Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression On 14 July 1939, Bormann, as Deputy of the Fuehrer, issued a
Party regulation excluding clergymen, persons closely
connected with the church, and Theology students from
membership in the Party. It was further decreed that in the
future Party Members who entered the clergy
or turned to the study of Theology must leave the Party.
(840-PS)
(c) The Nazi conspirators persecuted priests, clergy and
members of monastic orders. The priests and clergy of
Germany were
[Page 267]
subjected by the police to systematic espionage into their
daily lives. The Nazi conspirators through the Chief of the
Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) maintained a special
branch of the Security Police and Security Service (Sipo/SD)
whose duties were to investigate the churches and maintain
constant surveillance upon the public and private lives of
the clergy. (1815-PS)
At a conference of these police "church specialists" called
by Heydrich, who was then SS Gruppenfuehrer and Chief of the
Reich Main Security Office (RSHA), in Berlin, 23 September 1941, SS
Sturmbannfueherer Hartl, acting for Heydrich, stated that
the greatest importance was to
be attached to church political activity. The intelligence
network in this field, he continued, was to be fostered with
the greatest of care and enlarged with the recruitment of
informants, particular value being attached to contacts with
church circles. He closed his lecture with the following
words:
"Each of you must go to work with your whole heart and
a true fanaticism. Should a mistake or two be made in
the execution of this work, this should in no way
discourage you, since mistakes are made everywhere. The
main thing is that the enemy should be constantly
tackled with determination, will, and effective
initiative." (1815-PS)
In a letter of 22 October 1941, Heydrich, as Chief of the
Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) issued detailed
instructions to all State Police Offices outlining the
organization of the Catholic Church and directing close
surveillance of the activities, writings, and reports of the
Catholic clergy in Germany. In this connection he directed:
"Reports are also to be submitted on those Theological
students destined for Papal Institutes, and Priests
returning from such institutes to Germany. Should the
opportunity arise of placing someone for intelligence
(Nachrichtendienst) purposes in one of these
Institutes, in the guise of a Theological student, we
should receive immediate notification." (1815-PS)
Priests and other members of the clergy were arrested,
fined, imprisoned, and otherwise punished by executive
measures of the police without judicial process. In his
lecture before a conference at the Reich Main Security
Office (RSHA) in Berlin, for "church specialists," of the
Security Police, 22 November 1941, Regierungsrat Roth stated (1815-
PS):
"It has been demonstrated that it is impracticable to deal with political offenses (malicious) under normal legal procedure. Owing to the lack of political perception which still
[Page 268]
prevails among the legal authorities, suspension of
this procedure must be reckoned with. The so-called
"Agitator Priests" must therefore be dealt with in
future by Stapo measures, and, if the occasion arises,
be removed to a Concentration Camp, if agreed upon by
the RSHA.
"The necessary executive measures are to be decided
upon according to local conditions, the status of the
person accused, and the seriousness of the case -- as follows:
1. Warning
Members of monastic orders were forced by the seizure and
confiscation of their properties to give up their
established place of abode and seek homes elsewhere (R-101-
A; R-101-D). A secret order of the SS Economic
Administration Office to all Concentration Camp Commanders,
dated 21 April 1942, concerning labor mobilization of
clergy, reveals that clergymen were at that time, and had
previously been, incarcerated in Concentration Camps. (1164-
PS)
On the death of von Hindenburg, the Reich Government ordered
the ringing of all church bells on 2 August 1934, 3 August
1934 and 4 August 1934. In Bavaria, there were many
instances of failure to comply with this order. The Bavarian
police submitted a report outlining the above situation and
stating that in three cases the taking into protective
custody of recalcitrant clergy could not be avoided.
"The Parish priest, Father Johann Quinger of
Altenkunstadt BA., Lichtenfels. He was taken into
protective custody on 3 August on the express order of
the State Ministry of the Interior, because he
assaulted SA leaders and SA men who were ringing the
bells against his wishes. He was released from custody
on 10 August 1934.
"The Parish priest, Father Ludwig Obholzer of
Kiefersfelden, BA Rosenheim. For his personal safety he
was in police custody from 2400 hours on the 2 August
1934, till 1000 hours on 3 August 1934. On 5 August
1934, he said sarcastically in his sermon, referring to
the SA men who had carried out the ringing of the
funeral knell on their own account, 'Lord forgive them,
for they know not what they do' ! "The Parish priest,
Father Johann Nepomuk Kleber of Wie-
[Page 269]
felsdorf, BA Burglengenfeld, refused to ring the church
bells on the 2nd and 3rd. He is badly tainted
politically and had to be taken into protective custody
from the 5th to the 8th of August 34 in the interests
of his own safety." (1521-PS)
After Hitler's rise to power, Bishop Sproll of Rottenburg
delivered a series of sermons regarded by the Nazis as
damaging, and on 10 April 1938 he refrained from voting in
the plebiscite. For this, the Reich Governor of Wuertemberg
declared he would no longer regard Bishop Sproll as head of
the Diocese of Rottenburg; made an official request that he
leave the Gau; and declared he would see to it that all
personal and official intercourse between the Bishop and the
State and Party offices as well as the Armed Forces would be denied
(849-PS). For his alleged failure to vote in the plebiscite,
of 10 April 1938, the Party caused three demonstrations to
be staged against the Bishop and his household in
Rottenburg. The third demonstration was described as
follows in a teletype message from Gestapo Office Stuttgart
to Gestapo Office Berlin:
"The Party on 23 July 1938 from 2100 on carried out the
third demonstration against Bishop Sproll. Participants
about 2,500-3,000 were brought in from outside by bus,
etc. The Rottenburg populace again did not participate
in the demonstration. The town took rather a hostile
attitude to the demonstrations. The action got
completely out of hand of the Party Member responsible
for it. The demonstrators stormed the palace, beat in
the gates and doors. About 150 to 200 people forced
their way into the palace, searched the rooms, threw
files out of the windows and rummaged through the beds
in the rooms of the palace. One bed was ignited. Before
the fire got to the other objects of equipment in the -
rooms and the palace, the flaming bed could be thrown
from the window and the fire extinguished. The Bishop
was with Archbishop Groeber of Freiburg and the ladies
and gentlemen of his menage in the chapel at prayer.
About 25 to 30 people pressed into this chapel and
molested those present. Bishop Groeber was taken for
Bishop Sproll. He was grabbed by the robe and dragged
back and forth. Finally the intruders realized that
Bishop Groeber is not the one they are seeking. They
could then be persuaded to leave the building. After
the evacuation of the palace by the demonstrators I had
an interview with Archbishop Groeber, who left
Rottenburg in the night. Groeber wants to turn to the
Fuehrer and Reich Minister of the Interior Dr. Frick
anew. On the course of the action, the damage done as
well as the homage
[Page 270]
of the Rottenburg populace beginning today for the
Bishop I shall immediately hand in a full report, after
I am in the act of suppressing counter mass meetings."
(848-PS)
Reich Minister for Church Affairs Kerrl and other Party
officials alleged that these demonstrations were
spontaneously staged by indignant citizens of Rottenburg and
caused representations to be made to the Holy See in an
effort to effect the Bishop's removal from office. (89-PS)
The original plaintext version of
part
one or
part
two of this file is available via
ftp.
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Volume
I Chapter VII
Means Used by the Nazi Conspiractors in Gaining Control of the German State
(Part 31 of 55)
2. Fine
3. Forbidden to preach
4. Forbidden to remain in parish
5. Forbidden all activity as a priest
6. Short-term arrest
7. Protective custody."