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Unholy Crusaders: The Wehrmacht and the Reestablishment of Soviet Churches during Operation Barbarossa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2020
Abstract
During the summer and fall of 1941, as they took part in Operation Barbarossa—the invasion of the Soviet Union—Wehrmacht personnel paused to reopen churches that had been shuttered by the communist regime. These events, which drew enormous crowds, brought together conquerors and conquered in a surprising display of shared faith before being halted by a directive from the Führer. This article addresses the question of why they took place at all, given the genocidal nature of the campaign in which they were embedded, as well as what they can tell us about the role of religion in the Wehrmacht, its relationship to Nazi ideology, and the nature of the military occupation. The reopening ceremonies, it is argued, were the spontaneous outcome of a number of interrelated factors, including Nazi rhetoric, the pent-up yearnings of Soviet Christians, and above all the vision of the invasion as a religious crusade against an atheist power adopted by many chaplains and soldiers. Although often overlooked, religion remained a powerful force in the Wehrmacht, one that could serve both to undermine and justify Nazi goals. Further, the reopenings demonstrate the army's capacity for flexibility in its dealings with the population, particularly during the war's opening months.
Während sie im Sommer und Herbst 1941 am Unternehmen Barbarossa – der Invasion der Sowjetunion – teilnahmen, machten Angehörige der Wehrmacht halt, um vom kommunistischen Regime geschlossene Kirchen neu zu eröffnen. Diese Aktionen, die ein zahlreiches Publikum anzogen, vereinigten Eroberer und Eroberte in einer erstaunlichen Zurschaustellung ihres gemeinsamen Glaubens, bis sie durch einen Erlass des Führers beendet wurden. Dieser Beitrag geht den Fragen nach, warum sie überhaupt stattfanden angesichts des genozidalen Charakters des Feldzugs, in den sie eingebettet waren, und was sie über die Rolle der Religion in der Wehrmacht aussagen können, über deren Verhältnis zur nationalsozialistischen Ideologie sowie über den Charakter der militärischen Okkupation. Die Wiedereröffnungsfeiern, so die These, waren ein spontanes Resultat mehrerer zusammenhängender Faktoren, darunter der nationalsozialistischen Rhetorik, der unterdrückten Wünsche sowjetischer Christ*innen, vor allem aber der Vision von der Invasion als einem religiösen Kreuzzug gegen eine atheistische Macht, die von vielen Feldgeistlichen und Soldaten gehegt wurde. Obwohl dies oft übersehen wird, blieb die Religion in der Wehrmacht eine mächtige Kraft, von der die nationalsozialistischen Ziele sowohl konterkariert als auch gerechtfertigt werden konnten. Weiterhin stellen diese Wiedereröffnungen die Fähigkeit der Armee zur Flexibilität im Umgang mit der Bevölkerung, insbesondere in den ersten Kriegsmonaten, unter Beweis.
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Footnotes
I would like to thank Oliver Janz for inviting me to present the early ideas behind this article in his Forschungskolloquium in Berlin, Rudy Koshar for providing feedback on subsequent drafts, the anonymous readers for CEH who offered helpful commentary, and former CEH editor Andrew Port for his advice and support along the way.
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33 Chef der Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres to the Field Bishops, April 27, 1942, EZA 50/149.
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84 These were exhibits of religious artifacts intended to expose organized religion as hypocritical and out of touch.
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86 See for instance, “1100 Geistliche in Kauen ermordet. Kreuze im Oberkörper und Arm eingebrannt,” Feldzeitung von der Maas bis an die Memel, July 13, 1941, BA-MA RHD 69/15.
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88 “Kirchen Ohne Kreuz,” Frankfurter Zeitung, September 28, 1941.
89 See Joseph Goebbels, diary entries of July 31, 1941, and September 9, 1941, in Fröhlich, ed., Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels. Teil II, Band I, 151 and 383.
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91 Franz Justus Rarkowski, “Hirtenwort an die katholischen Wehrmachtsangehörigen zu dem großen Entscheidungskampf im Osten,” July 29, 1941, reprinted in Missalla, Heinrich, Wie der Krieg zur Schule Gottes wurde. Hitlers Feldbischof Rarkowski. Eine notwendige Erinnerung (Frankfurt am Main: Taschenbuch, 1997), 57–58Google Scholar.
92 18th Inf. Div., IVd(e), Feldpredigt, August 8, 1941, BA-MA RH 26-18/100.
93 Hans Albring to Eugen Altrogge, September 4, 1941, MPST 3.2002.0211. See also Franz Siebeler to parents and siblings, July 15, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.1285.
94 Hans Simon to father, July 21, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.1288.
95 Hans Simon to unnamed recipients, August 15, 1941, MPST 3.2002.1288.
96 Franz Siebeler to parents and siblings, July 15, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.1285.
97 Kriegsberichter Bernd Poiess, “Das Rätsel der russischen Seele,” October 2, 1941, Feldzeitung von der Maas bis an die Memel, BA-MA RHD 69/76.
98 See for example AOK2, Ic/VAA, Bericht Nr. 8, August 1, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-2/1091; Befehlshaber für das rückwärtige Heeresgebiet Mitte Prop Abteilung W, propaganda and activity report for November 16–30, 1941, BA-MA RW 4/236.
99 AOK2, Ic/VAA, activity report for September 23, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-2/1093.
100 Quotations from Hans Albring to Eugen Altrogge, July 28, 1941 and undated, MSPT 3.2002.0211, respectively.
101 AOK9, IVd(e) activity report for July 23–September 14, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-9/323.
102 Franz Siebeler to parents and siblings, June 21, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.1285.
103 See for example Clemens August Graf von Galen, Hirtenbrief, September 14, 1941, KMBA SW 1059.
104 See letter to wife, August 14, 1941, in Jarausch, Reluctant Accomplice, 251.
105 See letter to wife, September 1, 1941, in Jarausch, Reluctant Accomplice, 274.
106 Heinz Rahe to Ursula (wife), July 18–20, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.0985.
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108 Kirchliches Amtsblatt für die Erzdiözese Paderborn, Stück 19, October 30, 1941, KMBA SW 1059.
109 Fireside, Icon and Swastika, 119–20, has also noted the wide scope of the reopenings across both the Ukraine and northern Russia.
110 AOK11, IVd(k), activity report for July 1–September 30, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-11/388.
111 “Ukrainische Kathedrale wieder Gotteshaus,” Ost-Front, December 8, 1941, BA-MA RHD 53/20.
112 See for example Mitteilungen aus dem kirchlichen Leben, October 17, 1941, Erzbischöfliches Archiv Freiburg (hereafter: EAF), B2-43-26.
113 On the religious outlook of the populace and their role in the services, see Berkhoff, Harvest of Despair, 239–43; Berkhoff, Karel, “Was There a Religious Revival in Soviet Ukraine under the Nazi Regime?,” Slavonic and East European Review 78, no. 3 (2000): 536–67Google Scholar; Dallin, German Rule in Russia, 1941–1945, 478; Fireside, Icon and Swastika.
114 Berkhoff, Harvest of Despair, 241.
115 Inf. Reg. 413 to 206th Inf. Div., Betr.: Verhalten der Zivilbevölkerung zum deutschen Militär, September 21, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-9/323.
116 See especially Mühlhӓuser, Eroberungen; Pohl, Die Herrschaft der Wehrmacht; Latzel, Deutsche Soldaten—nationalsozialistsicher Krieg?, esp. 140–55, 183–99, and 201–5; Shepherd, War in the Wild East. Escalation would take many forms, including scorched earth policies introduced in the winter of 1941, “dead zones, where any trespassing civilian was shot on sight,” mass starvation as the result of economic exploitation, and collective punishments in response to partisan activity.
117 See Lower, Nazi Empire-Building and the Holocaust in Ukraine, esp. chapters 2 to 4; Römer, Felix, Der Kommissarbefehl. Wehrmacht und NS-Verbrechen an der Ostfront 1941/42 (Paderborn: Schöningh, 2008)Google Scholar; Kay, Rutherford, and Stahel, Nazi Policy on the Eastern Front, 1941; Beorn, Marching into Darkness; Streit, Keine Kameraden.
118 On popular reactions to early encounters with the Wehrmacht, see Pohl, Die Herrschaft der Wehrmacht, 135–36; Kilian, Wehrmacht und Besatzungsherrschaft im russischen Nordwesten 1941–1944, 191; Lower, Nazi Empire-Building and the Holocaust in Ukraine, chapter 2.
119 Mitteilungen aus dem kirchlichen Leben, September 1, 1941, EAF B2-43-26.
120 This was especially true in the Ukraine. See Berkhoff, Harvest of Despair, 235–39.
121 Hans Albring to Eugen Altrogge, August 4, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.0211.
122 Quoted in Herr, in deine Hände, 113.
123 Quoted in Herr, in deine Hände, 124.
124 Quoted in Mitteilungen aus dem kirchlichen Leben, December 6, 1941, EAF B2-43-26.
125 Quote from Herr, in deine Hände, 55. See also AOK2, IVd(k), activity report for July 1–September 30, 1941, KMBA WmS 8.
126 Quoted in Mitteilungen aus dem kirchlichen Leben, September 1, 1941, EAF B2-43-26.
127 On this point see especially Bartov, Hitler's Army.
128 Josef Vogt to Pfarrer S. in Frickingen, August 7, 1941, EAF B2-43-26.
129 Hans Albring to Eugen Altrogge, August 30–31, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.0211.
130 See Mitteilungen aus dem kirchlichen Leben, September 1, 1941, EAF B2-43-26.
131 XXIX Corps IVd(ev), activity report for April 30–July 26, 1941, BA-MA RH 24-29/100.
132 Franz Siebeler to parents and siblings, November 23, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.1285.
133 For example, see the letter of radio operator Wilhelm Moldenhauser to his wife Erika, January 7, 1942, in Im Funkwagen der Wehrmacht durch Europa: Balkan, Ukraine, Stalingrad: Feldpostbriefe des Gefreiten Wilhelm Moldenhauser 1940–1943, ed. Jens Ebert (Berlin: Trafo, 2008). Later on, Moldenhauser cynically pointed out that between the icons villagers had restored to their walls were nail holes from the pictures of Stalin and Lenin they had hastily taken down (letter of August 2, 1942).
134 See Fireside, Icon and Swastika, 117–20.
135 For instance, chaplains were forbidden from ministering to the local population or associating with local clergy, but exceptions were allowed in emergencies or with the approval of the commanding officer. See, Franz Justus Rarkowski to all subordinate chaplains, December 1, 1939, KMBA SW 143, and OKH, “Bestimmungen für besondere Dienstverhältnisse der Kriegspfarrer beim Feldheer,” June 18, 1941, KMBA SW/5.
136 Inf. Reg. 413 to 206th Div., Betr.: Verhalten der Zivilbevölkerung zum deutschen Militär, September 21, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-9/323. Like other officers, he made no mention of personal involvement, however.
137 AOK2 IVd(kat), activity report for June 23–October 1, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-2/1604.
138 Chaplain Albert Bartsch, for example, was reproached by “higher authorities” in VIII Corps after he baptized Russian children. See Herr, in deine Hände, 55.
139 For instance, the 46th Infantry Division ordered that religious activities of the Ukrainian population were not to be hindered. See 46 Inf. Div. Abt. Ic, Betr.: Verhalten der Truppe gegenüber der ukrainischen Bevölkerung, July 18, 1941, BA-MA RH 26/46-49. Ninth Army approved the reopening of churches in larger towns, with the proviso that the population could not use them when Wehrmacht services were taking place. See AOK9 IVd(ev), activity report for July 23–September 14, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-9/323. Army Group Center stated that reopenings were permitted and lauded their propaganda potential but cautioned that civilian attendance at Wehrmacht worship services was “undesirable.” Second Army passed on these instructions, with the proviso that baptisms of Orthodox civilians were allowed in emergencies. See Katholischer Armeepfarrer AOK2 to Katholische Kriegspfarrer im Dienstbereich, August 15, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-2/1604.
140 See for instance AOK2 IVd(kat), activity report for June 23–October 1, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-2/1604; AOK9 IVd(ev), activity report for July 23–September 14, 1941, BA-MA RH 20-9/323.
141 According to Harvey Fireside, many Wehrmacht generals, including General Friedrich von Unruh, favored reopenings or hoped to use the church issue as a major pillar of the Wehrmacht's occupation policy. Local units also grasped its propagandistic value, but the more ideologically stringent SS, Gestapo, and Ostministerium swayed OKW to a different point of view. See Fireside, Icon and Swastika, 117–23.
142 For example see “Dankgottesdienst der Ukrainer,” Ost-Front, July 29, 1941, BA-MA RHD 53–20.
143 Signal, Nr. 18, September 1941. Curiously, this was released after Hitler's strict order forbidding such activities.
144 “Ukrainische Kathedrale wieder Gotteshaus,” Ost-Front, August 12, 1941, BA-MA RHD 53–20.
145 See for example, “Kommandeure und Soldaten der Roten Armee!” pamphlet, undated, BA-MA RH 20-2/1091.
146 AOK6 Ic/AO Zens. Nr 233/41 geh. to OKW (WPr.III.), BA-MA RW 4/191.
147 For examples, see Weitenhagen, Holger, “Wie ein böser Traum …”. Briefe rheinischer und thüringischer evangelischer Theologen im Zweiten Weltkrieg aus dem Feld (Bonn: Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, 2006), 315Google Scholar; Herr, in deine Hände, 67; Militärbischofsamt, Katholischen, Mensch, was wollt ihr denen sagen? Katholische Feldseelsorge im Zweiten Weltkrieg (Augsburg: Pattloch Verlag, 1991), 80Google Scholar.
148 See for example, “Welche besonderen Pflichten erwachsen jetzt den im Osten nicht eingesetzten Soldaten?” Mitteilungen für die Truppe, Nr. 116, July 1941, BA-MA, RW 4/357.
149 XXIXAK, IVd(e), activity report for April 30–July 26, 1941, BA-MA, RH 24-29/100.
150 Az 31 v AWA/J (Ia) Nr. 4798/41, August 6, 1941, reprinted in KMBA SW 111. Also see Rossi, Wehrmacht Priests, 95; Fireside, Icon and Swastika, 119.
151 OKW Az. 31 v AWA/J (Ia) Nr. 4798/41 II.Ang., September 10, 1941, KMBA SW 111.
152 Quoted in Miner, Steven, Stalin's Holy War: Religion, Nationalism, and Alliance Politics, 1941–1945 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003), 54Google Scholar.
153 See Fireside, Icon and Swastika, 119 and 121.
154 See for instance Betr.: Neue Taktik in der vatikanischen Russlandarbeit, August 14, 1941, and Chef der Sicherheitspolizei to OKH, November 1, 1941, KMBA, SW 111; Dallin, German Rule in Russia, 1941–1945, 479–80; Fireside, Icon and Swastika, 119.
155 Ev. Feldbischof to Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres, October 6, 1941, KMBA SW 111 and Kat. Feldbischof to Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres, October 7, 1941. They especially emphasized the lack of indoor spaces in Russia suitable for services.
156 Wehrmachtdekan Thomann and Wehrmachtdekan Bemann to all subordinate chaplains, October 7, 1941, KMBA WmS 81.
157 Wehrmachtdekan Thomann to Rarkowski, October 17, 1941, KMBA WmS 81.
158 Katholisches Militärbischofsamt and Brandt, Priester in Uniform, 55. See also Wie ein Böser Traum, 121–22 and 263.
159 AOK2 IVd(kat), report for July–September 1941, KMBA WmS 8.
160 AOK11 IVd(kat), Seelsorgebericht, July–September 1941, KMBA WmS 7.
161 See for example Johann Hamm, diary entries of August 18, 1941, and August 30, 1941, in Herr, in deine Hände, 81–82 and correspondence between D. Paul H. and Dr. Hans Böhm, Bl. 1f, EZA 50/572. Germany's allies paid little heed to the order and continued to conduct extensive missionary activities. See Auswärtiges Amt, Betr.: Abhaltung von Gottesdiensten durch Geistliche der verbündeten Mächte, September 9, 1942, and following documents, Bundesarchiv (hereafter: BArch) R6/178.
162 See Dallin, German Rule in Russia, 1941–1945, 474–80; Berkhoff, Harvest of Despair, 233–39.
163 For example see “Kirchen Ohne Kreuz,” Frankfurter Zeitung, September 28, 1941.
164 Moskauer Patriarchat, Die Wahrheit über die Religion in Russland (1942), translated from the Russian, BArch R6/177.
165 These developments are the subject of Miner, Stalin's Holy War.
166 See Mitteilungen aus dem kirchlichen Leben, October 1, 1941, EAF B2/43/26. The Protestant Church issued similar reports, typically focusing on Protestant communities in the USSR. See for instance, “Mitteilungen des Kirchlichen Außenamtes,” June 10, 1942, EZA 1/2421. Catholic inquiries to the Vatican regarding whether it was permissible for Catholic ministers to conduct rituals for Orthodox civilians were answered in the affirmative, provided the situation was an emergency and the locals were versed in Christian theology. See “Verordnungsblatt des Katholischen Feldbischofs der Wehrmacht,” Nr. 5, 1941, reprinted in Amtsblatt des Bischöflichen Ordinariats Berlin, Katholisches Erzbistum Archiv Berlin (hereafter: KEAB), W 320.
167 Hirtenbrief of Clemens August, bishop of Münster, September 14, 1941, KMBA SW 1059.
168 See Mitteilungen des Kirchlichen Außenamtes, September 2, 1941, EZA 5/211, EZA 1/2421, and EZA 1/3230.
169 Dr. Th. Heckel, Der Bolschewismus im Kampf gegen Gott 1917–1942 (manuscript), June 1943, EZA 5/211.
170 See Bergen, “German Military Chaplains in the Second World War and the Dilemmas of Legitimacy,” 173–75.
171 Hans Albring to Eugen Altrogge, Christmas 1941, MSPT 3.2002.0211.
172 See Hans Albring to Eugen Altrogge, September 14, 1941, MPST 3.2002.0211.
173 See Dallin, German Rule in Russia, 1941–1945, 474–80; Berkhoff, Harvest of Despair, 233–39.
174 For example, see Heeresgruppe Nord, IVd(k), activity report for October 15, 1941–December 31, 1942, KMBA, WmS 10.
175 For instance, Hans Albring attended at least two Orthodox worship services, explored the world of Orthodox artwork, and made the acquaintance of several local priests. See Hans Albring to Eugen Altrogge, October 5, 1941, and Allerseelen, 1941, MSPT 3.2002.0211.
176 See “Eine bestialische Lehre,” Mitteilungen für die Truppe, Nr. 187, March 1942, BA-MA RW 4/357.
177 See Perry, Joseph, “The Madonna of Stalingrad: Mastering the (Christmas) Past and West German National Identity After World War II,” Radical History Review 83 (2002): 6–27CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Biess, Homecomings.
178 USHMM Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. 2, 1645–46.
179 Jarausch, Reluctant Accomplice, 237–366.