3 - “Gott mit uns”

Summary

Chapter 3 discusses the war from the attack on Poland in 1939 to the invasion of Norway, the Low Countries, and France in 1940, and Yugoslavia and Greece in 1941. Chaplains accompanied Wehrmacht units wherever they went, and this period of Blitzkrieg, rapid German victories, proved formative for them. Germany’s conquests opened up new territory for chaplains, who seized the opportunities to assert their loyalty and prove their worth. They gained an enormous audience of soldiers and also ministered to Christian populations in conquered and occupied territories. Chaplains witnessed and got used to German attacks on civilians, such as terror bombings in the Netherlands, shooting of prisoners in Norway, and rampant abuse of Jews and destruction of Jewish sites in Poland. This chapter makes extensive use of chaplains’ periodic reports, submitted up the chain of command. A surprising number of reports refer to chaplains ministering to German soldiers condemned to death by military authorities. The Wehrmacht chaplains projected an image as heroic, battle-hardened men who strengthened the resolve of the troops and built bridges to the homefront, for instance by providing Christian burials.