2014/12/01 by Samuel Koehne · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #European history and politics #Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity #Italian Fascism and Post-war Society #Nazism #Paganism #Antisemitism #Religious studies #Mythology #Political science #Christianity #Philosophy #Law #Theology #Judaism #Politics
paper · doi:10.1017/s0008938914001897
openalex publication_date 2014/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
A trend in studies about National Socialism and religion in recent years argues for a deliberate distinction between the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and the antisemitic völkisch movement of nineteenth-century Germany. This article challenges that contention. Several researchers have published comprehensive studies on the heterogeneous nature of Christian responses to the Nazis, but a comparable approach looking at how the Nazis viewed religion has not yet been undertaken. A study of the latter type is certainly necessary, given that one of the consistent features of the völkisch movement was its diversity. As Roger Griffin has argued, a “striking feature of the sub-culture . . . was just how prolific and variegated it was . . . [T]he only denominator common to all was the myth of national rebirth.” In short, the völkisch movement contained a colorful, varied, and often bewildering range of religious beliefs.