Nazism, Fascism Religious Right

Family Values, Christian Morality – Defended by Hitler

Current prominent figures, speaking words the “Christian Right” wants to hear, are not the first national leaders to use Christian morality as a rallying cry.

These words are from 1933:

“The National Government will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built up. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality and the family as the basis of national life.”

We can perhaps learn from human experience. Those two sentences were spoken February 1, 1933 by Adolf Hitler during his first radio address after coming to power. These quotes that follow are also from Hitler, the same year.

It is the purpose of the Government “to fill our whole culture once more with a Christian spirit, and that not only in politics. We want to burn out the harmful features in our theater and our literature.”

It is the purpose of the Government “to fill our whole culture once more with a Christian spirit, and that not only in politics. We want to burn out the harmful features…”
He really hated “liberalism,” “liberal excesses” and “harmful features” of public behavior. He seemed a good choice to conservative Christians not fully aware of his actual beliefs and behavior. He seemed to have at least some high and honorable purposes.

“The Government, being resolved to undertake the political and moral purification of our public life, is creating and securing the conditions necessary for a really profound revival of religious life.” “The struggle against materialistic views and for a real national community is just as much in the interest of the German nation as in [the interest] of the welfare of our Christian faith.”

“The Government of the Reich … regards Christianity as the unshakable foundation of the morals and moral code of the nation.” “The rights of the churches will not be diminished.”

He really hated “liberalism,” “liberal excesses” and “harmful features” of public behavior. He seemed a good choice to conservative Christians …

Strangely, I don’t feel much safer knowing that current American leaders also promise to promote Christian morality, defend the family, honor the churches, “burn out” materialism and harmful influences, and invade any nation that ‘deserves’ it.

Burn” is a very good word for what the Nazis did to Germany and Europe in the 30’s and 40’s. Of course the time, place, and names are different, very much so. But it is the same human nature at work. We will regret it profoundly if we ignore that fundamental — and very Christian — fact.

Quotations are from The Speeches of Adolph Hitler, 1922-1939, Vol. 1, pg. 369-372 (London, Oxford University Press, 1942 – edition of 1969.)


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10 Comments

  • Hitler wanted to replace Christianity with as he said qiute often a more “tolerant” philosophy”. Hitler once said “christianity is the invention of sick brains.

  • I hate to slap you with reality, but we are already most of the way there as the laws are being put in place, and it will only be one more scare on American soil before they start to implement them. And the mass of citizens will find themselves powerless and politically impotent to resist the will of the “authorities”.

    Because of WWII (and post-WWII) propaganda, Americans today are unaware that the German people believed they too were a “free” society in the 1930’s. And everything Hitler did was legal under the German laws his regime had instituted. Today, the people who recognized the truth, or fled Germany for safety are regarded as either victims of his crimes or heroes who opposed them (Einstien, Shindler, etc.).

    It will be interesting to see if we live long enough, if that status will be bestowed opon Americans in opposition to our current circumstance.

  • gosh how scary….I was looking in Google for Political Quotes to put as our mthly header for the agenda for our Democratic Central Committee. I came upon this site.

    “The Government of the Reich … regards Christianity as the unshakable foundation of the morals and moral code of the nation.” “The rights of the churches will not be diminished.”

    Question, does history repeat itself!!!

  • If America is ever to fall into a dictatorship, it seems it will be by an Oligarchy from the “right”, meaning a group power of money, corporate elite, and politicians using religion and patriotism, as a means of their own to that end. History can repeat itself.

  • I’m not sure about all of them, but the conservative Christians I have run into who embrace this perverted view and/or misuse of family values are really praising and worshipping themselves for following this ‘wisdom’, rather than praising God, even if they don’t realize it. I personally believe this contributes to the apparently un-Christian behavior that we’ve all seen in one form or another (I recently read an article where it was characterized as a ‘take no prisoners’ form of Christianity). Their attitude isn’t biblical because Jesus said that it was better to love and serve God when someone praised his mother, and spoke of people leaving their families to follow him. Obviously, I don’t believe this means that Jesus was anti-family, but he wanted people to realize that it should always be God first.

    The experiences I had with those I met were a real learning experience for me. I learned that anything can become a form of legalism, and just how easy it is for us to think we are following God when we may not be.

 
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