Britain and the German Churches, 1945–1950 Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- List of Abbreviations
- Map
- Introduction
- 1 Creating a ‘Religious Affairs’ Staff
- 2 The Summer of 1945: the Move to Germany
- 3 British Experiences of Religion in Germany in the Summer of 1945
- 4 The Formation of a Separate Religious Affairs Branch
- 5 Relationships with the Catholic Church
- 6 Relationships with Protestant Churches
- 7 Relationships with ‘Minor Denominations’
- 8 Religious Visitors to the Churches in the British Zone
- 9 The Allied Religious Affairs Committee
- 10 The Final Year: 1949–50
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Text of the Stuttgart Declaration
- Appendix 2 Senior Members of Staff of the Religious Affairs Branch
- Bibliography
- Index
- Studies in Modern British Religious History
5 - Relationships with the Catholic Church
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 March 2021
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- List of Abbreviations
- Map
- Introduction
- 1 Creating a ‘Religious Affairs’ Staff
- 2 The Summer of 1945: the Move to Germany
- 3 British Experiences of Religion in Germany in the Summer of 1945
- 4 The Formation of a Separate Religious Affairs Branch
- 5 Relationships with the Catholic Church
- 6 Relationships with Protestant Churches
- 7 Relationships with ‘Minor Denominations’
- 8 Religious Visitors to the Churches in the British Zone
- 9 The Allied Religious Affairs Committee
- 10 The Final Year: 1949–50
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Text of the Stuttgart Declaration
- Appendix 2 Senior Members of Staff of the Religious Affairs Branch
- Bibliography
- Index
- Studies in Modern British Religious History
Summary
Sometime in early May 1945, Cardinal Bertram, the Archbishop of Breslau, wrote a note to the priests of his archdiocese, instructing them
to hold a solemn requiem in memory of the Führer and all those members of the Wehrmacht who have fallen in the struggle for our German Fatherland, along with the sincerest prayers for Volk and Fatherland and for the future of the Catholic church in Germany.
As Scholder commented, in an essay from which the extract above has been taken, some traditions were deeply ingrained. It is not clear whether in the chaotic state of Europe in May 1945 the instruction was ever carried out, or indeed if the instruction was even sent. Breslau had been encircled by Soviet troops since February 1945 and finally surrendered on 6 May. Bertram had left the city in late February or early March 1945 and spent the rest of the war at his summer residence at Johannesberg Castle in the Czechoslovak part of the diocese. It seems unlikely that anyone in SHAEF would have been aware of its existence of the instruction. Had they been it might have caused them to be even more suspicious of the Catholic Church in Germany than many already may have been. One of the questions which faced those who were to be responsible for the future oversight of religious matters in Germany was how to react to a Catholic Church which many believed had, with only isolated exceptions, rarely displayed much obvious opposition to the Nazi regime. Bertram may have been more percipient, in coupling prayers for the future of the Church in his diocese with the other petitions in his intention for the service, than he fully recognised. The archdiocese would eventually become part of the Catholic Church in Poland as the diocese of Wrocƚaw. Commenting on the state of the Catholic clergy, Kuber has written:
When the war ended the clergy's feelings, like those of most Germans, seem to have been dominated by what one might describe as ‘sad relief’. Despite the impact of the war and the general reservations against National Socialism, the Catholic priests, many of whom had fought in the First World War, were politically conservative, held staunchly patriotic views and were deeply troubled by their country's total defeat.
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- Britain and the German Churches, 1945–1950The Role of the Religious Affairs Branch in the British Zone, pp. 115 - 146Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2021