Church Resistance to the Nazi Regime

Disclaimer: The following blog post is not a reflection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s opinion on the below topics.

By Talia Lunken


In 1934, those who actively opposed Hitler’s ideology and its application to the church organized themselves into the Confessing Church of Germany.[1] The interest of this church was mainly in the separation of church and state, as well as being in opposition to the German Christians.[2]

As Hitler established power in 1933, it became known there would not be space for the development of the Christian faith within the framework of the church. Hitler wanted control and developed a united (Protestant) German church.[3] Previously, during the 1920s, the “German Christians” or Deutsche Christen movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church. Once the Nazis came to power the German Christians supported a “Nazified” version of Christianity.[4]

Many were able to see this as a sign of Hitler’s real intentions of destroying an independent church in Germany. In 1934, those who actively opposed Hitler’s ideology and its application to the church organized themselves into the Confessing Church of Germany.[5] The interest of this church was mainly in the separation of church and state, as well as being in opposition to the German Christians.[6]

black and white photo of a group
A meeting of pastors within the Confessioning Church.[7]
At the founding synod (meeting of church), the Confessing Church made the Barmen Declaration. This was its most famous theological statement, which was in response to unqualified German Christians replacing church leaders and their version of church renewal. The declaration defined the mandates of the church and affirmed that church offices were ministries and were not instruments used for domination with political powers.[8] The declaration starts by describing the threat being posed by the political capture of the church. Each article of the declaration is based on a key text of the Bible, restating it in terms of the present crisis. A section of the declaration says, “We repudiate the false teaching that the church can and must recognize other happenings and powers, images, and truths as divine revelation alongside this one Word of God, as a source of her preaching.”[9] Karl Barth, a Swiss Reformed Theologian, was the author of the Barmen declaration. He intended for it to serve as the “foundation for a broad attack against a ‘totalitarian’ regime whose ideological and political claims penetrated every area of human existence.”’[10]

Many individuals within the Confessing Church saw the conflict between the Nazi regime’s claims and their Christian faith as mutually exclusive. The church wanted their past arrangements in which they had the Protestant obligation to interpret the word of God to German culture. They wanted to become a “free” church and be dependent on voluntary membership alone.[11]

The Confessing Church cautiously conducted their opposition against the Nazi regime and the German Christians. Their protests against German Christians and their support of them, in turn, persuaded the regime to intervene by the end of 1934. There had been enraged reactions to the house arrests of bishops. Ordinary individuals, especially peasants turned in their party membership cards, demonstrated in the streets, petitioned their local officials, and even subjected members of the nazi party to physical abuse.[12] At the second synod, the Confessing Church urged all members to separate from the nazi church government.

The Confessing Church was under severe attack for “meddling in politics.” They had refused to accept the Aryan paragraph.[13] The Aryan paragraph would block “non-Aryans” (Jews) from becoming members of German establishments. This paragraph was used to regulate a variety of different associations and organizations. In January 1933 after the Nazi regime rise this paragraph was used as a legal stepping stone in order to increase persecution.[14]

Image of a church booklet
An issue of Theologische Existenz heute, a resistance magazine written by Karl Barth.[16]
The US Ambassador William E. Dodd wrote to the Acting Secretary of State on November 23, 1933, about the tensions between Nazi ideology and religious institutions. He specifically discusses the concerning imposition of the Aryan paragraph. Following a radical demonstration by German Christians, a group of 3,000 opposition pastors formed a “Covenant of Resistance” in order to reject state interference and imposition of the Aryan paragraph. Dodd highlights the growing tensions between Nazi-controlled church leadership and those resisting state interference.[15] Read the full correspondence: Here

In the very first issue of the main resistance magazine, Theologische Existenz heute, Karl Barth (author of the Berman Declaration) argued that the introduction of the Aryan paragraph into a church made it no longer a Christian church. This position sparked the discussion of whether men in good conscience could take a pastorate in a church with an Aryan reservation.

The Confessing Church was made up of prominent Protestant members of the clergy and lay leaders. The membership resembled leading political elites who at first approved of the Nazi regime and then later became reserved against the increased racial, economic, and military radicalism. They objected less to domestic and foreign policies but were rather interested in preserving traditional church structures and autonomy from the regime. They wanted the regime to recognize the autonomy of the Protestant church from direct political interference. The greatest significance of the Confessing Church was its public and vocal opposition to the German Christians. They promoted unity among Lutheran, Reformed, and United church leadership. The failure of the Confessing Church to reach the goal of its autonomy being recognized by the regime resulted in its dissolution in early 1936.[17]

The resistance of the Confessing Church against the Nazi regime is deeply rooted in its religious principles, as exemplified by the Baren Declaration. This statement was a direct response to the state’s interference in church affairs. By refusing to accept the Aryan paragraph, which sought to exclude Jews from the church, members of the church were defying Nazi laws.


[1] Jeanrond, Werner G. “From Resistance to Liberation Theology: German Theologians and the Non/ Resistance to the National Socialist Regime.” The Journal of Modern History 64 (1992): S187–203. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2124977.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Jeanrond, Werner G. “From Resistance to Liberation Theology: German Theologians and the Non/ Resistance to the National Socialist Regime.” The Journal of Modern History 64 (1992): S187–203. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2124977.
[4] “The German Churches and the Nazi State.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state.
[5] Jeanrond, Werner G. “From Resistance to Liberation Theology: German Theologians and the Non/ Resistance to the National Socialist Regime.” The Journal of Modern History 64 (1992): S187–203. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2124977.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Siegele-Wenschkewitz, Leonore. “Christians against Nazis: The German Confessing Church.” Christianity Today, July 30, 2019. https://www.christianitytoday.com/1986/01/christians-against -nazis-german-confessing-church/.
[8] Baranowski, Shelley. “Consent and Dissent: The Confessing Church and Conservative Opposition to National Socialism.” The Journal of Modern History 59, no. 1 (1987): 53–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1880377.
[9] Littell, Franklin Hamlin. “FROM BARMEN (1934) TO STUTTGART (1945): THE PATH OF THE CONFESSING CHURCH IN GERMANY.” Journal of Church and State 3, no. 1 (1961): 41–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23913120.
[10] Baranowski, Shelley. “Consent and Dissent: The Confessing Church and Conservative Opposition to National Socialism.” The Journal of Modern History 59, no. 1 (1987): 53–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1880377.
[11] Baranowski, Shelley. “Consent and Dissent: The Confessing Church and Conservative Opposition to National Socialism.” The Journal of Modern History 59, no. 1 (1987): 53–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1880377.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Littell, Franklin Hamlin. “FROM BARMEN (1934) TO STUTTGART (1945): THE PATH OF THE CONFESSING CHURCH IN GERMANY.” Journal of Church and State 3, no. 1 (1961): 41–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23913120.
[14] “Aryan Paragraph.” Shoah Resource Center. https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft Word – 438.pdf.
[15] “Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1933, The British Commonwealth, Europe, Near East and Africa, Volume II.” Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/ frus1933v02/d201.
[16] „Der Dienst am Wort Gottes “ (Karl Barth) – Buch Antiquarisch Kaufen – A02ARC0C01ZZG. https://www.booklooker.de/B%C3%BCcher/Karl-Barth+Der-Dienst-am-Wort-Gottes-Theologische-Existenz-heute/id/A02arc0c01ZZG. 
[17] Baranowski, Shelley. “Consent and Dissent: The Confessing Church and Conservative Opposition to National Socialism.” The Journal of Modern History 59, no. 1 (1987): 53–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1880377.