GERMANY: Reichsbischof v. Toothache

In his grim Reich Protestant Administration Building at Berlin last week pale, portly Reichsbischof Ludwig Müller trembled with excitement. “This day,” he cried, “will be the glory and the crown of my career!” Two dozen brand new Nazi bishops who had hurried to Berlin at the beck of the man who made them clucked in sympathy. In their mystical German minds floated the belief that they were about to merge German Protestantism into a new unity.

The glory and the crown was to consist in swearing fealty to Adolf Hitler. Once the Realmleader had accepted their oaths, the Nazi prelates felt, other German Protestants would realize that the game of opposing them was up. Vastly potent to the Fuhrer’s devotees is the mere acceptance of an oath by Adolf Hitler.

On the tremendous day, Reichsbischof Müller was thunderstruck to receive word that Realmleader Hitler had a toothache and could not receive the oaths. But he could and did receive the French Ambassador.

Around the Reichsbischof consternation spread. Even his ruthless, sabre-scarred “Civil Administrator” Dr. August Jaeger, took alarm. Dr. Jaeger has done most of the Reichsbischof’s dirty work, tearing around Germany with squads of police, seizing the treasuries of bishops deposed by Dr. Müller. even ordering them locked up by Storm Troopers in their ecclesiastical palaces (TIME, Oct. 22). All this, as the Fatherland knows, was done with the avowed aim of knocking Protestant factions together into a unified National Church. But last week frightened Dr. Jaeger bleated, “I have never used the words ‘National Church!’ ”

This recantation came too late. It gave fresh courage to the timid but stubborn host of Protestants who for more than a year have been struggling for their faith. All last week lay Nazi leaders poured into Berlin bringing sheaves of petitions to the Realmleader. On coarse paper pious peasants had squiggled their names by the thousand. Adolf Hitler’s head, if not his teeth, must certainly have ached.

In dealing with churchmen Realmleader Hitler has always proceeded on the theory that they can be hoodwinked, bluffed. Last week’s move was to proclaim with loud fanfare that Dr. Jaeger had “resigned.” Cables sped the news; world headlines blared it. A general impression was created with the Nazifiers and nationalizers had been vanquished at last by Germany’s true Protestants.

Actually Dr. Jaeger “resigned” only from his technical post of Administrator but he still retained his office as Chief of Reichsbischof Müller’s Ecclesiastical Chancellery—and that higher ecclesiastical office he had not yet resigned. His opponents were unsatisfied with such mummery. Three days later Müller was forced to announce that he had stripped Jaeger of all Church office.

In Berlin one of the sturdiest Protestant pastors in the fight against Nazification, famed Rev. Martin Niemoeller, summed up last week’s events thus: “The situation is unchanged, since Müller remains Reichsbischof!”

This was not quite true. Most opposition pastors celebrated the embarrassment of Müller and Jaeger by hoisting white, purple-crossed church flags on Sunday for the first time in weeks.