Luther: On The Jews and their Lies, Excerpts (1543),” Medieval Sourcebook, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/luther-jews.html. [52] Peter Wiener, “Martin Luther: Hitler’s Spiritual Ancestor,” www.tentmaker.org, http://www.tentmaker.org/books/MartinLuther-HitlersSpiritualAncestor.html#hitler. [53] Rigg, Jewish Soldiers, 185. [54] Eckart, “Bolshevism from Moses to Lenin,” Ch. VI, [55] Ibid. [56] Apocalypse 2:18, Matt. 12:25-30, 15:10-14, 21:12-13, and Luke 19:45-48 (Holy Trinity Edition of the Catholic Bible, 1951). See also: Rev. 2:12-17, Luke 21:6-24, and Mark 13:7-8 (New International Version). [57] Baynes, Speeches, 19-20. See also: Pranaitus, “The Talmud Unmasked.” The Talmud teaches that Jesus was illegitimate and was conceived during menstruation; that he had the soul of Esau; that he was a fool, a conjurer, a seducer; that he was crucified, buried in hell and set up as an idol ever since by his followers. Jesus condemns the Jews (Holy Trinity Edition of the Catholic Bible, 1951, John 2: 13-25) and calls them “the children of the devil” (John 8: 42-47). [58] Adolf Hitler, “Munich Speech of September 18, 1922,” Hitler Historical Museum, http://www.hitler.org/speeches/09-18-22.html. Note: This speech might be fraudulent as per Mark Weber, personal interview, April 29, 2005. [59] Gen. 9.18-28, 10.1-32 (Holy Trinity Edition of the Catholic Bible, 1951). Ezra 9.1-15, 10.1-44 (New International Version). [60] “Nazi Mysticism,” http://www.answers.com/topic/nazi-mysticism. [61] Wagener, Memoirs, 205-07. [62] Hitler, Mein Kampf, 295, 324. [63] Hitler, Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf, 234. [64] Pranaitis, “The Talmud Unmasked.” [65] Luther, Martin. The Jews and their Lies. York: Liberty Bell Publications, 2004. [66] Ibid., 58. [67] Ibid., 60-61. [68] Walker, Jim. “Hitler’s Christianity.” www.nobeliefs.com. http://www.nobeliefs.com/Hitler1.htm. See also: “Martin Luther: On The Jews and their Lies, Excerpts (1543),” Medieval Sourcebook, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/luther-jews.html. [69] And he said, “But as for these my enemies [Jews], who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence” (Luke 19:27). Christ also said, “If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews” (John 18:36 [NRSV]). [70] Walker, Jim. “Hitler’s Christianity.” [i] Julius Streicher was the author of the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer and a key support figure for Hitler. Streicher declared while on trial, “…I have repeatedly emphasized the fact that the Jews should serve as an example to every race, for they created the racial law for themselves—the law of Moses, which says, ‘If you come into a foreign land you shall not take unto yourself any foreign women.’ And that, Gentlemen, is of tremendous importance in judging the Nuremberg Laws. These laws of the Jews were taken as a model for these laws” (Julius Streicher, Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, 1945, Vol. 12). It must be noted here that Hitler condemned his subordinates for misinterpreting his ideas regarding race when Wagener brought up this subject during a conversation with him. See: Wagener, Memoirs, pp. 204-08. Hitler says, “The way these racial theories are usually understood, interpreted, and applied, they are actually quite wrong. To start with, quite primitive theories of biological reproduction and heredity are carelessly mixed up with racial theories and put through the grinder of this desire to get to the bottom of everything. Then this completely undigested porridge, disguised as scientific findings, is preached or even committed to paper, so that anyone can pick out whatever suits him. Small wonder, then, that truly cunning people go to great lengths to pick out the nonsense in order to reduce the whole racial rubbish to absurdity” (p. 204).
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