How deep is the human conscience?

Abstract

Among the three million Wehrmacht soldiers who invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa were Protestant and Catholic military chaplains. United by their Christian faith and hatred of 'Jewish communism', they played an important role in the ideological interpretation of the war. As well as their strictly religious duties, Wehrmacht chaplains played an important role in the ideological interpretation of the war. Who or what did they serve? Hitler, to whom they had sworn allegiance, or God and the Church, to whom they had also vowed fidelity? How did they deal with the inevitable conflict of conscience caused by the fact that they were Christian clergymen bound by the commandment to love their neighbour, yet participating in a murderous war that dramatically violated that commandment? The answer is not clear-cut. Historical research has revealed that several thousand clergymen belonged to the Nazi Party (NSDAP), although their exact number is unknown. They contributed to the legitimisation of Hitler's regime, justifying his genocidal wars and the ideology of the Third Reich. There is no evidence to suggest that they recognised the theological contradiction between their faith and the commandment to love one's neighbour, and their hatred of Jews. However, there is also no evidence that they personally killed Jews or Soviet prisoners of war. They also belonged to groups persecuted by Nazism. At Dachau concentration camp, for example, approximately 2,800 Catholic clergymen were imprisoned from 1940 until the end of the war. The largest group, numbering around 1,800, was made up of Polish priests, followed by a much smaller group of clergymen from Germany and Austria. A full evaluation of the attitudes and behaviour of Wehrmacht chaplains must consider the wider context of the relationship between German Christian churches and Nazism.