Description
Book SynopsisShaken by military defeat and economic depression after War World I, Germans sought to restore their nation''s dignity and power. In this context the National Socialist Party, with its promise of a revivified Germany, drew supporters. Among the most zealous were a number of Catholic clergymen known as brown priests who volunteered as Nazi propagandists. In this insightful study, Spicer unearths a dark subchapter in Roman Catholic history, introduces the principal clergymen who participated in the Nazi movement, examines their motives, details their advocacy of National Socialism, and explores the consequences of their political activism.
Some brown priests, particularly war veterans, advocated National Socialism because it appealed to their patriotic ardor. Others had less laudatory motives: disaffection with clerical life, conflicts with Church superiors, or ambition for personal power and fame. Whatever their individual motives, they employed their skills as orators, writers
Trade Review
Spicer keeps his rhetorical balance very well, managing to convey the thinking of his protagonists fairly yet also to be judgmental where appropriate. His research is impeccably thorough and unparalleled in the existing literature.
-- Peter Hayes, Northwestern University
Hitler's Priests will contribute to the much debated argument of the level of Catholic Church resistance, conformity, and accommodation to the Nazi regime. Spicer's use of archival materials is almost superhuman. Perhaps the most important element... is the information that he has managed to unearth on these fairly unknown individual priests.
-- Beth A. Griech-Polelle, Bowling Green State University
Deeply researched and deeply disturbing. Spicer's treatment of "Hitler's priests" is absolutely convincing.
* The Washington Post *
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Preface Introduction
1. Adapting Catholic Teaching to Nazi Ideology
2. In the Trenches for Hitler
3. The Old Fighters under Hitler's Rule
4. Antisemitism and the Warrior Priest
5. From Nationalism to National Socialism
6. Germanizing Catholicism
7. Judgment Day: Brown Priests on Trial?
Conclusion
Appendix 1: German Catholic Ecclesiastical Structure
Appendix 2: The Brown Priests: Biographical Data
Notes
Sources Cited
Index
