Introduction

Summary

The role of religion in the public space is hardly a favoured topic in a contemporary secular state. Religion and Politics are best kept apart. Even when reference is made to a ‘moral compass’ it is rarely conceded that the defining of the cardinal points on its card are the responsibility of any single faith group or denomination. It is easy to assume that this modern Anglo-Saxon understanding of government has a long pedigree. Recent historians of Europe post-1945 may thus be unaware of the role of specific Christian churches within the life of Europe at important moments during history. This work seeks to tell the story of how the British government handled the integration of the major German churches, as well as smaller Christian groups and faith communities, into the new state that was created out of the wreck of the Third Reich.

The end of World War Two faced the Allied powers with a whole series of questions. Some of them had been anticipated and planning had taken place to try to answer them. Others were unexpected and required resources to be devoted to them that had not been provided previously. It was a given that the Nazi regime would be replaced. It was not anticipated that the replacement would take place amidst the ruins of a country where almost all normal life had come to a standstill. It was anticipated that a process of Denazification would be needed. It was not appreciated how far membership of the Nazi party had permeated all aspects of German life. It would be difficult, and take time, to differentiate those who belonged to the Party for ideological reasons from those who joined to preserve their way of life. It was anticipated that the allies would work together to create a new German state. It was not appreciated that the divergent interests of the four nations involved would make such a process difficult, and in the end impossible. It was not anticipated that the collapse of normal life, together with massive population movements, would bring challenges that threatened the very fabric of society. As Friedmann commented,

There was no parallel in history for the administration of a country which was highly developed in a technical, economic and administrative sense, yet utterly prostate and disorganised.