Shaken by military defeat and economic depression after War World
I, Germans sought to restore their nation's dignity and power. In
this context the National Socialist Party, with its promise of a
revivified Germany, drew supporters. Among the most zealous were a
number of Catholic clergymen known as "brown priests" who
volunteered as Nazi propagandists. In this insightful study, Spicer
unearths a dark subchapter in Roman Catholic history, introduces
the principal clergymen who participated in the Nazi movement,
examines their motives, details their advocacy of National
Socialism, and explores the consequences of their political
activism. Some brown priests, particularly war veterans, advocated
National Socialism because it appealed to their patriotic ardor.
Others had less laudatory motives: disaffection with clerical life,
conflicts with Church superiors, or ambition for personal power and
fame. Whatever their individual motives, they employed their skills
as orators, writers, and teachers to proclaim the message of
Nazism. Especially during the early 1930s, when the Church forbade
membership in the party, these clergymen strove to prove that
Catholicism was compatible with National Socialism, thereby
justifying their support of Nazi ideology. Father Dr. Philipp
Haeuser, a scholar and pastor, went so far as to promote
antisemitism while deifying Adolf Hitler. The Fuhrer's
antisemitism, Spicer argues, did not deter clergymen such as
Haeuser because, although the Church officially rejected the Nazis'
extreme racism, Catholic teachings tolerated hostility toward Jews
by blaming them for Christ's crucifixion. While a handful of brown
priests enjoyed the forbearance of their bishops, others endured
reprimand or even dismissal; a few found new vocations with the
Third Reich. After the fall of the Reich, the most visible brown
priests faced trial for their part in the crimes of National
Socialism, a movement they had once so earnestly supported. In
addition to this intriguing history about clergymen trying to
reconcile faith and politics, Spicer provides a master
list-verified by extensive research in Church and government
archives-of Catholic clergy who publicly supported National
Socialism.
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