Religion: Rosenberg Explains

Germany’s outstanding pagan philosopher is Dr. Alfred Rosenberg, erudite and devious “ideologist” to Adolf Hitler. Last week a speech which he recently made in private to the Reich Culture Chamber was published in London. It showed with crystal clarity that not only German Jews but Protestants and Roman Catholics have reason to fear Alfred Rosenberg. Excerpts:

“That the Catholic Church and also the Confessional Church in their present form must disappear from the life of our people is my full conviction, and I believe I am entitled to say that this is also our Führer’s viewpoint.

“The development of our teaching scheme in schools of all categories is of such an anti-Christian-Jewish type that the growing generation will be forewarned against the blackcoat swindle. And you should also remember that even in the Catholic Church there are sincere Germans working as priests, who are utterly devoted to the National-Socialist philosophy. With their help, we shall occupy the last— and, I admit, extremely solid—positions of the Church.

“With regard to … the immorality trials, I am of the opinion that these were not particularly effective in Germany proper, and that therefore we should be careful and not accept every accusation as actual fact. You know that the Jewish world press is very vigilant, and makes use of every unfounded accusation against the clergy as grounds for a savage campaign against National-Socialist Germany.

I am aware, however, that as concerns the Ostmark [late Austria], the circumstances are very different. If we make a start there, a frightful mess will be brought to the surface. But the actual time of making that start must be left to the leadership.

We have no reason for giving the world this picture of the moral decadence of the clergy, and would rather regulate this matter among ourselves. Reasonable men, like Cardinal Innitzer—although I would not even trust him out of sight—will, under pressure of established circumstances, find themselves compelled to submit, more and more, to National-Socialist leadership.”