Memorandum to the Reich Security Office, on a Protestant minister's possession of Bormann's declaration (which is included) on the incompatibility of National Socialism and Christianity, noting the risk that the information is being circulated in religious circles

Inspector of the Security Police and Security Service IV 3. 2 — Eichholtz 2 —
Düsseldorf. 12 December 1941
SECRET
To the Supreme Reich Security Dept.
— Dept IV —
To hand of SS Gruppenfuehrer Mueller. To hand of SS Sturmbannfuehrer Hartl. Berlin
Reference: Secret decree of the Reichsleiter Bormann regarding the relationship of National Socialism to Christendom.
HERE : Protestant Priest Wilhelm Eichholz, Aix-la-Chapelle. Sub-Reference: Report from the Leading State Police Department, Aix-la-Chapelle dated 3.12.41 II B 2 No. 7472/41—.
Enclosures: 1 copy
1 photostat copy
A copy of a letter on the subject of "Relationship of National Socialism to Christendom" is amongst the written material found with the Protestant Priest Eichholz at Aix-la Chapelle. This is supposed to originate from Reichsleiter Bormann, (Paragraph (12) of the report of the leading State Police Department Aix-la-Chappelle.)
As far as this document is concerned it does, in fact, as I have ascertained, represent a secret decree of the Party Chancellery signed by Reichsleiter Bormann, in which Reichsleiter Bormann clearly points out that National Socialism and Christendom are incompatible and that the influence of the Churches in Germany, including the Protestant Church, must be eliminated. The decree was addressed to Gauleiter Dr. Meyer at Muenster on 6.6.41 under the file reference III D - Es.3320/2/F - 5050 g. in which connection a letter from Gauleiter Dr. Meyer dated 7.4.41 - Dr. M./Bo/I was referred to. I have ascertained that on the 7.6.41 the decree was also sent to the remaining Gauleiters, in this case without a reference to the correspondence with Gauleiter Dr. Meyer. (Circular letter 8/41 - Secret). The circular letter, however, in its first paragraph, the text of which is not yet available, contains a brief pointer to the events which have led to the basic decision of Reichsleiter Bormann. As far as is known to me this concerns a proposal on the part of the German Christians regarding the
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setting-up of a Protestant Reichs Church. To this, Gauleiter Dr. Meyer has stated his attitude in a letter dated 7.4.41. Since this first paragraph of the circular decree addressed to all Gauleiters is missing from the document in possession of Priest Eichholz, it appears not unlikely that the original secret decree, addressed solely to Gauleiter Dr. Meyer, was already known to the Church departments.
A copy of the decree addressed to Gauleiter Dr. Meyer is attached herewith. Further, attached herewith is a photostat copy of the document found with the Priest Eichholz. It can be gathered from this that the text of both letters tallies exactly; the document found with Priest Eichholz is devoid of its letterhead and has no address. It is, of course, furthermore, not marked "Secret". A copy of the secret decree was obviously made by a source not yet known and, by means of this, multiplication was carried out by Protestant Church sources in the same form as that found in possession of Priest Eichholz.
On the strength of experiences in this district, the possibility must be taken into consideration that the representations of Reichsleiter Bormann, now that they are in the hands of confessional church circles, may be made known to hostile foreign countries since, through the numerous, connections, they may also have reached Catholic sources. In my opinion, the affair confirms clearly the dangerous nature, expressed in the decree, of the Protestant Church and such ties of personalities within the Party.
I have arranged for Priest Eichholz to be arrested for the time being. His present explanation that all documents found on him had been sent to him anonymously is not creditable. It is to be assumed that he is aware of the source of such information or can at least guess, even if they should have been sent anonymously. It will therefore be attempted with all energy to ascertain whence Priest Eichholz has received this document. Further report will take place, for the time being, through State Police Department, Aix-la-Chappelle.
[signed] Dierkamp.
COPY
RELATIONSHIP OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM AND CHRISTIANITY
National Socialist and Christian concepts are irreconcilable. Christian churches build on uncertainty of human beings and at-
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tempt to preserve the uncertainty of as wide segments of the population as possible, for only in this way can Christian churches keep their power. As opposed to that, National Socialism is based on scientific fundamentals. Christianity has invariable tenets, which were set up almost 2000 years ago and have crystallized in dogmas incompatible with reality. National Socialism on the other hand must, if it is to fulfill its job in the future, always be organized according to the latest knowledge of scientific research.
Christian churches have always recognized the dangers which threaten their existence on account of exact scientific knowledge and therefore attempt by means of pseudo-science, such as theology is, to suppress or falsify scientific research by means of their dogma. Our National Socialist ideology is far loftier than the concepts of Christianity, which in their essential points have been taken over from Jewry. For this reason also we do not need Christianity.
No human being would know anything of Christianity if it had not been drilled into him in his childhood by pastors. The so-called dear God in no wise gives knowledge of his existence to young people in advance, but in an astonishing manner in spite of his omnipotence leaves this to the efforts of the pastors. If therefore in the future our youth learns nothing more of this Christianity, whose doctrines are far below ours, Christianity will disappear by itself.
It is also strange that before the beginning of today's calculation time (calendar) nothing was known of this Christian God and that also since this moment most inhabitants of the earth never learned anything of this Christianity and therefore according to the standard Christian concept were damned from the beginning. .
When we National Socialists speak of a belief in God, we do not understand by God, like naive Christians and their spiritual opportunists, a human-type being, who sits around somewhere in the sphere. We must rather open people's eyes to the fact that beside our small universe, highly important in the great universe there are an inconceivably large number of other bodies in the universe, innumerable additional bodies, which like the sun are surrounded by planets, and these in turn by smaller bodies, the moons. The force of natural law, with which all these innumerable planets move in the universe, we call the Almighty or God. The claim that this world force is concerned about the fate of every single being, of every smallest earth bacillus, can be influenced by so-called prayers or other astonishing things, is based
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on a proper dose of naivete or (however) on a business shamelessness.
As opposed to that, we National Socialists impose on ourselves the demand to live naturally as much as possible, i.e., biologically. The more accurately we recognize and observe the laws of nature and of life, the more we adhere to them, so much the more do we conform to the will of the Almighty. The more insight we have into the will of the Almighty, the greater will be our successes.
It follows from the irreconcilability of National Socialist and Christian concepts, that a strengthening of existing confessions and every demand of originating Christian confessions is to be rejected by us. A differentiation between the various Christian confessions is not to be made here. For this reason also the thought of an erection of an evangelical National Church by merger of the various evangelical churches has been definitively given up, because the evangelical church is just as inimical to us as the Catholic Church. Any strengthening of the evangelical church would merely react against us.
It was a historical mistake of the German Emperors in the Middle Ages, that they repeatedly created order at the Vatican in Rome. It is always an error into which we Germans unfortunately fall too often, that we attempt to create order where we would needs have an interest in disunion and separation. The Hohenstaufens would needs have had the greatest interest in the disintegration of circumstances of Ecclesiastical power. From the standpoint of the Reich it would have been most favorable if not one pope but at least two, if possible even more popes had existed and mutually fought. Instead of this the German emperors and especially the Hohenstaufens repeatedly looked after order in the church, helped one pope to power over all other rivals, with the success that the emperors, as soon as the pope was again strong enough for it immediately received the first blows from "their" pope. The church however in strengthening its own position of power repeatedly used the particularism of the princes and later of parties and tied it up with all its strength.
In former generations leadership of the people lay exclusively in the hands of the church. The state limited itself to issuing laws and orders and primarily to administering. The real leadership of the people lay not with the state but with the church. The latter exerted via the priest the strongest influence on the life of the individual human being, of families and on the totality (of things). Everything which did not suit the churches was suppressed with unprecedented ruthlessness. For centuries the state
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by the most various turns granted to the church the possibility of influence. It depended on the church, whether it would help the state or oppose it. The State was reduced to the aid of the church, it was dependent on it. The struggle of the German Emperors against the pope had to fail in the Middle Ages and repeatedly in modern times, because not the emperor, but the church had the leadership of the people in its hand.
This ideological dependence of the state on the church, the yielding of leadership of the people to the church, had become a matter of course, so that nobody dared to oppose seriously here. To consider this not as an incontrovertible fact from the beginning, passed as absurd stupidity until just before the Machtuebernahme [Hitler's rise to power, 1933].
For the first time in German history the Fuehrer consciously and completely has the leadership of the people in his own hand. With the party, its components and attached units the Fuehrer has created for himself and thereby the German Reich leadership an instrument which makes him independent of the church. All influences which might impair or damage the leadership of the people exercised by the Fuehrer with help of the N3DAP, must be eliminated. More and more the people must be separated from the churches and their organs, the pastors. Of course the churches must and will, seen from their viewpoint, defend themselves against this loss of power. But never again must an influence on leadership of the people be yielded to the churches. This (influence) must be broken completely and finally.
Only the Reich government and by its direction the party, its components and attached units have a right to leadership of the people. Just as the deleterious influences of astrologers, seers and other fakers are eliminated and suppressed by the state, so must the possibility of church influence also be totally removed. Not until this has happened, does the state leadership have influence on the individual citizens. Not until then are people and Reich secure in their existence for all the future.
We would repeat the mistakes which in past centuries were fatal to the Reich, if we according to the knowledge of our ideological opponents of the Christian confessions were to contribute in any way to the strengthening of one of the various churches. The interest of the Reich lies not in conquering but in preserving and strengthening ecclesiastical particularism.
(signed)
M. BORMANN Reichsleiter
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