History

Where did the Catholics stand?

On Resistance, Distance, Adaptation and Collaboration in the "Third Reich
Wednesday, 11.10.2023
Archbishop's Archive MunichMichael Kißener, © Andreas Linsenmann
Archbishop's Archive MunichMichael Kißener, © Andreas Linsenmann

As undoubted as the "resistance" of the Catholic Church and Catholics in the "Third Reich" seemed to most contemporaries of the years 1933 to 1945 after the horrors of the Second World War, the behaviour of these very Catholics has meanwhile become unclear and controversial after decades of historical research. Not only is there doubt as to whether "resistance" is the right word, but the involvement of Catholics in the Nazi state and their co-responsibility for the crimes of the regime are increasingly being brought to the forefront of research interest.

The lecture will attempt to analyse the various positions on the topic of "Catholics in the 'Third Reich'" and to place German Catholicism in the social history of the Nazi state.

The occasion of our event is the 80th anniversary of the death of Willi Graf, who was sentenced to death by the Nazi justice system for his undisputed resistance activities. It is important to commemorate his Christian-motivated struggle against the regime of injustice of the National Socialists as a member of the student group White Rose and his execution on 12 October 1943.

Special note:

Online participation in the event is also possible without registration via livestream on the YouTube channel of the Catholic Academy in Bavaria: https://www.youtube.com/@KatholischeAkademieinBayern/streams

Programme of the event:

As unquestionable as the "resistance" of the Catholic Church and Catholics in the "Third Reich" seemed to most contemporaries of the years 1933 to 1945 after the horrors of the Second World War, the behaviour of these Catholics has since become unclear and controversial after decades of historical research. Whether "resistance" is the right word is not only being questioned, but the complicity of Catholics in the Nazi state and their shared responsibility for the crimes of the regime are increasingly becoming the focus of research interest.The lecture will attempt to analyse the various positions on the subject of "Catholics in the 'Third Reich'" and to place German Catholicism in the social history of the Nazi state. The occasion of our event is the 70th anniversary of the death of Willi Graf, who was sentenced to death by the Nazi judiciary for his undisputed acts of resistance. His Christian-motivated fight against the Nazi regime of injustice as a member of the student group White Rose and his execution on 12 October 1943 will be commemorated.

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