II. Many (though not all) of Hitler's religious comments were politically motivated, insincere, and often blatantly dishonest. Some have argued for Hitler's Christianity by asserting that Hitler must have been a Christian because he said so himself, and therefore it must be true (this with reference to an oft quoted remark in a speech of 1922). He also supposedly showed his belief in Christianity by promising to protect and respect the rights of the churches. It is difficult to know how to respond to people who put their faith in Hitler's sincerity. Perhaps the best way is by showing a few other statements of Hitler's, taken from several of his speeches [all quotes taken from www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/speeches/text/speeches.htm]: It [the German government] is impressed with the importance of its duty to use this nation of equal rights as an instrument for the securing and maintenance of that peace which the world requires today more than ever before. May the good will of all others assist in the fulfillment of this our earnest wish for the welfare of Europe and of the whole world... ...we should be happy if the world, by reducing its armaments, would see to it that we need never increase our own. (February 1, 1933) It is the sincere desire of the National Government to be able to refrain from increasing our army and our weapons, insofar as the rest of the world is now also ready to fulfill its obligations in the matter of radical disarmament. For Germany desires nothing except an equal right to live and equal freedom... ...The German nation wishes to live in peace with the rest of the world...The keeping open of this wound leads to distrust on the one side and hatred on the other, and thus to a general feeling of insecurity. The National Government is ready to extend a hand in sincere understanding to every nation that is ready finally to make an end of the tragic past. The international economic distress can only disappear when the basis has been provided by stable political relations and when the nations have regained confidence in each other... ...we are ready to co-operate with absolute sincerity on the basis it provides, in order to unite the four Great Powers, England, France, Italy, and Germany, in friendly co-operation in attacking with courage and determination the problems upon the solution of which the fate of Europe depends... ...The Government of the Reich is ready to cultivate with the Soviet Union friendly relations profitable to both parties. (March 23, 1933) What we want lies clear before us: not war and not strife. Just as we have established peace within our own people, so we want nothing else than peace with the world. For we all know that our great work can succeed only in a time of peace (May 1, 1935). But, a speech given by Hitler in the Reichstag in January 1939 has been cited to prove Hitler's support for the church. The same speech also contains these equally truthful statements: ...The German nation has no feeling of hatred towards England, America or France; all it wants is peace and quiet. The nations will in a short time realize that National Socialist Germany wants no enmity with other nations; that all the assertions as to our intended attacks on other nations are lies, lies born of morbid hysteria,or of a mania for self-preservation on the part of certain politicians... Moreover, speaking in the same impartial forum of truth and detached analysis, the Nazi Reichstag, Hitler made the following comments on September first of the same year, 1939: As always, I attempted to bring about, by the peaceful method of making proposals for revision, an alteration of this intolerable position. It is a lie when the outside world says that we only tried to carry through our revisions by pressure... ...You know the endless attempts I made for a peaceful clarification and understanding of the problem of Austria, and later of the problem of the Sudetenland, Bohemia, and Moravia... ...In the same way, I have also tried to solve the problem of Danzig, the Corridor, &c., by proposing a peaceful discussion... ...For four months I have calmly watched developments... ...These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities. These were again repeated last night. Recently in one night there were as many as twenty-one frontier incidents; last night there were fourteen, of which three were quite serious... ...Germany has no intention of exporting its doctrine. Given the fact that Soviet Russia has no intention of exporting its doctrine to Germany, I no longer see any reason why we should still oppose one another. On both sides we are clear on that...We have, therefore, resolved to conclude a pact which rules out for ever any use of violence between us... ...This night for the first time Polish regular soldiers fired on our own territory... Those who base their understanding of Hitler's dealing with the churches or of the outbreak of WWII on speeches in the Reichstag are deficient in understanding, to put it politely. "Hitler was a Christian and supported the church - we have it in his own words!" Hitler wanted peace too - he said so himself. Anyone who does not understand that Hitler routinely lied (not pathologically but deliberately and skilfully) really has no business trying to discuss what he believed. We would pay no attention to someone who claimed "We know that Poland started the war by attacking Germany because Hitler said so." Hitler was at times very honest, at other times very dishonest. In stating his main goals, he was extremely forthright. Tear up the Versailles Treaty; regain lost territory; expand to the east; end the Weimar democracy; get rid of the Jews; make Germany militarily strong - on these points Hitler was honest. As he worked toward the attainment of these goals, however, he was extremely skilfull at telling people what they wanted to hear, and lied as a matter of deliberate policy. It is more than merely ironic that when Hitler told the truth, many people refused to take it seriously, and when he lied, they believed him. People believe what they want to believe. Moreover, when considering Hitler's earlier statements, it is easy to forget that he was at one time not the Fuhrer, but a politician angling for votes, and trying to broaden his base of support. To antagonize a significant portion of the electorate - whether serious and committed Christians, or those who had some sort of respect for the religion even if they didn't practice it - would not have been to his advantage. This is ordinary politics, observable in America today. Many politicians will make a few religious noises on occasion, or make a point of being photographed in some religious connection, even if in their hearts they have no use for Christian doctrines. back to home