1 - “We Will Not Let Our Swords Get Rusty”

Summary

Chapter 1 provides a snapshot of the situation of military chaplains in Germany on the eve of Hitler’s coming to power. The central point is that German chaplains’ support of Hitler and the Nazi movement was predictable but not inevitable. The chapter opens with a parade of Stormtroopers into the Garrison Church in Potsdam. Pastors of the military congregation there actively promoted antidemocratic causes and, by 1932, they and most of their Protestant and Catholic counterparts explicitly backed Hitler. Factors that explain this outcome include the lost war, which put chaplains in a precarious position. Many lost their jobs and became preachers for hire. Defeat in 1918 put chaplains and church leaders on the defensive, because they were part of the home front that was said to have betrayed the military. The role of history, tradition, and myth in shaping the chaplaincy is discussed, as well as the entrenched place of antisemitism in the German military. Also noted are the legacies of colonialism and white supremacy that provided narratives of Christian righteousness. By 1933, significant personal ties had been established between top chaplains and military and Nazi leaders.