The Deification of Hitler Through Nazi Interpretations of the Bible
Like the Biblical God, Hitler created war and destruction. Like the Biblical Jesus, Hitler did not live for peace. He created many divisions among the people. But, the Nazi regime 's reign of terror upon the world was only made possible by Christianity. Fueled by Hitler and the Nazi party 's misinterpretations of the Bible, and stereotyped by the past, the Jews ' elimination was portrayed as a necessary and sufficient condition for the return of both Germany and the world to its original ' condition. Anti-Semitism stems from Christianity. It is on which anti-Judaic beliefs ever began. Christians have always inherently, yet subconsciously resented the divine nomination of Jews as the chosen ones '. The inferiority complex caused by this jealousy eventually resulted in anti-Semitism. When Constantine adopted Christianity in the fourth century, he halted the persecution of Christians. He also made the discrimination and legal and social subordination of Jews into law. When Christianity became officially accepted in the 4th century, the Christians began to act openly against Jews. Constantine commenced the imposition of heavy penalties on anyone who visited a pagan temple or converted to Judaism. Further, mixed marriages between Jews and Christians were punished by death. After Constantine 's reign, in 408, Theodosis II assumed power. In the "Codex Theodosianus" of Jews were forbidden to hold any public office. It first came from Justinian who legalized the burning and pillaging of Jewish synagogues by Christian bishops and monks. The Catholic Church would later play both a direct and an indirect role in the Nazi movement. The practices by the Nazis can be interpreted as reenactments of older measures of the Christian world. Short of the Final Solution, Nazi ideology coincided with classic laws of state and church meant to subordinate Jews." (Nicholls, 26) Across history, Christians saw the Jews disbelief in Jesus as stubbornness and immorality. This was a
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Maser, Werner, (translated by Arnold Pomerans) "Hitler 's Letters and Notes," Harper & Row, 1974
Nicholls, William. Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate. Jason Aronson, Inc: Northvale, New Jersey, 1993.
Stackelberg, Roderick. Hitler 's Germany. Routledge, London, 1999.
Toland, John, Adolf Hitler, Anchor Books Doubleday, 1976
Wistrich, Robert. Hitler 's Apocalypse: Jews and the Nazi Legacy. St. Martin 's Press, New York, 1985.