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Hitler's Religion: The Twisted Beliefs that Drove the Third Reich. By Richard Weikart. Washington, D.C.: Regnery History, 2016. Pp. xxx + 386. $29.99 hardcover.
The singular personality of Adolf Hitler has been fertile ground for those who want to explore his religious beliefs. Historians and biographers have made all kinds of claims as to the actual religious beliefs of the Führer. Atheists have delighted that Hitler called himself a Christian in some of his early speeches, referring to Jesus as his "lord and savior" (ix). This serves the atheist agenda of discrediting Christianity and is not conclusive proof of the Führers Christian faith. Some think Hitler had to have some kind of connection with the occult in order to explain his mystical powers in swaying the German people to his support. Others note his fascination with Wagner and the Nordic mythical themes and conclude he must have been a traditional mystical pagan.
One reason for the plethora of viewpoints about Hitler's religion is that the Führer encouraged any beliefs that could support his political agenda. He did not care what people believed privately as long as they did not challenge the Nazis on public policy. Hitler needed the support of the Christian majority in Germany, whether...