Were the National Socialists a Völkisch Party? Paganism, Christianity, and the Nazi Christmas.

NATIONAL socialism & religion; PAGANISM; NATIONALSOZIALISTISCHE Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei; CHRISTIANITY; NATIONAL socialism; NAZI Germany, 1933-1945; TWENTIETH century; HISTORY; RELIGION

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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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