Germany 1939 to 1945: In 2020 the bishops' conference declares that the bishops strengthened the will to hold out and became complicit in the war; hardly a voice was raised against the crimes against the Jews

In its statement of 2020 the German Bishops' Conference writes that in 1939 the bishops called on soldiers to be loyal, obedient and dutiful. Open protest against the war of annihilation did not occur, and hardly a voice was raised in the Church in Germany against the crimes against the Jews. Open opposition came only after the patient killings and the seizure of monasteries. By setting no clear No against the war and strengthening the will to hold out, it says, they became complicit.

Period

1939-1945 (6 years)

Report published

29 April 2020

Country

Germany

Institutions

German Bishops' Conference
Catholic Military Chaplaincy

Category

Agreements with dictatorships, Admission

Level of evidence

A Primary source · what does this mean?

Persons

Franz Justus Rarkowski (Catholic Army Bishop of the Wehrmacht)

Background

Response of the Church

1. With the attack on Poland, which violated international law, the bishops according to the statement called on soldiers and the faithful to be loyal, obedient and dutiful and to atone and sacrifice. Only Bishop Konrad von Preysing of Berlin refrained from this.
   Evidence: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn), S. 14

   „Treue, Gehorsam und Pflichterfüllung“

   Evidence: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn), S. 14

   „Allein der Berliner Bischof Konrad von Preysing verzichtete auf solche Mahnungen“

2. After the victory over France in 1940 the bells rang. The attack on the Soviet Union was linked to the idea of a "crusade" against "godless Bolshevism". According to the statement the bishops did not share the racial-ideological justification, but their words strengthened both soldiers and the regime.
   Evidence: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn), S. 14

   „läuteten im Reich die Glocken“

   Evidence: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn), S. 15

   „dem Krieg einen zusätzlichen Sinn verliehen“

3. According to the statement, the Army Bishop Franz Justus Rarkowski played a particularly negative role: he mobilised the soldiers' strength fully in line with the Wehrmacht leadership. Open opposition by individual bishops came only after the patient killings and the "storming of the monasteries", best known from Bishop von Galen against the euthanasia crimes. Only on 19 August 1943 was a joint pastoral letter achieved.
   Evidence: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn), S. 14

   „besonders problematische und negative Rolle spielte Feldbischof Franz Justus Rarkowski“

   Evidence: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn), S. 15

   „Erst am 19. August 1943 gelang es der Bischofskonferenz“

4. The bishops' conference concludes: by setting no clear No against the war, most of them instead strengthening the will to hold out, the bishops became complicit in the war.
   Evidence: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn), S. 16

   „sondern die meisten von ihnen den Willen zum Durchhalten stärkten, machten sie sich mitschuldig am Krieg“

See also

• 20 Jul 1933 · 1 day

  Reich Concordat of 1933 between the Holy See and the German Reich

  • Germany
  • Vatican City
  • Agreements with dictatorships
• 1939-1945 · 6 years

  Forced labourers in Catholic institutions in the German Reich 1939-1945

  • Germany
  • Admission
  • Forced labour

Original documents to read

1. Church document
   Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Pflichtexemplar ULB Bonn): Deutsche Bischöfe im Weltkrieg. Wort zum Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs vor 75 Jahren (Die deutschen Bischöfe Nr. 107), 29 April 2020. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.