Were the national socialists a völkisch party? Paganism, christianity, and the Nazi christmas
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2014-03-04
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Central European History
Journal of Contemporary History
Journal of Contemporary History
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CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
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School of Historical and Philosophical Studies
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Journal Article
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Koehne, S. (2014). Were the national socialists a völkisch party? Paganism, christianity, and the Nazi christmas. Central European History, 47 (4), pp.760-790. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008938914001897.
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Abstract
A trend in studies about National Socialism and religion in recent years argues for a deliberate distinction between the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and the antisemiticvölkischmovement 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.