Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

The impulse to believe the absurd when presented with the unknowable is called religion. Whether this is wise or unwise is the domain of doctrine. Once you understand someone's doctrine, you understand their rationale for believing the absurd. At that point, it may no longer seem absurd. You can get to both sides of this conondrum from here.

Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

Postby admin » Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:02 am

Mormonism in The New Germany
by Dale Clark
The Deseret News
Church Department
December 9, 1933

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The rise of the Hitler movement in Germany caused a great many to fear that religious activity and missionary work would meet with disastrous opposition. Since the National Socialist party have come to power a few sects have been prohibited or restricted, but activities in the “Mormon” church have been carried on about the same as before. As a matter of fact, a number of interesting parallels can be seen between the church and some of the ideas and policies of the National Socialists.

A friend of the church in Danzig tells of how a number of his Nazi friends were trying to high-pressure him into getting on the band wagon under the Swastika. Their trump card to show the originality and political genius of the Hitler party was the brilliant method they have undertaken to put over the charity drive for this winter. To them it was phenomenal; to the friend, however, it was just another application of the effective method that has been in use in the “Mormon” church for decades. The Nazis have introduced 'Fast Sunday.'

On the first Sunday of October two missionaries, having had nothing to eat for a day, rushed down to their regular eating place in high expectation for the unusually juicy 'Wiener Schnitzel' they expected to get. What they got was a little bowl of cold gruel with a little dumpling. This was German Fast day. On this day a meal consisting of a one bowl portion is all that is to be eaten and the price of a meal is expected to be donated to the winter charity fund. It is a well organized campaign. It is designed not only to alleviate the acute poverty, but it has the important purpose of developing that spirit of sacrifice that is so being stressed in the new Germany, and also of creating more of a feeling of unity and brotherhood through voluntary mutual help. Someone in each apartment is delegated to collect the money and turn it over to the authorities.

There is another noticeable trend in the “Mormon” direction. It is a very well known fact that Hitler observes a form of living which “Mormons” term the “Word of Wisdom.” He will not take alcohol, does not smoke, and is very strict about his diet, insisting on plain and wholesome foods, largely vegetarian.

As a specimen of physical endurance Hitler can easily take his place along side the athletes who are usually taken as classic examples. His 14-year struggle which brought him the power in Germany put him to a terrific physical strain. Besides the great responsibility there has been trials and conflict, and campaigning so strenuous that it has required the attention night and day, many times making it necessary for him to travel great distances by auto or plane, catching up on his sleep underway to fit him for the multitudes who would gather to hear him wherever he had time to stop.

A lady who was at several dinners that Dr. Joseph Goebbels, the conquerer of Berlin, attended told me that the rich assortment of liquors on hand were never there for his benefit. It was always necessary to serve him non-alcoholic drinks.

These two colorful leaders of the new Germany, in their gigantic struggle for political supremacy have needed capable bodies and clear brains and have trained like athletes. Their very popularity is making intemperance more unpopular. The fact that they are worshiped may be one big reason for a growing dislike for smoking and drinking in Germany today.

Posters from youth organizations fighting the use of tobacco have actually appeared on the street. This same movement has even extended itself to the use of cosmetics and its effectiveness may be seen by the fact that a woman recently told me that the slump in the cosmetic business was the cause of her losing her job.

Many of those who felt the greatest anxiety about being able to carry on their religious activities are finding that at least one branch of their church work has received its greatest boon since Germany’s adoption of Hitlerism. It was always difficult for Genealogical workers to get into the archives of the recognized church to trace back family records. When the pastor learned of the intention access to the records was often denied. Now, due to the importance given to the racial question, and the almost necessity of proving that one’s grandmother was not a Jewess, the old record books have been dusted off and stand ready and waiting for use. No questions are asked. In fact, some of the Saints instead of being refused by the pastors now have received letters of encouragement complimenting them for their patriotism.

All genealogical workers who are interesting in tracing back family history in Germany should take advantage of the present unusual opportunity.
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

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The Fuhrer's New Clothes: Helmuth Hubener and the Mormons in the Third Reich
by Alan F. Keele and Douglas F. Tobler
© 1975 by Alan F. Keele and Douglas F. Tobler
Sunstone
November/December 1980

DOUGLAS F. TOBLER is a professor of history at BYU. He received a PhD in German history from the University of Kansas and is presently a counselor in his stake presidency.

ALAN F. KEELE earned a PhD in Germanic language and literature at Princeton and is a professor of German at BYU. Married to Linda Kay Sellers and father of six children, he presently serves as a counselor to the high priest group leader in the Orem 44th Ward.  


NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

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Ground-breaking research into the courageous life of the seventeen-year-old Mormon boy who dared to expose Hitler's lies and atrocities and was beheaded for it.
 
*This essay is part of a book on the same subject which the authors are writing. Material has been drawn from a variety of sources: 1) The Helmuth Hubener file compiled by the Gestapo and made available to us by the American Document Center - Berlin (Citations are from our own pagination of the file. A film copy of these documents is in the BYU Library.); 2) Extensive interviews over several years with Helmuth's co-conspirators Rudolf Wobbe, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, and Gerhard Duwer. We are especially grateful for their interest and information. 3) Extensive interviews in October 1974 with Otto Berndt, acting District President in Hamburg at the time; 4) Interviews with Helmuth's brothers Hans and Gerhard Kunkel, his friend "Aunt" Maria Sommerfeldt and nearly a dozen other Germany Saints in Germay and in the U.S. who knew about and were affected by the case; 5) Interviews with missionaries -- some of whom wish to remain anonymous -- whose diaries give valuable insight into the policies pursued by West German Mission leaders. Copies of obscure documents and transcripts of taped interviews are available from the authors upon request. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus drew the division between secular and religious life with a single sentence: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." But the precise location of that boundary has proved to be a continuing problem for members of the Mormon church. Whereas earlier Latter-day Saints often faced the challenge of anarchic violence unchecked by civil authorities, in our own time Saints have more often faced the opposite dilemma: how should they respond to a totalitarian government's demands for total, exclusive allegiance? Nowhere has this problem been posed with greater clarity than in Nazi Germany, where a young man named Helmuth Hubener was one of many Saints who struggled to sort out their conflicting loyalties. His decisions as a devout Latter-day Saint ultimately led to his execution for high treason against the German state.


Helmuth Hubener was born in Hamburg on January 8, 1925, the illegitimate son of Anna Emma Guddat Kunkel and a man named Vater, her co-worker at the Hamburg Mint. Hubener's mother had two sons, Hans and Gerhard, from a previous marriage to Johann Kunkel. Hubener also bore the Kunkel surname during his early life, although a few members of the Church in Hamburg preferred to call him Helmuth Guddat, from his mother's maiden name. In 1940 Emma married a non-Mormon construction worker named Hugo Hubener. Hugo Hubener legally adopted Helmuth, thus giving him the name by which he is remembered today. [1]

But Hubener did not live with his new stepfather for long. Gerhard, the younger of the two Kunkel boys, was strongly opposed to Nazism and detested his new stepfather, a Party member and a Rottenfuhrer (file leader) in the local Storm Trooper battalion. This friction, and the fact that his mother worked long hours away from home, led Gerhard to move in with his maternal grandmother at 137 Louisenweg, a few blocks from the Hubener apartment at 42 Sachsenstrasse. When Gerhard left Hamburg early in 1941 to join the para-military Reichsarbeitdienst (National Work Corps), Helmuth moved to his grandmother's house shortly thereafter and settled into Gerhard's old room there.


All sources agree that Hubener was a gifted, intelligent student, who was promoted to the most accelerated course of studies soon after he entered school. His teachers reported that he especially loved history and geography, and that he showed an early interest in politics. [2] But Hubener's appetite for knowledge extended to many other areas. He spoke fluent English, loved music, and even took extracurricular courses in stenography and typing — "women's work" in pre-war Germany. When he left school to begin an apprenticeship with the Civil Service he continued to read voraciously, relishing access to the administrative archives of his new office. These archives held material that Helmuth could have seen nowhere else, including forbidden books about Russia, the United States, and other topics, books that the Nazis had banned.

The precise boundary between "things that are Caesar's" and the "things that are God's" has proved a continuing problem for Mormons.
 

Although Hubener apparently got along well with most people he met, his two closest friends were two young Latter-day Saints, Rudolf Gustav Wobbe and Karl-Heinz Schnibbe. The three had grown up together, taking the same Sunday School classes, the same Primary classes before Primary was banned, and joining the same Scout troop before Scouting, too, was banned in 1934. [3] It was through his activities with Rudi and Karl in the St. Georg Branch that Hubener first began to notice the dark side of German life under Hitler. Like many Germans, Hubener initially welcomed the Nazis' rise to power as a sign that Germany had recovered a sense of national purpose after the political chaos and economic collapse of the Weimar years. But this early enthusiasm faded as Hubener and his friends began to see the racism and brutality of National Socialism. All three of them, for instance, were disturbed when in 1938 a sign went up on the door of their branch meeting-house reading "JUDEN IST DER EINTRITT VERBOTEN!" (Jews not allowed to enter.) The boys realized that the sign had been put up by Branch President Arnold Zollner, known by members to be sympathetic to Nazism. Zollner apparently wanted to discourage visits by a Jewish convert, Salomon Schwartz, a member of the Barmbeck Branch, to the combined monthly priesthood meetings held at St. Georg. Hubener also had heard that Zollner had warned Schwartz— who eventually died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp — and his half-sister Marie to stay away from his branch. [4]

Later Rudi Wobbe saw Zollner reprimand another member of the branch for reading a propaganda leaflet dropped from a British plane. Sister Emma Hase had found the leaflet on her way to church, and she was showing it to some other members of the branch when Zollner came up to her. Tearing the leaflet from her hand, he allegedly said, "If you ever bring anything like that in here again, I'll personally see to it that you're sent to a concentration camp." Too, there was the case of Heinrich Worbs, another branch member, who had been denounced for making disparaging remarks about a new statue in honor of "another Nazi butcher." Worbs was sent to a concentration camp where he suffered various tortures. At one point Worbs was placed in the camp's outdoor stocks while freezing water dripped onto his hands. When his hands were encased in ice, a guard pounded the ice away with a length of rubber hose, cheerfully explaining that this was done "to keep your hands warm." Worbs returned to Hamburg emotionally and physically ruined; he died a few months later.
He described his ordeal to a few branch members [5] and the rest heard about his story through whispered rumors. Hubener heard these rumors as well, and he began to form his own opinion of Germany's Nazi renaissance.

There were other irritations. It was reported that Zollner brought his radio to church whenever Hitler or Goebbels were scheduled to speak. Some recall that during these broadcasts the chapel doors were locked so that no one could leave. On occasion a swastika was displayed outside the building, but the suggestion that branch members use the "Hitler greeting" among themselves had been rejected by a majority vote. Whatever the precise annoyances, it was not long before Hubener and his two friends found themselves united in their growing dissatisfaction with Nazism. Of the three boys it was Karl-Heinz, the oldest and the most brash, who first made his dissatisfaction public. After he saw a Jewish family arrested with particular brutality, Karl-Heinz got himself expelled from the Hitler Youth for "insubordination." Wobbe also began to skip his Hitler Youth meetings. One day he even knocked over one of the group's leaders with his bicycle when he was asked to stop and join in a demonstration, but he was never disciplined for the action and thereafter the Hitler Youth left him alone. Hubener too, began to act; but even Karl and Rudi could not guess the final depth of his resolve.

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Plotzensee Prison (site of Hubener's execution), now a memorial dedicated to victims of the Hitler dictatorship, 1933-1945

In March or April of 1941, Hubener's half-brother Gerhard returned from his assignment with the Reichsarbeitdienst in occupied France. He brought back a multiband superheterodyne radio manufactured in France. Unlike the ubiquitous but purposely primitive German Volksempfanger, this instrument could easily pick up the illegal broadcasts of the BBC in both English and German. Gerhard was about to be inducted into the Army, so he locked the radio and a few other personal belongings into a cabinet at his grandmother's house. Shortly after Gerhard left, Helmuth opened the cabinet, removed the radio, and listened to his first BBC broadcast.

By the summer of 1941, shortly after Hitler launched his Russian offensive, Hubener was convinced of the wrongness of the Nazi program, and he decided that he must actively oppose it. He invited Karl and Rudi up to his room, where they listened at low volume to one of the BBC broadcasts. After it was over, Hubener presented his plan: he would use his typing and shorthand skills to take notes on the broadcasts and work the material into handbills. After he had typed duplicates with carbon paper, the boys would undertake together the dangerous job of distribution: dropping the leaflets into mail boxes, posting them on public bulletin boards (some were to be disguised as official Party announcements by using a fake letterhead bearing a swastika), leaving them in phone booths, and so on.

Hubener produced a wide variety of leaflets during the months that followed. Through the diligence of the Gestapo twenty-nine different pamphlets [6] have been preserved, including those the police labelled "leaflet p" and "leaflet w". These two leaflets indicate the tone of the rest.
In the first, after discussing sarcastically the Party's Wool Collection Program, Hubener composed seven verses of doggerel (given here as closely as possible in the original meter and with similarly forced rhymes) that satirize the propaganda of Josef Goebbels. "Leaflet p" goes on to address "the working soldier on the home front" as well as the military forces in the field, assuring them that the Allies are as serious as the ancient Swiss in their struggle against the aggressor. Next Hubener quotes six lines from the end of Act II, Scene 2 of Schiller's William Tell which make up the historic oath sworn by the Swiss Confederates at Rutli. The pamphlet concludes by denying that the attack on Pearl Harbor has removed America's ability to interfere in the European Theater and predicts that Allied deeds on the battlefield will soon give the lie to Axis propaganda (see sidebar). [7]

Hubener's own title for "Leaflet w" was "The Voice of the Homeland." The Gestapo regarded this pamphlet as an "attempt to involve theological issues in behalf of the enemy's seditious efforts." The pamphlet does indeed seem to show that Hubener saw his opposition to Nazism as a necessary consequence of his religious beliefs (see sidebar). [8]

Hubener drew the inspiration for his pamphlet campaign from his own perception of the meaning of Mormonism, combined with a precocious interest in politics and a child-like faith in the eventual triumph of good over evil. All the evidence indicates that the boys were acting entirely on their own, with no guidance or assistance from any adult.

But if Hubener's naive confidence in the basic goodness and educability of mankind was a major factor in motivating him to begin his pamphlet campaign, it was also the fatal flaw that led to his arrest and subsequent beheading. Early in 1942, after the three boys had been distributing leaflets for eight or nine months, Hubener decided they should expand their operations. He approached a few other young Mormons — which was logical, if he did indeed believe that some of his own insights were based in Mormon doctrines. Although a few came to his room and listened to the BBC broadcasts, none were willing to take the risk of actually distributing the leaflets. From there he turned to his circle of friends in the Civil Service, with whom he had often discussed the war and other current events, although he never revealed to them the source of his "inside information." (Still, some of them must have guessed that he was involved in illegal activities, for they called him "the man with connections.") [9] One apprentice, 18-year-old Gerhard Duwer, agreed to take a few pamphlets home and show them to some friends. Helmuth also approached another apprentice, Werner Kranz, and asked him to translate one of the pamphlets into French, ostensibly so that he could show it to French prisoners of war working in Hamburg. But Kranz wanted nothing to do with the idea. A few days later Hubener tried to press a piece of paper into Kranz' hand. When Kranz refused to accept the paper and both Hubener and Duwer left the room, supervisor Heinrich Mohns questioned Kranz about the mysterious episode. Next he called in Duwer; when Duwer was finally persuaded to produce a leaflet, the whole case was turned over to the Gestapo.

On Thursday, February 5, 1942, Gestapo Commissioner Wangemann and Officer Mussener arrived at the Civil Service office to question the two boys. Afterwards they searched their homes. Duwer's home naturally yielded nothing, but Hubener had had no warning. They found the radio, a pile of assorted leaflets, and some notebooks with manuscripts for handbills written out in longhand and shorthand. The typewriter— loaned to Hubener by Branch President Zollner for the purpose of typing letters to LDS servicemen at the front — held seven half-finished carbon copies of Leaflet 1, "Who's Inciting Whom?" [10] At five o'clock that afternoon Duwer and Hubener were formally arrested. The same day three more pamphlets were turned in to Cell-leader Herr Weltien by a Frau Bertha Flogel, a Herr Schwedlick, and a Herr Frehse. All three leaflets were found within one block of Helmuth's grandmother's house in the Louisenweg. [11]

Nor is it clear that external threat to the survival of the Church necessitated the excommunication.


After two days of torture Hubener signed the first of several confessions. [12] He only mentioned Rudi and Karl in passing, describing them more as curious friends than fellow conspirators. But at their own interrogations several weeks later, both boys admitted enough to be arrested. On March 25th the Attorney-General of the High Court of the State of Hamburg turned the files on the four boys over to the Attorney-General of the Reich at the feared "Blood-Court," the Volksgerichtshof in Berlin. Such a procedure was required for serious crimes. On May 28th they were formally charged with conspiracy to commit high treason; the trial was set for Tuesday, August 11, 1942. For ten weeks the boys sat waiting in their cells.

Back in Hamburg Hubener's arrest set off another chain of events. On the Sunday after the arrest, Karl, Rudi, Hubener's mother, and grandmother all attended the St. Georg branch, where they heard Brother Friedrich Jakobi say: "I'm glad they caught him. If I'd known what he was doing, I'd have shot him myself." [13] The next Sunday, February 15th, President Zollner wrote "Excommunicated" on Hubener's membership record. He did this with the apparent consent of Interim West German Mission President, Anton Huck, although there is no evidence that a Church court was convened. [14] Nor is it clear that external threats to the survival of the Church necessitated the excommunication. [15] (At least one other branch president felt that Hubener's actions created no immediate danger to the Church's well-being.) [16]

These events, however, can only be understood in the context of a tense, suspicion-filled situation. Gestapo-men had been attending branch meetings, contributing to the long-standing fears of some members for the continued existence of the Church as well as for their very lives. Additionally, there were no American Church authorities available to whom the local German leaders could turn for counsel in this time of near-panic. Having had little previous experience in Church government, some now tended to see Hubener's actions, not as the religious and patriotic idealism he claimed, but as an almost criminal disregard for Mormon doctrine.

Even District President Otto Berndt, considered by most to be a liberal and therefore under close scrutiny by the Gestapo, did not wish to compromise himself by openly opposing or even overturning this "excommunication" — though he did refuse to actively support Zollner's decision by co-signing the excommunication statement. It wasn't until well after the war when, on 11 November 1946, he and the new mission president, Max Zimmer, wrote "excommunication done by mistake" on Hubener's membership record. Later, Zimmer's successor, Jean Wunderlich, notified the Salt Lake leadership of the affair, and on 24 January, 1948, the First Presidency ordered a similar notation placed on the membership record. (Neither Schnibbe nor Wobbe suffered similar excommunications, although Schnibbe assumed during his more than six years of Nazi and then Russian imprisonment that he too had been cut off when he heard of Hubener's fate.)

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Helmuth Hubener, taken from a Plotzensee Memorial brochure commemorating Nazi persecution and resistance in Berlin

LEAFLET P
"I've calculated for everything"


It's been a month now since both radio and the press in Germany grandly announced the results of the wool collection program. Over 70 million articles, Goebbels proclaimed, over 70 million! But where are these 70 million articles? The soldiers on the Eastern Front, the soldiers in the Far North, in any case, haven't received them. They do not write about them, only that they are freezing, freezing, and freezing some more, and vainly waiting for warm winter clothing.

Where then are the 70 million articles — furs, sweaters, gloves, underwear and skis? Maybe that which an unnamed neutral journalist wrote in his paper was right? Is he correct in writing about increasing shortages of raw materials in Germany, when he mentions that woolen articles are to be issued only in the most pressing cases and only on ration cards? Time will tell whether or not the government cheated the people out of their woolens and furs only to graciously allow them to buy them back later on ration cards. Time will tell!!

Poor "Josef" stands at the microphone,
Entirely unable to bring forth a tone.
"How am I going to convince the Volk
that Hitler's figures aren't just a joke?
How could he have said— so embarrassing —
That he's calculated for everything?

What Josef says sounds pretty slack;
Oh woe is us, alas, alack:
"It's winter now and bitter cold,"
(Even chillier when you sit in a hole,
'cause shooters always seem to freeze.
Didn't Hitler calculate for these?

"We're engaged in a struggle with hands and feet,
It won't last much longer 'til the enemy's beat.
They've been running along on their last breath
— So Goebbels says — soon comes their death.
(For the fact that Stalin has won of late
I suppose the Fuhrer could also calculate!?)

"We're engaged in a battle, at the turning place
So everyone step up the wool-collection pace!
That's what Goebbels begged for, and he also believed
That you'd follow his orders and be deceived.
That everything you own you would quietly give,
and keep nothing at all on which to live.

The results were poor, oh how that forebodes!
So we'll say that they donated many trainloads.
Whether half-full, full or completely hollow,
The Volk is too dumb to really follow.
'Cause the radio and Fritsche, they speak with clout:
"The Fuhrer has calculated everything out!"

Yes, Hitler's the reason the people must share
From their meager belongings whatever they'll bear!
For Hitler's mistakes the Volk must now pay,
What good now is Russia, it's lost anyway,
And that Stalin now marches the victor in the war.
The Fuhrer neglected to calculate for.

But in '41 the big break will come,
That's how the Fuhrer's speech last year did run.
The soldiers now know of his tendency to err,
While Hitler keeps promising, "This is the year."
When the Allies all get moving there will be a rout
But then Mr. Hitler will be "calculated out".
 

Throughout their investigation of the case, the Gestapo strongly suspected that Hubener had been acting as a "front" for some mysterious agent. Hugo Hubener, the Storm Trooper who had always distrusted the Mormons, told the police that he suspected "that liberal" Otto Berndt of corrupting his stepson. Berndt was picked up for questioning and held for four days at Gestapo headquarters. [17] As president of the Hamburg District, Berndt knew that the Gestapo's judgment of him could affect every Church member in Germany. He prayed earnestly for guidance and, as he reports, the Lord supplied the right words throughout his four days of detention. Finally, at the end of that time, the Gestapo apparently satisfied, he was released. Although Berndt remembers nothing he said or did during those four days, he does vividly recall his release, when a Gestapo officer accompanied him from his cell to the exit. "Make no mistake about it, Berndt," the man told him. "When we have this war behind us, when we have the time to devote to it and after we have eliminated the Jews, you Mormons are next!" [18] The statement brought home to Berndt an idea often forgotten or misunderstood: the jealously religious nature of National Socialism, and its ultimate intentions toward competing religious systems. Thereafter, when Church members hoped for victory in the war, Berndt would reply: "You be grateful to God that we will not win it." [19]

National Socialism was not a simple political, economic, or social phenomenon. It was an entirely new world-view based on an eclectic conglomeration of astrological, gnostic, millennialist, Christian, and Teutonic cults and myths. The Nazi inner circles were steeped in this collage of mystical lore. Albert Speer, for example, writes in Inside the Third Reich that Hitler and a few colleagues were celebrating his greatest diplomatic coup — the signing of the non-aggression pact with Russia — on the scenic mountain peak of the Obersalzberg, when they looked across to the Untersberg, a place associated with many Germanic legends. There, say the legends, the Emperor Charlemagne sleeps in a cave until he shall be called forth to usher in the millennial Reich. As Hitler and his party watched, the Untersberg was bathed in a brilliant red light, which Speer later decided was a rare and remarkably vivid southern display of the Aurora Borealis. The light shone on the assembled faces like a divine show of approval for the historic events of that day. Speer reports that Hitler was deeply moved. Watching the light, he said: "It looks like this time much blood will be shed." [20]

When we have this war behind us, after we have eliminated the Jews, you Mormons are next.
 

LEAFLET W

"The Voice of the Homeland''
 

Soldiers on the home front! Soldiers on all fronts! The Fuhrer has promised you that 1942 will be decisive and this time he will stop at nothing to keep his promise, He will send you by the thousands into the fires in order to finish the crime he started. By the thousands your wives and children will become widows and orphans. And for nothing! The European Front stands fast and the Rutli-oath is unanimous, unanimous the promise — the promise of all Allied peoples:

We want to be united now as brothers,
Not separate in danger or in need!
We wish to live in freedom like our fathers
Preferring death to living servitude!
We place our highest trust in God Almighty
And fear no kind of wicked human power.


The European Awakening has begun: in reply to the laughably audacious contention of the Axis propagandists that in a month or so the U.S. has already been badly damaged by the Japanese attack and that "Roosevelt's dream of having a say on the continent of Europe is nothing more than a dream", American air, land and sea forces have now taken up positions in the north of Ireland. Berlin, Rome and Tokyo may try to veil the dimensions of this landing and may gloss over it with sneering gestures, but time will tell who spoke the truth. And then, when the Allied and American forces set foot on the continent, when American and British squadrons bring death and destruction over the Reich, when the Allied and U.S. fleet enters the battle of the Atlantic with fresh reserves; then deeds will speak a more eloquent language; then with Hamlet, our only reply to the illusionary soap bubble-blowers in the Wilhelmstrasse will be:

"Words, words, words!" [7]


"The Bible not God's word. Merely a scheme of the Jewish world to enslave mankind. The product of an overactive fantasy?"

This is the red thread which is found in each of the "free-spiritual" or "neo-heathenistic" filth-pamphlets. "The Bible not God's word." That is the title of one of the filthiest and most intemperate brochures of the great Anti-Christ, General Ludendorff.

Why all this campaign against the Bible, holy writ? The answer to this question should not be too difficult if one knows the contents of the Bible, especially the many prophecies which pertain mostly to the latter days, to the days when heathenism and idolatry will take the upper hand, when the great Anti-Christ will arise in the midst of a peaceful period and will conquer with power or with cunning one country, one kingdom after another.

This time has now come, the Anti-Christ has established his "Reich." Ludendorff knows this just as Hitler does, and they are attempting to take the Bible away from the German Volk, so that it will not be able to see through the insidious plans of Hitter and his followers in advance.

Christians, arise, open the Bible, read what it says in the Book of the Prophet Daniel 11:20:

And in his place shall
Stand up a vile person, to
Whom they did not intend to
Give the honor of the kingdom,  
But he shall come in the midst of peace,
And obtain the kingdom by flatteries.


To whom does that apply better than to the Fuhrer: by means of bold phrase-mongering and grandiose promises he and his comrades succeeded in winning the majority in the Reichstag. [8]


During the months of confinement and torture before his trial, Hubener and his friends were forced to think about the implications of their actions. The boys' responses varied considerably. Duwer flatly denied any involvement with the others, while Schnibbe tried to portray the whole episode as a childish prank. But Hubener became steadily more convinced that he had chosen the right course. His first suspicions of the brutality that hid behind the Nazi mask of order had been partially supported by events he had seen in his community. But his experiences in prison confirmed Hubener's worst fears about the true nature of the Nazi state. The constant degradation of prison life did not make him want to recant; it merely confirmed his beliefs and strengthened his resolve to oppose the system to the very end. During his interrogations, the boy told his questioners that he "had no choice"; he "had to listen to the broadcasts," and when he learned the truth, he "had to disseminate it." [21]

All the available documents seem to show that Hubener understood the significance of his confrontation with Nazism; his appreciation of the moral and theological context of his case appears to have outweighed any desire to delay the end by cooperating with his jailors. Interestingly, in their own way the Nazis apparently shared Hubener's estimate of the broader importance of his case, and they held him up as an example before the country. After his death, thousands of red posters announced his execution.

At first sight, Hubener looks like an odd choice for a Nazi scapegoat. He belonged to a family officially adjudged "Aryan" by the party; his stepfather was a leading Storm Trooper; and his family members conducted themselves "perfectly." The leadership of the Hitler Youth even appealed to the Fuhrer on his behalf. In many ways, Helmuth Hubener would seem perfectly suited for success under the Nazi regime. Ironically, the Nazis perceived Hubener as a danger precisely because of his many positive qualities. Hubener was a thoroughly indoctrinated schoolboy who had little to fear and much to gain by conforming to the system. Instead, he freely chose to search out the lies beneath the facade of Nazism, and to show others the truth. If Nazism could not hold a Helmuth Hubener, it could hold no one. And so it was necessary that Helmuth Hubener be tried, convicted, deprived of his citizenship, and condemned to death.

At the boys' trial in August, after they had been sentenced and given the customary opportunity to have the last word, Hubener was the only one who spoke. He stood before the judges, who sat on their high bench in their famous blood-red robes, and told them, "Wait. Your turn will come." [22]

On October 27, 1942, a few hours before his execution, Hubener was allowed to write three letters. He wrote one to his mother, one to his grandmother, and one to Sister Maria Sommerfeldt, who had always treated him like a son. Sister Sommerfeldt's letter was the only one to survive the Allied bombing raids of the following year. In that letter he continued to express certainty that he had chosen the proper course:

I am very thankful to my Heavenly Father that this agonizing life is coming to an end this evening. I could not stand it any longer anyway! My Father in heaven knows that I have done nothing wrong. I know that God lives and He will be the proper judge of this matter. Until our happy reunion in that better world, I remain,

your friend and brother in the Gospel,
Helmuth [23]


Helmuth Hubener was beheaded at 8:15 that evening. He was seventeen.

The Fuhrer himself seemed to embody many of the most basic LDS virtues.


By 1942 the quasi-colonial regimes called the General Gouvernment in Poland, the Reichskommissariat Ostland in the Baltic states and Belarus, and the Reichskommissariat Ukraine in the Ukraine had been established. Two more administrative divisions were envisaged: a Reichskommissariat Moskowien that would include the Moscow metropolitan area and vast tracts of European Russia, and a Reichskommissariat Kaukasus in the Caucasus. This policy was accompanied by the annihilation of the entire Jewish population (the Final Solution) as well as the enslavement of their Slavic inhabitants, who it was planned would be made slave laborers on the estates to be granted to SS soldiers after the conquest of European Russia. Each of these SS "soldier peasants" were expected to father at least seven children.[33]

German women were encouraged to have as many children as possible to populate the newly acquired Eastern territories. To encourage this fertility policy, the lebensborn program was expanded and the state decoration known as the Gold Honor Cross of the German Mother was instituted, which was awarded to German women who bore at least eight children for the Third Reich. There was also an effort by Martin Bormann and Himmler to introduce new marriage legislation to facilitate population growth, which would have allowed decorated war heroes to marry an additional wife.[34] Himmler envisaged a German population of 300,000,000 by 2000.

-- New Order (Nazism) [die Neuordnung Europas (the New Order of Europe)] [Neurop] [Neu Europa], by Wikipedia


II

Since the war, Hubener's career has assumed larger-than-life significance among those Germans who have been interested in analyzing the causes of dictatorship, particularly the "engaged" writers of the German "Group of 47" such as Gunter Grass, Paul Schalluck, Nobel laureate Heinrich Boll, and others. The character of Helmuth Hubener has found esteem among these writers greatly out of proportion to his actual historical importance and his lack of subsequent recognition among Latter-day Saints. [24] For these writers, Hubener's importance lies in the fact that he was neither an adult intellectual nor a member of some anti-Nazi authoritarian group like the Communists. He was an individual, a naive young man whose response to an immoral regime was not enthusiasm, apathy, or violent revolt; instead, he made a sincere attempt to change things by educating his fellow citizens. And precisely because these principles of nonviolent, democratic, individual political initiative and a sense of personal moral responsibility failed before 1945, these writers believe they must succeed now. If Hubeners are common in postwar German literature, it is precisely because there were so few in real life before.

Hubener's significance for Latter-day Saints has been more ambiguous. Many German Saints who would have given their lives for the gospel believed that Hubener was a heretic, for he had violated the Twelfth Article of Faith: "We believe in being subject to Kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, and in obeying, honoring, and upholding the law." These people found support for their attitude in the admonitions of the New Testament. Jesus himself had counseled: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." Peter exhorted his friends to "submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake." Finally, Paul admonished the Romans: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."

But the German Saints had other reasons for viewing Hubener as a traitor. For decades they had been stigmatized as members of an "American sect," the implication being that someone who did not belong to the established churches was not a real German. This ostracism on the part of the major churches persisted through the Weimar period. Indeed, when the Nazis came to power it may not be going too far to say that some Saints enjoyed a certain amount of thoughtless Schadenfreude (malicious enjoyment of others' misfortune) at the treatment they meted out to the established churches. Now the Protestants and Catholics were receiving the same treatment they had given the "sects."

Hitler enjoyed at least as much popularity among German Saints as he did among the population in general. His apparent dynamism and self-confidence seemed to show a way out of the chaos and weakness of the Weimar years. Moreover, as "good Germans," the Mormons were acutely aware that Hitler had risen to power through legal channels. The Nazi Party had won a plurality— although by no means a majority — in the last general election, and Hitler had been appointed Chancellor by the ancient and venerated President Paul von Hindenberg. And although the Weimar Reichstag had voted Hitler extraordinary powers on both February 28 and March 23, 1933, Hitler never formally abrogated the Weimar Constitution. In the years before the deathcamps, the terrible food shortages, and the massive casualties of late World War II, many Germans saw the Nazis as a major force for good in German society.

So, for that matter, did many Americans. The unfairness of the Versailles Treaty was generally recognized, and in isolationist America of the thirties few Americans were concerned as Hitler overturned one provision of the treaty after another. If anything, they felt a degree of sympathy for some of the Nazis' goals.

This sympathy was apparently shared by some members of the Church leadership. The Church's German magazine, Der Stern, reminded its readers in 1935 that Senator Reed Smoot had long been a friend of Germany, [25] and this attitude seemed to receive official sanction during President Grant's 1937 visit. The message to the German Saints was clear: Stay here. Keep the Commandments. Try to get along the best you can, even under some limitations. We want to keep the Church intact and the missionaries working.

The German Saints were not eager for a confrontation with their national government, and they were happy to follow President Grant's advice. By and large, the Mormons and the Nazis coexisted comfortably. Some Church members even saw Hitler as God's instrument, preparing the world for the millennium. Superficial parallels were drawn between the Church and the Nazi Party, with its emphasis on active involvement by every member. The women's auxiliary of the Party and the Hitler Youth were regarded by some as secular equivalents to the Church's Relief Society, MIA, and Scouting programs. The vital importance of "Aryan" ancestry gave new significance to genealogical research. And the Fuhrer himself, the non-smoking, non-drinking vegetarian who yielded to no one in his desire for absolute law and order, seemed to embody many of the most basic LDS virtues. [26]

Image
Execution room at Plotzensee Prison showing the guillotine and infamous strangulation hooks  

In their eagerness to coexist with the government, American officials of the German Church resorted to public relations efforts which suggested all of the above. Probably the clearest example of this tendency is an article by West German Mission President Alfred C. Rees entitled "In the Land of the Mormons." The article appeared in a special issue of the Nazi Party organ Der Volkische Beobachter dated April 14, 1939. [27] In the Editor's Preface to the article, President Rees is called "the representative of the Church in Germany," who "paints for our readers a portrait of Mormonism today, a church which views the New Germany with sympathy and friendship." Whether President Rees originally wrote the article in German or not, the language of the piece abounds in such loaded terms as Volk and Rasse (race); and a picture of Brigham Young bears the caption, "Fuhrer der historischen Mormonenpioniere." [Google translate: Leader of historical Mormon pioneers] But the significance of these linguistic gaffes is magnified by hindsight. More disturbing is the way President Rees blatantly parallels Mormonism with Nazism. As Rees warms to his topic, Mormonism begins to sound like a fulfillment of Nazi teachings, providing "the practical realization of the German ideal: the common good takes precedence over the individual good." Rees concluded by assuring his readers that "Mormons are people who put this healthy doctrine into action." Reading articles such as this, it would have been easy for a German Saint to mistakenly conclude that the seal of official Church approval had been placed on the Nazi regime.

This policy of appeasing the Nazis worked well until the war broke out. Despite the classification of Mormonism as a sect "dangerous to the state . . ." [28] according to Gestapo reports, the Church was not summarily dissolved as many others were. [29] The missionaries remained; the Church continued. Even during the war, Mormon life was disrupted more by bombing raids, supply shortages, and travel restrictions than by official harassment. [30] By and large, the German Saints lived through the Thousand-Year Reich much like the rest of their countrymen. [31]

But among those Germans who recognized the true nature of Nazism were a few Latter-day Saints. Many were simply tired of the war (Germany's second in twenty-five years); others, like Hubener, began to see through the pervasive Nazi propaganda. Rosa Bohringer, Johannes Kindt, Walter Krause, and President Willy Deters of Bremen were among the Saints who either overtly opposed the regime or else dragged their feet while praying for German defeat in the war and the regime's early demise, [32] basing their position in part on Mormon scripture. In Section 98 of the Doctrine and Covenants, for example, it reads:

And now, verily I say unto you, concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them. And the law of the land which is constitutional, supporting the principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; and as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil. I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed: and the law also maketh you free. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule, the people mourn. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.


And in Section 34 one reads:

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.


These verses clearly state the duty of Latter-day Saints to diligently seek out good and wise leaders and outline their moral responsibility in the governing process.

Hugh Nibley, commenting on the universal character of the rights of man guaranteed by the American Constitution, observed:

The Founding Fathers were convinced that their liberal teachings were for the benefit of all men, not only for their own times, but for endless generations to come, ensuring the blessings of liberty not only to themselves but especially to their posterity, and not only in this land but eventually to the whole world.


He then continues: "Note the sweeping language of D&C 101:77ff:

The laws and constitution of this people ... I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh according to just and holy principles. That every man may act . . . according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment. Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage to another. And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land; by the hands of wise men whom I raised up for this very purpose.


My Father in Heaven knows that I have done nothing wrong. He will be the proper judge of this matter.


After emphasizing "every" and "all" as key words, he offers a statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

We deem it a just principle, and it is one the force of which we believe ought to be considered by every individual, that all men are created equal, and that all men have the privilege of thinking for themselves upon all matters relative to conscience. Consequently, then, we are not disposed, had we the power, to deprive anyone of exercising that free independence of mind which heaven has so graciously bestowed upon the human family as one of its choicest gifts. (TJS-49)


Finally, Nibley offers one more observation from the Prophet: "'It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul — civil and religious liberty to the whole human race. I will lift them up, and in their own way, too, if I cannot persuade them that my way is better; and I will not compel any man to believe as I do.'" (TJS 113. All italics are Nibley's.) [33]

It would be difficult for anyone who lives under a free system that owes its continued existence to these principles to condemn Helmuth Hubener for his dedication to them. But Latter-day Saints may question whether Hubener might not have done better — from a strictly tactical viewpoint — to have recognized the hopelessness of the German situation and waited a few years for external forces to bring about the collapse of the Nazi regime. Some similar consideration no doubt lay behind President Harold B. Lee's remarks to the East German Saints at the Munich Area Conference in 1973, when he told them to return quietly to their country and to refrain from agitating against Communism. [34] It does seem possible that from time to time, Mormons in various countries might face situations where the survival of individuals or of the Church as an institution would seem to dictate a policy of close-mouthed neutrality.

But no one should conclude from this that Mormons have abandoned their commitment to "seek for and uphold good, honest and wise men." Members have been consistently counseled to guard with particular care those principles of freedom they hold dear.

So it seems clear that if Helmuth Hubener' s legacy is to have any meaning, it must inspire others to follow his courageous lead in this and other free countries of the world before and lest the wicked rule, making such acts illegal, hopeless, and suicidal.

Image
Helmuth Hubener, Courtesy of the LDS Church Archives

_______________

Notes:

*fictitious name

1. Sec Ulrich Sander, "Helmuth Hubener Gruppe" In Streiflichter aus dem Hamburger Widerstand 1933-1945, ed. Ursel Hochmuth and Gerhard Meyer (Frankfurt: Roderberg Verlag. 1969). pp. 325-341; Annedore Leber, Willy Brandt, and Karl Dietrich Bracher, eds„ Das Gewissen steht auf. translated into English as Revolt of Conscience (Berlin: Mosaik Verlag, 1954); Stephen Hermlin, Die erste Reihe (East Berlin, 1951); Franz Ahrens, Helmuth Hubener: Vorbild. Opfer. Verpflichtung (Hamburg: Richard Herman Verlag, 1945); Terrence Prittie. Germans Against Hitler (Boston: Little, Brown, 1964); Joseph M. Dixon. "Mormons in the Third Reich, 1933-1945," Dialogue 7 (1972). 70-78; Gilbert Scharffs, Mormonism in Germany. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1970); Jay M, Todd, The Church Among the German-Speaking Peoples," Improvement Era (March 1969), 4-0.

2. Teacher August Meins Sander, 326. See comments before the Gestapo by Hubener and his mother, Hubener File. p. 34. Interview with Mary Panitsch in Hamburg, April 1974.

3. See Der Stern 66 (1934): 47, 142-143.

4. Such signs were not common on Mormon meeting places, There were few Jewish members and even fewer investigators. Views of the local Church authorities and pressures on the Church by local Nazi party officials varied. A wide spectrum of political opinion existed in the St. Georg branch. Paul Hase, counselor in the branch presidency, was a member of the SA (Storm Troopers) and came to meetings in uniform. Some members favored the Social Democratic party. Some members believed the branch was "punished" during the war for the way it had treated its Jewish members. Hans Gurrler. Hamburger Gemeinde Geschichte. p. 33.

5. Interviews with Otto Berndt, October 1-15, 1974.

6. The Gestapo file lists twenty-nine different compositions, there may have been over sixty. Ahrens, p. 10.

7. Leaflet p. Hubener File, p. 292-293.

8. Ibid., pp. 284, 287.

9. Hubener File, p. 34.

10. Ibid., p, 12.

11. Ibid., pp. 14-16.

12. Hubener File. pp. 33-42, 61-62, 322, According to Schnibbe and Wobbe, a letter of "recantation" to Helmuth's parents calling his work "a foolish mistake" was primarily a means of communicating with his family and was extorted through torture.

13. Interviews with Wobbe, Schnibbe, Berndt, and Hans Kunkel.

14. Manuscript History of the West German Mission, LDS Historical Archives, Salt Lake City.

15. Some witnesses believe President Anton Huck was a party-member, others that he was sympathetic to National Socialism but had not officially joined. In 1943 the Gestapo conducted a thorough investigation of the West German mission home in Frankfurt/Main and found nothing incriminating. Douglas Alder, "German-Speaking Immigration to Utah 1850-1950," MA thesis. University of Utah, 1959, p. 18.

16. According to Mrs. Rudolf Wobbe, whose father Alfred Schmidt was president of the Barmbech Branch.

17. Interview with Otto Berndt Also Otto Berndt's letter to Improvement Era (May 1969): 100-101.

18. Hitler's professed attachment to his German Catholic heritage and the Nazi party platform promise to support "positive Christianity" reassured many. But Hitler made his real intentions clear on many occasions:

As far as Churches go, they're all the same. They have no future. Not among the Germans, at any rate. Italian fascism can go ahead and make its peace with the church. I'll do it too. Why not? That won't prevent me from exterminating Christianity in Germany, with all its roots and branches, lock, stock, and barrel.


See Hermann Rauschning, Gesprachte mit Hitler (New York: Europa, 1940), p. 50.

19. Interviews with Otto Berndt.

20 Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich (New York: Macmillan, 1970), pp. 103, 194.

21. Hubener File, 41.

22. Wobbe received ten years, Schnibbe five, and Duwer four. Ibid. 191, 192, 201, 202 . When asked why by the government prosecutors, Helmuth replied, "I wanted others to know the truth." The prosecution then taunted, "Are you suggesting we are lying." Helmuth answered, "Jawohl, ihr lugt" (using the somewhat contemptuous form of the familiar "you"). Interviews with Wobbe and Schnibbe.

23. Hubener File, p. 337.

24. Helmuth plays significant roles in Gunter Grass's novel, ortlich befaubt (Local Anaesthetic), hit play Davor (Up Tight), and Paul Schalluck's radio play, Helmuth Hubener (both plays have been widely performed). Hubener-types also occur in works by Boll, Rolf Hochhuth and others. Visitors to Berlin's Plotzensee prison, where Hubener was beheaded, are given a booklet which contains a picture of him and a short sketch of his life.

25. An article entitled "A Friend of Germany'' chronicles Smoot's "unremitting and energetic [work] for the freeing of Germany from the unjust and unfulfillable demands of the Versailles Treaty." According to Smoot, "France was acting like the Jew. Shylock, in demanding the last pound of flesh ... of Germany." Der Stern 67 (1935): 338-342. Just after Hitler had come to power, Der Stern had editorialized against the "slanderous news reports" from the American press and reassured the German-Mormons in America that the majority of the people supported the regime and traditional German "law and order" Der Stern 65 (1933): 109.

26. In addition, many Mormons believed that Hitler had read the Book of Mormon and that the Nazi party local organizations derived from the Mormon block-teaching programs. There is no evidence to support such claims. Dr. Max Haenle from Tubingen, a non-Mormon, visited Utah in the late twenties and became a friend of Anthony W. Ivins. In 1936 he traveled throughout Germany speaking to District Conferences on "Utah, Land of the Mormons," Der Stern reported that in Dresden on 16 May 1936 Haenle made "comparisons ... throughout the whole lecture between the Mormon state founded 86 years ago by Brigham Young in Utah and Adolf Hitler's Third Reich ... In its political productivity, its organization forms, and its unswerving successes in the various areas of governmental, social, and communal life," he proclaimed, "Utah bears a really striking similarity to our Germany of today. Here as well as there, the unshakable faith in and willingness to die for their Fuhrer [respective leaders] is the foundation and prerequisite for all further development." Der Stern 68 (1 September 1936): 172-172.

The Millennial Star also commented on Josef Goebbels' plan announced in September 1933 that the German population "fast" monthly for the poor.


It is indeed singular that a comparison of the details of the two systems of organized fasting shows them to be so nearly identical. Perhaps that part of the message of the Restored Gospel may have been either directly or indirectly the inspiration and the model for the new scheme adopted by the German Government— perhaps not. But evident, at least, is the fact that consciously or unconsciously, the people of the world are discovering the Lord's way is best. The leaven of the Gospel is spreading. "All Germany Will Fast", Millennial Star, vol. 95, (Sept. 28, 1933); 638-39.


The wife of mission-president Roy A. Welker had a close association with Gertrud Scholz-Klink. The Reichsfrauenfuhrerin of the National Socialist Women's League and a personal friend of Adolf Hitler, with whom Sister Welker rode in Hitler's car on several occasions. Richard Jenson, Oral Interview with Roy A. Welker an February 2, 3, 1973, LDS Church Historian's Office.

27. Alfred C. Rees, "Im Lande der Mormonen," Volkischer Beobachter (April 14, 1939): 1-7. President Rees, who had achieved some prominence in the United States as head of the Small Business Administration, undoubtedly believed he had a special "calling" to work with the Nazi government on behalf of the Church.

President Heber J. Grant had visited Germany in 1937. German Saints were calmed by his assurances. He discouraged emigration and between 1933 and 1939 only 91 members from the German-speaking missions did so. In the decade prior to 1933, 2683 left Europe for America, and after 1945 many more did. Alder, p. 76.

28 Sonderbericht uber die Lage in den Protestantischen Kirchen and in den Vershiedenen Sekten und deren staatsfeindliche Wirkung. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

29. Ibid.

30. In 1911 the Nazi tried to eliminate other groups such as the Christian Scientists and the Salvation Army.

31. The Mormon record decrying the slaughter of the Jews is, unfortunately, as disappointing as that of the Protestants and Catholics. John Conway, The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson. 1968), p. 265 Gunter Lewy, The Catholic Church and Nazi Germany (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964). 268ff.

32. Letter from Rosa Bohringer to Albert R. Bowen, 19 June 1948; Max Zimmer File, LDS Historical Archives; Interviews with Johannes Kindt and Waller Krause.

33. Hugh Nibley, "The Uses and Abuses of Patriotism," Unpublished manuscript, quoted by permission.

34. Report of First Area General Conference held in Munich, Germany, August 24, 25, 26, 1973 (Salt Lake City, 1974), p. 111.
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

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"In The Land of the Mormons"
by President Alfred C. Rees
Volkischer Beobachter
Berlin, Germany
April 14, 1939

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How would you like to live in a city that is 4,300 feet above sea level; that nestles in a broad valley, surrounded entirely by rugged, picturesque mountains, whose tops are covered with eternal snow, a veritable fortress set up by Nature, apparently intended to defy invasion either by water, land or sky?

Such a place is Salt Lake City, capital of the state of Utah, scenic centre of America, the renowned gathering place and radiating point of the Mormon church; two day's travel from New York, one day from the Pacific Coast.

As any one of us, who have visited that remarkable city, will testify, it is one of the most attractive, beautifully situated cities in all the world; clean, modern, pulsating with life and glowing with hospitality; with a history of achievement that at once challenges our admiration.

A strict surveillance was kept over the movements of any stranger in the city, and if his words or actions displeased the Mormon spies, he never got far beyond city limits on his onward journey before some sad accident befell him, which left him lying dead by the road-side. It was well when a stranger had any person to caution him against any expression of his mind against the people or their religion; above all, against their beloved institution of polygamy, for they are very sensitive on this point, hating and dreading criticism in the very thing, above all others, that provokes and invites it. In this case he might escape with nothing more terrible than the consciousness of a spy dogging his every footstep and listening to every word.

In the autumn of 1863, Mr. N. P. Langford, of St. Paul, Minnesota (the author of the "Yellowstone Articles," published a few years since in Scribner's Magazine), in company with several others, started from Montana for Salt Lake City. While on the journey they fell in with a party of Mormons, numbering eight, all men, and all bound for Salt Lake City. The two parties travelled together the remainder of the way, and became very friendly. As a natural consequence of this companionship, the talk turned upon Mormonism, and the arguments between them were frequent and interesting.

One of the Mormons, named Cunningham, was a very intelligent man, and, while contending that his was the only true faith, would argue with Langford, without showing any ill feeling -- a very uncommon thing for a Mormon to do, by the way, since they are usually so very intolerant that they will not listen to an opponent with the least degree of patience, but, at the first sign of opposition, lose temper, and, instead of fairly arguing the question, shower anathemas on the one who has dared to call their religion in question. It must be a weak position that can only be defended by vituperation.

At night, while round the camp-fire, the Mormons would sing of Brigham as "the word of the Lord," and what Langford called a "string of nursery rhymes," in which Cunningham would sing the solo, and the rest the chorus. The idea conveyed in these rhymes, was, that only in Mormonism was happiness to be found, and that they were glad that they were Mormons.

After the party arrived in Salt Lake City, Cunningham called Langford on one side, and said to him, "You boys seem to be pretty good fellows, and I do not wish you to come to harm, and will give you a word of advice. Here in Salt Lake, you must not express yourselves about Mormonism as you have when you have talked with me; for, if you do, your lives won't be worth a cent."

"Why so?" asked Langford.

"Because you will be assassinated," was the reply.

Langford thanked him, and followed his advice. Soon afterwards he mentioned the fact to a Gentile with whom he had business, who in reply said, "You must do as he says, or you will never leave the city alive. Do you see that man with a gray coat? He is a Mormon spy, and is evidently watching you, and will watch you as long as you remain in the city. I say, as your Mormon adviser did, Be on your guard."

During all the time that Langford was in the city he was followed by this man, and he said he felt sure that if one word in disparagement, or criticism, of the Mormon people, or their religion, had crossed his lips, he would have been a dead man. He followed the advice he received, however, else the readers of Scribner would not have been so charmingly entertained afterwards, as they were by his readable articles.

-- Wife No. 19, the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy, by Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's Apostate Wife


And what a tragedy lies back of this outstanding accomplishment! Less than 100 years ago, all that vast, limitless territory, encompassed by the Rocky Mountains, was the very symbol of desolation. Little was known of it. Only a few venturesome trappers entered that forbidding waste. The silence of centuries brooded over that region of violent excesses of heat and cold.

It was in this very valley of threatening starvation and death that a little band of people sought refuge in 1847, after they had been persecuted, pillaged, plundered and driven from their comfortable homes in Eastern United States by mobs of priests and politicians.

During this time my mother's sufferings were intense. Many of the houses had been burned by mobs, and she, and many other women in as severe straits as herself, were compelled to live as best they could, exposed to the wind and rain, and without any proper shelter, during almost the entire winter, with two little children, one a baby only a few months old, the other about two years old. In addition to all the discomforts of the situation, she was always in constant terror of an attack by the infuriated mobs, who were waging a genuine war of extermination with the suffering Saints. As is always the case with a religious war, the feeling was intensely bitter. The Gentiles had no charity for the Mormons, and would neither tolerate their faith nor them. The Mormons returned the hatred of the Gentiles with interest, and considering themselves the chosen of the Lord, selected by Him to the exclusion of all the rest of the world, of course argued that whatever they did could by no possibility be wrong, and they returned their ill-treatment with interest.

Although there had been, always, a strong prejudice against the Mormons in Missouri, as in other states where they had lived, it was not until after Sidney Rigdon made his famous incendiary speech, at the commencement of the foundation of the new Temple at Far-West, on the 4th of July, 1838, that the feeling broke into anything like aggressive hostilities.

Rigdon had embraced Mormonism in 1830, and had been ever since that time an ardent Saint. He was a Campbellite preacher in Ohio at the time of his conversion, which was accomplished under the teachings of Parley P. Pratt, a man who played quite an important part in the early Mormon history. Rigdon was a very fluent speaker, much revered by the Saints on account of his eloquence, which, it must be confessed, was decidedly of the "buncombe" order. For a long time he was the intimate friend and chief counsellor of Joseph Smith, was connected with him in the Kirtland Bank swindle, and escaped with him to Missouri.

It had been revealed to the Prophet Smith that another temple must be built to the Lord in the new Zion, since the one at Kirtland had been desecrated by falling into Gentile hands, and Rigdon was chosen to make the speech on the occasion of laying the first foundation-stone of this sacred edifice.

The "Champion of Liberty," as Rigdon was called by his admirers, was more bombastic and more denunciatory than usual. He surpassed himself in invective, and maddened the already prejudiced Missourians, who were only waiting for some excuse to quarrel with their unwelcome neighbors. Among other absurd things, he said:

"We take God and all the holy angels to witness, that we warn all men to come on us no more for ever. The man or set of men that attempts it, does so at the expense of their lives. The mob that comes to disturb us we will follow until the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us. We will carry the war into their own homes and families. No man shall come into our streets to threaten us with mobs; if he does, he shall atone for it before he leaves the place. We this day proclaim ourselves free, with a purpose and determination that can never be broken. No, never! No, never!! No, never!!!"

This speech fired the excitable nature of the Saints, and they were aroused to a high pitch of warlike enthusiasm. Already, in imagination, they saw Missouri conquered, and the church in possession of the entire state. There could be no doubt of the final result, for this was the Promised Land into which they had been led by the hand of the Lord.

With the superstition which characterizes this people, they turned every accident or occurrence into some sign from Heaven, and it was always interpreted to promise success to them and confusion to their enemies. On this day of celebration the Mormons had erected a liberty-pole in honor of the occasion; in the afternoon it was struck by lightning, shivered to atoms, and fell, its flag trailing in the dust. There was rejoicing among the Mormons; that was certainly an omen of the speedy downfall of their enemies. It seems now as though if it must be considered an omen of anything that it was prophetic of the uprooting and scattering of this people, so soon was it followed by their expulsion from the state.

The feeling of bitterness between the two contending factions grew more intense daily, and each party was eagerly watching for some acts of violence from the other. The next month, at the election, the war commenced in earnest. A man named William Peniston was candidate for the legislature. The Mormons objected to him on the ground that he had headed a mob against them in Clay County. The Missourians, aware of this objection, endeavored to prevent the Mormons from voting, and a fight ensued, in which the latter proclaimed themselves victorious. Gallatin, the court town of Daviess County, was soon after burned by the Mormons. Then commenced robbing, plundering, and outrages of every kind by both parties. It was a season of the wildest confusion, and both sides were blinded with passion, and lost sight of reason, toleration, and, above all, Christian forbearance. It was a positive reign of terror. Houses, barns, and haystacks were burned, men shot, and all manner of depredations committed.

It is impossible for me to say which party was the principal aggressor; probably there was equal blame on both sides; but I have been informed that Joseph taught his followers that it was right, and "commanded of the Lord," for them to take anything they could find which belonged to their enemies, in retaliation for the wrongs which they had suffered at their hands. I can the more easily believe this to be true, because the spirit of the Mormon Church has always been that of retaliation. The stern old Mosaic law, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," is in full force among them, and is not only advised by the leaders, but insisted upon by them. Indeed, they have added to its severity, until now it stands, "A life for an offence, real or suspected, of any kind." In support of this they refer to the Israelites "borrowing" jewelry from the Egyptians before they took their flight from Egypt; and they quote, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof;" and as they claim to be the Lord's particularly favored children, -- in fact, his only acknowledged ones, they seem to consider this text peculiarly applicable to the situation, and all the excuse they need to give for any irregularities in the way of appropriating other people's property. They are merely coming into their inheritance.

At all events, the people were not slow to obey the command of the Lord and the counsel of Joseph, and they displayed their spirit of obedience by laying hold of every kind of property which came within their reach. In the midst of these troubles, Joseph came out to Daviess County to a town called "Adam-ondi-Ahman," named, of course, by revelation, and meaning, when translated, "The valley of God in which Adam blessed his children;" said to be the identical spot where Adam and Eve first sought refuge after their expulsion from Eden. Upon his arrival, he called the people together, and harangued them after this mild and conciliatory fashion:" Go ahead! Do all you can to harass the enemy. I never felt more of the spirit of God at any time than since we commenced this stealing and house-burning." My parents were living at Adam-ondi-Ahman at that time, and were present when Joseph delivered this peculiarly saint-like address.

About this time the Danite bands were first organized, for the purpose of plundering and harassing the people of the surrounding country. I have been told this by a person who heard the oaths administered at a meeting of the band in Daviess County. They were instructed to go out on the borders of the Settlements, and take the spoils from the "ungodly Gentiles;" for was it not written, "The riches of the Gentiles shall be consecrated to the people of the house of Israel?"

Joseph Smith always denied that he had in any way authorized the formation of the Danite bands; and, in fact, in public he repeatedly repudiated both them and their deeds of violence. At the time of which I speak, however, Thomas B. Marsh, who was then the president of the "twelve apostles," together with Orson Hyde, who now occupies that post, apostatized. Both subsequently returned to the bosom of the church, making the most abject submission. Poor Marsh died, crushed and broken-hearted. Hyde's heart was of tougher composition, and he still lives; but Brigham will never forget or forgive his apostasy.

While both Marsh and Hyde were separated from the church, they made solemn affidavits against Joseph and the Mormons in general, accusing them of the grossest crimes and outrages, as well as of abetting the Danites and their deeds. The cowardly Apostles afterwards declared that these affidavits were made under the influence of fear. That is very probable, but at the same time there can be no real doubt that there was a larger amount of truth in what they affirmed than jealous Mormons would be disposed to admit.

The outrages committed by these Danites, and others like them, caused the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri. Joseph and about fifty of his followers were taken prisoners, and between his arrest and imprisonment, and the final exodus from the state, there was great suffering among the Mormon people.

-- Wife No. 19, the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy, by Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's Apostate Wife


Since there were no railroad connections until the late '60s, those who joined the early Mormon forces came by ox-teams and even handcarts. There are still men and women living in Utah, who, as girls and boys, covered that entire distance on foot, sustained and strengthened in all of their trials and tribulations by the knowledge that they were escaping the cruel persecutions that had been heaped upon them on account of their religious beliefs; and by the hope that peace and security awaited them somewhere in the unknown West.

This bitter, historic experience had produced out of the Mormons a determined, practical people, as a result of which, they perhaps, better than many other, can appreciate what the German people endured as they passed through their hardships.

Thus the Mormon people know what persecution and suppression mean. And the German people, who have gone through the shadow of the valley since the World War; and who have been forced to rely upon their own strength and determination, and upon their undying belief in their own ability to restore their self-respect and their merited place among the mighty in the sisterhood of nations, reveal that same progressive character, which does not shun obstacles. For that reason, to a student of Mormonism, recent developments in Germany present a most impressive study.

From the very beginning, the Mormon people took care of their poor.
They saw to it that the administration of relief was always in local hands, in order to limit abuses. They provided for an intimate personal acquaintanceship between those who gave and those who received. The result of this system of Mormon relief has brought about the total absence of want and suffering among their people in every community where the established principles and rules of the church are observed. It is upon this deep rooted principle that the Mormon church is now carrying out its widely publicized and praised program of self help at a time when ten million Americans are jobless and idle, due to a departure from America's traditional economic, industrial system.

There is one case in particular which I have often heard spoken of by my mother and other Mormons, who would have disapproved of the proceedings, and even called them dishonest, had they dared; but none of them ventured to connect such an adjective as that to the Prophetic name.

At this particular time he became so very anxious for his people's welfare, and so earnest in his endeavors to "protect" their property, that he sent Captain William Walls, of Provo, with a company, to collect all the surplus stock from the settlements south of Salt Lake, and drive them into the city for safe-keeping, reserving only the necessary teams and the milch cows. The orders were very absolute to "drive every hoof that could be spared."

At Cedar City, Iron County, there were three men who as absolutely refused to give up their stock, as that was all they had to depend upon; for, being poor men, with large families, they naturally preferred to keep what property they had where they could look after it themselves, feeling certain that they would take quite as careful an interest in it as a stranger would.

The names of these rebellious men were Hunter, Keer, and Hadshead. They insisted upon defending their property, and the captain commanded them to be arrested and put in irons, and then he started with them for Salt Lake City, having previously secured all their stock. When they arrived at Parowan, they were chained together and confined in the school-house, there being no prison or jail in the place.

They were met by George A. Smith, who at that time was on a visit to the southern settlements; and he, thinking the men were treated with unnecessary harshness, ordered their irons taken off, and them set at liberty and allowed to return to their families -- without their stock, however. These men, after suffering such indignities, could live among the Mormons no longer, and they left for California.

Their stock, with a large herd of cattle collected in that vicinity, was driven to Salt Lake City, where they remained until they were in proper order for sale, when Brigham sold every one of them to pay a large debt which he owed to Livingston and Kincade, Salt Lake merchants.

This was his somewhat novel method of "protection." The cattle, to be sure, were out of the reach of the Indians, but they were equally out of the reach of their lawful owners, who neither saw them again nor any money which accrued from the sale of them.

Some of the owners ventured to ask if they might be turned in for tithing, but the inspired Prophet of the Lord replied, "No; if you had kept them, the Indians would have stolen them, and you are as well off as you would have been if I had not taken them." So was he, and several hundred dollars better off, too.

This reminds me of another instance of Brigham's faculty for "turning things to account," or, as a young Mormon quite wittily said, "taking advantage of his opportunities;" although it has nothing to do with the Indians, yet it occurred at an even earlier date, and was among the first of his notoriously dishonest transactions.

At Council Bluffs, as early as 1846, he counselled five hundred of his followers to enlist in the service of the United States; recruits being wanted at that time for the war in Mexico. They went without a question, on being assured that their families should be cared for. The church at that time was camped on the Missouri River, on its way from Nauvoo to Salt Lake.

The Mormon soldiers -- commonly called "The Battalion" -- sent all their pay to their families, to the care of Brigham Young, and he cared for it so well that the poor families never received it. John D. Lee brought the money which was collected from the soldiers, amounting to several thousand dollars, and gave it to Brigham. The families of these soldiers were, many of them, nearly starving, and all of them were very poor, needing sadly the money that their husbands had sent them; and in the face of all this destitution and suffering Brigham Young bought goods in Missouri to take out to the Valley, and if a soldier's wife ventured to ask him for anything, no matter how trifling it might be, she was rudely repulsed, usually without the slightest excuse for not giving her what was rightfully her own.

The men served in the army two years, receiving pay all the time, which Brigham pocketed, and all the time their families lived on the banks of the Missouri in the most squalid poverty, while Brigham came to Salt Lake in the most comfortable manner possible at that early day, and lived on the provisions that he had brought with him, bought with the money that was not his. He lived in what would be called luxury for the time and the place, by literally taking the bread out of the mouths of hundreds of needy women and children.

When these men came to Utah, after having been honorably discharged, they, of course, expected to find their families there. What was their surprise on learning that they were still at Winter-Quarters, and that no arrangements had been made for bringing them to the Valley! The President of the church would not allow them to go for them until the next spring, and when they did find them in such a wretched, helpless condition, it is no wonder that so many of them apostatized, and refused to believe in a religion whose chief teacher could be capable of such heartless cruelty and mean dishonesty.

It is asserted, by those who have the best means of knowing, that this war put twenty thousand dollars in Brigham Young's pocket; and yet he is very fond of talking about the cruelty and tyranny of the United States government in forcing five hundred of the ablest Mormon men into its service at a time when they were the most needed, and leaving the weak and helpless to cross the plains without sufficient protection.

-- Wife No. 19, the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy, by Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's Apostate Wife


In order to produce a sound body, Mormons have advocated and practiced, since 1830, what they call the "Word of Wisdom", which calls for the total abstinence from the use of tobacco, alcohol, tea, coffee, and for the sparing use of meat. Statistics in the United States show that, as a result of close adherence to this formula, the Mormon people are freer from contagious and hereditary diseases, than any other people in the United States; and, in fact, the world. That is why the Mormon people, perhaps, more than any other people in all the world, pay high tribute to the German government for its bold declaration of war against the use of alcohol and tobacco by the youth of Germany.

In the meantime, affairs in Salt Lake City had assumed their usual quiet. The troops were camped about forty miles from Salt Lake, in Cedar Valley. They called the station Camp Floyd. While they remained in the Territory, some of the Saints, wishing to dispose of their produce, sold a large quantity to the troops, and were well paid for it. Brigham heard of it, and the very next Sunday forbade their selling any more, and cursed all those who had had dealings with our enemies, as he called those men who had respected the honor of their government and spared the people who had so injured them.

It was not long before it was whispered that Brigham had agents in Camp Floyd selling tithing flour and lumber; taking large contracts, and obtaining large prices. But in the meanwhile he did not relax his severity towards his people. The bishops were ordered to withdraw the hand of fellowship from every person in their wards who traded at Camp Floyd. It was a sure sign of apostasy to be seen there at all, on any errand whatever; yet the church teams started from the tithing-office, loaded with flour, in the night, and it was known that Brigham received large sums of money from the government in payment.

In this, as in everything else, he was determined to have the monopoly. If there was any money to be made, he must make it. He could not endure to see a dollar go into another man's pocket. I believe the sight was positive pain to him. This incarnation of selfish greed is made absolutely miserable by the prosperity of another, and he takes speedy measures to put a stop to it, as he did in the case of Moon and Badly, the distillers, whom he sent to the south on missions, and also in the affair with Mr. Howard, whose distillery he took possession of in the same manner, after having declared that it ought to be burned down, and the machinery destroyed.

After Howard was well out of the way (in England, I think), Brigham started the distillery again in the "church's" interest, which, as he represents the church, meant himself. And over the door he placed as a sign the All-seeing eye, with the inscription, "HOLINESS TO THE LORD. ZION'S CO-OPERATIVE MERCANTILE INSTITUTION. WHOLESALE LIQUOR-DEALERS AND RECTIFIERS." His whiskey was not nearly so good as Howard's, but he got as much money for it; so what did he care about the quality?

More fortunate than either Mr. Moon or Mr. Badly, Mr. Howard returned from his mission; but he has ever since been an enemy to the Prophet, who, by the way, still runs the distillery.

-- Wife No. 19, the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy, by Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's Apostate Wife


Mormon people are proverbially practical believers, not only in the sanctity of the home, but also in large families. They are unalterably opposed to birth control, which they view as a contributing factor to the destruction of any race. The industry of men and women throughout Germany is a reminder of the proverbial attitude of the Mormon people toward work. It was Brigham Young who announced that the loafer should not eat the bread of the worker. In fact, the coat of arms of Utah is the beehive, indicative of the industry and cooperative spirit of the people.

The outside world had always been horrified by polygamy. Already in 1859, the New York Tribune’s correspondent was reporting that “No where else on the Continent of North America are white women to be seen working like slaves, barefooted, in the field. It is notorious to all here that large numbers of Mormon women are in a state of great want and destitution, and that their husbands do not pretend to provide them even with the necessaries of life.’” (Hirshson, p. 132) The New York Times pointed out in 1877 that a poor farmer with half a dozen able-bodied wives automatically possessed a loyal low-wage workforce, allowing him to act as overseer or superintendent. The women were disciplined with a whip. “Farmers with four, five, six or more wives are numerous, and it is among these people that polygamy has its greatest strength. Polygamy in Utah, especially among the rural population, is nothing more nor less than slavery, and its popularity arises almost wholly from its profitableness. It is the system of the South twenty years ago, with more lines of parallel than many of us might suspect.” (Hirshson, pp. 323-324) The twin relics of barbarism turned out to be closely linked in practice.

-- Just Too Weird: Bishop Romney and the Mormon Takeover of America: Polygamy, Theocracy, and Subversion, by Webster Griffin Tarpley, Ph.D.


Perhaps the outstanding financial system of the world for the maintenance of a religious organization is to be found in Mormonism: It is their Tithing System. A true, faithful Mormon pays to the church one-tenth of his total income for the upkeep of the church and its institutions. This has placed the church on a sound financial basis, and has made possible its remarkable expansion, growth and development and operation of its far flung educational and social institutions, all conducted under church supervision; also in the erection and maintenance of commodious places of worship, which dot and beautify the entire length and breadth of the land, in which the church has a following. Here is the application of the German ideal: Community welfare before personal welfare. Mormons are practical exponents of that wholesome doctrine.

In the early days of the church, the duty was strongly enjoined of consecrating all the possessions to the Lord; and this was not to be a figurative, but a real consecration; in which all the possessions were to be catalogued and consecrated in legal form, and the transaction authenticated by witnesses. The custodian of this property was to be a "Trustee in Trust," the community into which the faithful Saint thus entered was to be called "The United Order of Enoch," and the property was to be held for the benefit of this community.

The Saints did not take kindly to the Order, and it existed in theory merely. Within a year or two Brigham has been making the most arduous efforts to bring his followers into this community, meeting, however, with very little better success than its founders. When he first proposed its re-establishment, it was decidedly opposed in the Tabernacle, by the apostles Orson Pratt, John Taylor, and George Q. Cannon, and a regular quarrel took place; the Prophet and his dissenting followers parting, each with a firm determination not to yield to the other side. The next week the four went north on a preaching tour, and labored harmoniously together in the attempt to build up the Order.

Whoever joins this community gives all his earthly possessions into the keeping of Brigham Young. His children, too, are required to sign away all claim or title to the property; if any are too young to write, the pen is given them, and their hands guided by their elders, and they are thus deprived of their rightful patrimony; and in return for all this, the family is to be furnished with what food and clothing the officers think they require.

As Brigham and his co-workers journeyed northward, he telegraphed to the bishops of the various settlements through which he would pass, informing them what time he would visit them, and requesting them to call special meetings of the residents of their wards before his arrival, and read to them the following telegram: "I am coming north, organizing branches of the Order of Enoch; how many of you are willing to join the Order without knowing anything about it?"

In the little town of Fillmore seventy-five men responded to the call for a meeting, and, strange as it may seem, fifty of those men voted to join the "Order." They fully understood that all on becoming members were required to deed their property to the "Trustee in Trust," otherwise, "Brigham Young, his heirs, executors, and assigns," yet they decided, with full knowledge of this, to make a blind investment of all their "worldly gear," and upon the arrival of the religious Autocrat, one half of the remaining twenty-five accepted the situation, and signed their names to an agreement binding themselves to obey "Enoch's" requirements. The following were the unanswerable arguments which Brigham used to secure their conversion: "I want you to understand that the car (meaning Enoch) is rolling on. The set time of the Lord has come, and no man can stay its progress. If you do not want to be run over, jump on, or get out of the way. I do not want a part of your property, I want it all. If there are any of you who cannot abide the requirements of the Lord, I do not want you to come near me, or to speak to me. I feel as far above you as the heavens are above the earth."

Those who became members of this branch of Enoch worked well, determined to make it a success. All labored together for the interest of the Order, and were credited a certain sum, I think fifteen cents an hour. They were economical, hoping to make the books show a balance in their favor, after deducting expenses of sustaining their families. But there were so many sinecures, and so much mismanagement, that after the lapse of one single summer an investigation of affairs became necessary, and the fact became known that their divinely directed labors had not paid the running expenses of the institution. Many who had expected that the records would exhibit a balance in their favor, awoke to the disagreeable fact that they, as co-partners in the United Order, the grand scheme that was to reconcile "the irrepressible conflict between capital and labor," must discount the sum stipulated as payment for their services. And they are at present in debt for the commonest necessaries of life consumed during their short-lived experiment.

A similar condition of affairs exists wherever this gigantic swindle has been in operation. And while Brigham has been gloating over his ill-gotten gains, he has bound these poor victims more firmly to himself by the terrible bondage of debt. The wildest dissatisfaction exists, and in nearly every county the Order may be regarded as dead, and beyond even the power of Brigham Young to restore.

The Tithing System is a direct outgrowth of "Enoch." When Joseph saw that the people did not take kindly to his community plan, he found it necessary to adopt some other means of raising a permanent fund for the church, and Orson Pratt proposed that every member should every year be obliged to pay one tenth of his income, out of which the church should be supported. This plan met with the approval of the officers, and it has been continued ever since. Every town has its tithing-house, which is in charge of the local bishop. He takes charge of all the goods that are brought in, usually paying himself a handsome commission, and sees, when any quantity has been gathered, that it is transported to the large tithing-house in Salt Lake City.

This tithing-house is under the direct control of Brigham Young, and he, his counsellors and clerks, have the first choice of all the goods that are brought in; the remaining stores are dealt out as payment to the poor men who are employed by Brigham as laborers. I have seen the tithing-store beseiged by a crowd of tired, care-worn women, wives of these men, waiting for their turn to be served. Sometimes a poor woman will stand all day waiting for a sack of flour, a basket of potatoes, or a quart of molasses. Let the day be ever so cold or stormy, there she must wait, until the clerks see fit to attend to her wants.

Everything is received here in payment for tithing: hay, grain, vegetables, butter, cheese, wool, or any other product. If a man has not money, he must give one tenth of what he has. It matters little whether he can afford it; the church demands it, and "the church" gets it.

-- Wife No. 19, the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy, by Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's Apostate Wife


Among these institutions of learning of which the Mormon church is especially proud, is the Brigham Young University, located in Provo, about a two hour's drive from Salt Lake City. That institution was established under the direction of a distinguished German, Dr. Karl G. Maeser, who was born in Meissen, Saxony, joined the Mormon faith, came to Utah, and was charged by Brigham Young with the responsibility of establishing that institution. The Mormon church makes the unique claim of having been established by direct revelation from God, through the instrumentality of a young man by the name of Joseph Smith, who, though unlettered and untutored, laid down principles of conduct in the realm of religion; announced truths in the field of general science; and gave to the world a philosophy of life, that challenge the thinking of every unbiased mind.

Among the Mormons who have made notable contributions to world thought is also J. Reuben Clark Jr., a member of the First Presidency of the Mormon church. He is an acknowledged diplomat, was United States Ambassador to Mexico, and today is the head of the Foreign Bondholders Association, which represents not only the United States government, but all Americans who hold securities of foreign countries. Mr. Clark is a frequent visitor to Berlin.

Perhaps the persistent driving force and the unfailing courage of the Mormon people find explanation in their belief that man is immortal; that he lives beyond the grave; that he continues in his program of eternal progression; that divinity and complete mastery over all forces is his goal and destiny. In fact, their belief is crystallized thus; "As God now is, man may become." Mormonism sees in God a personal, living Being.
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

Postby admin » Wed Jul 04, 2018 12:10 am

Part 1 of 3

The Rise of the Nazi Dictatorship and its Relationship with the Mormon Church in Germany, 1933-1939
by Steve Carter
International Journal of Mormon Studies, Volume 3
Spring 2010
©2010 International Journal of Mormon Studies

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On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist party came to power and began to establish a dictatorship in Germany. It was the Nazis' intent to control all facets of life in the Third Reich including the institutional church. The relationship between the regime and the German religious community is complex and controversial. Although Hitler early on assured the churches that Christianity was welcomed in the Reich, [1] the Nazis soon launched a campaign against it. Through a concordat, the German dictator was able to neutralize the Catholic Church. And, aided by the pro-Nazi "German Christians," Hitler went a long way in coordinating the Evangelical Church with party aims. Nazi policy toward the smaller Christian denominations was ad hoc. The Nazis sought to control [2] and eventually eliminate these religious bodies, yet generally tolerated the ones deemed beneficial to party aims. [3] Eventually, many small, non-traditional religions [4] were banned, while the "Free Churches," primarily Baptists and Methodists, were allowed to function because Hitler thought they could be useful to his purposes. [5]

The relationship between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Nazi regime was also complex. At no time during the 1930s was the Mormon Church banned in the Reich; however, it was not completely welcomed either. To be sure, Mormons were affected by Nazi anti-religious policies. This paper will review and analyze the relationship and interaction between the LDS Church and the Third Reich. I argue that Nazi harassment of the Mormons was sporadic and based primarily on the whims of local party officials rather than any formalized national policy. In the end, the Nazi course of action regarding the Latter-day Saints was similar to the regime's policy toward the Free Churches; the Party tolerated Mormons because it believed the LDS could be useful.

The Rise of Hitler and the Formulation of LDS Policy

Prior to World War I the spread of Mormonism in Germany had been slow. During the 1920s, however, the denomination enjoyed impressive growth throughout the country. In 1930 Mormonism claimed over 12,000 followers in Germany; by 1938 this number had passed 13,000. [6] This represented the largest pocket of Latter-day Saints outside the United States. Because of such success, Mormon leaders in the USA were optimistic about the Church in Germany well into the 1930s. [7]

By the middle of 1933, the Nazi regime had busied itself consolidating power in Germany including implementing its policies toward the Catholics and Protestants. At this point, the Nazis began to investigate the smaller denominations including the Mormons. [8]

That summer, both LDS mission presidents— Francis Salzner of the Swiss-German mission and Oliver Budge of the German-Austrian mission— were confronted by Nazi authorities and asked to issue concise written statements regarding Mormon attitudes toward the Hitler regime. [9] Although Church leaders in Utah had advised the mission presidents to "get along" with government officials, they did not provide specifics on how to proceed. [10] As a result, Salzner and Budge, in written statements, had the unenviable task of formulating Church policy with regard to the German state. Their responses to the Nazi inquiries, which became the basis of Mormon policy toward the Third Reich, were nearly identical and will be examined together.

The essence of the mission presidents' statements was to affirm the Church's spiritual mission. Salzner and Budge emphasized that, although Mormons considered themselves "apolitical," the Church taught its followers to be good and law-abiding citizens and to support the "powers that be" in accordance to the Church's Twelfth Article of Faith. [11] They stressed the Mormon belief in religious toleration [12] and asserted that the Church would not attack other denominations including the German Christians. Furthermore, the statements suggested that the Church's lay ministry and self-supporting missionary program brought foreign currency into Germany. [13] Finally, the mission presidents addressed values such as the family that were shared by both parties. [14]

As of 2002, Mormons "constituted 63% of Utah's population ... Virtually all statewide elective offices, from the governor down, are held by Saints ... the state legislature is overwhelmingly made up of white Mormon Republican males. Three fourths of the state judiciary is Mormon. The entire United States Congressional delegation from Utah is Mormon. School boards, city councils, municipal agencies, and mayors offices are dominated by Mormons." The editor of the Salt Lake Tribune summed it up thus: "The fact is, we live in a quasi-theocracy. 80% of officeholders are of a single party, 90% of a single religion, 99% of a single race, and 85% of one gender." (Lawrence Wright, "Lives of the Saints: at a Time When Mormonism is Booming, the Church is Struggling with a Troubled Legacy," New Yorker, January 21, 2002.) The constitutionally mandated separation of church and state is much neglected in Utah. The majority of public junior high schools and high schools have an in-house Mormon seminary which serves for religious studies. This is the Mormon tradition, and it is therefore difficult to imagine that a Romney cabinet would look like America. It might well look more like Utah, where Salt Lake City may well be the most lily-white city on the planet.

-- Just Too Weird: Bishop Romney and the Mormon Takeover of America: Polygamy, Theocracy, and Subversion, by Webster Griffin Tarpley, Ph.D.


There were three goals the mission presidents sought to achieve. First, they wanted to "get along" with the Nazi regime and avoid confrontations that could place the Mormon community in peril. Second, they sought to maintain the Church and its "gains" in Germany. Finally, mission leaders hoped to continue spreading the spiritual message of Mormonism through missionary activity. [15] The German mission leaders' policy was congruent with the prevailing Church accommodation policy toward secular government and the Twelfth Article of Faith established in 1890.

Apparently, the mission presidents' statements satisfied Nazi authorities. There are no immediate reports of harassment of any kind. Commenting on conditions in Germany, the 21 October 1933 issue of the Salt Lake City Deseret News, Church Section, reported, "The German-Austrian mission has been left almost untouched by the revolution in Germany." [16]


Harassment of the Mormons

Although Mormons escaped the initial persecution suffered by other denominations, they did not go unnoticed by Nazi authorities. As Hitler tightened his grip, the Gestapo kept vigil on all religious groups, [17] including the Mormons. On occasion, Gestapo agents monitored LDS worship services, [18] interrogated branch and district presidents, or confiscated branch records. [19] Some requested a list of names of branch members accompanied by their political party affiliation. [20] In their effort to "get along," LDS leaders complied with these demands. [21]

A real concern for branch presidents, though, was that a member might say something that Gestapo agents would consider subversive. Local leaders and American missionaries cautioned their congregations about such dangers and reminded them to follow the Twelfth Article of Faith. [22] Because of these measures, the secret police was unable to detect anything "subversive" about Latter-day Saint meetings. [23]

Elimination of the LDS Scouting Organization

On the national level, Mormons did not experience any pressure from the regime until 1934. In 1933, Hitler had begun the process of dissolving youth organizations or incorporating them into the Hitler Youth including the Boy Scouts. [24] In early March 1934, Nazi authorities notified Mormon officials to incorporate the LDS Scouting program [25] into the Hitler Youth or to disband. For several weeks, Mormon youth leaders corresponded with government officials pleading their case for maintaining the program. [26] Throughout the correspondence, Mormon Scouts continued to function and carry out their activities. [27] Finally, under duress, and desiring to "remain in harmony with" the Nazi regime, the Mormons acquiesced and dissolved its Scouting program on 30 April 1934. [28]

The dissolution of the Scouting program sheds light on Mormon policy toward the Nazi regime. By abandoning the Scouts, the Mormons indicated their willingness to oblige the Nazis. Still, they haggled with the regime and then dissolved their troops rather than incorporate them into the Hitler Youth. The Mormons chose to accept their fate, [29] but in such a way as to avoid direct Party control over their youth.

There were also cases where Mormons were affected by the general prohibitions placed on all religions by the Nazi regime. In 1934, the National Socialists issued a decree that no denomination could use Hebrew words such as "Israel", "Sabbath", "Zion"— words common in Mormon usage. [30] In keeping with the spirit of accommodation, Mormons throughout Germany complied with this decree. [31] The decree also led government officials to ban the book, The Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage, because of its references to "Zion" and "Israel." [32] The Nazis also banned Church tracts, including "Gottliche Vollmacht" ("Divine Authority") and "Signs of the Great Apostasy" which, Party activists claimed, constituted an affront to their own power in Germany. [33]

Nazi officials were also concerned that foreign-based religions might drain the Reich of much-needed currency. [34] This concern led German authorities to monitor LDS financial activities, insist that LDS tithes remain in Germany, and confiscate donation records from branches. [35] In October 1934, as part of Finance Minister Hjalmar Schacht's new economic plan to control foreign exchange, [36] the government withdrew from the LDS missionaries the privilege of purchasing valuable "Registered Marks." [37] Although Mormons were not the primary target of this plan, German officials charged that the missionaries were not paying their own way. Schacht's policy had a profound impact on the Church forcing the missions to curtail many of their activities. [38] In response, the mission presidents [39] in Europe and the First Presidency in Utah worked through the U.S. State Department, the American diplomatic corps, and the American Express Company to resolve this crisis. In March, 1936, the regime let up and restored to the missionaries the privilege of remitting Registered Marks. [40]

The Nazi "Let Up" on the Mormons and the Illusion of "Good Relations"

Between 1934 and 1936, most religious denominations suffered increased persecution at the hands of the Nazis. Both Catholic and Protestant clergymen encountered Nazi harassment and imprisonment. The Nazis also proceeded viciously against the smaller denominations. By contrast, harassment of the Mormons suddenly subsided in mid-1934 as noted by both Mormon and American government officials. In July, Francis Salzner, was questioned about Mormon views of the regime to which he reaffirmed the LDS accommodation policy and positive attitudes toward secular government. After the meeting, a surprised Salzner reported that the Gestapo agent confided to him that the Mormons had nothing to fear from the Nazis. [41] On 31 July, Utah Senator Elbert Thomas met with American Ambassador William Dodd in Berlin to discuss issues relating to Mormon missionaries in Germany. After the meeting, Dodd noted in his diary, "There are a number of Mormons in Germany and Hitler has not dissolved their organizations or expelled their active preachers. There are other than religious aspects to Hitler's let-up on the Mormons." [42]

Some historians have suggested a collaborationist relationship between Mormons and the Nazis based on a conjunction of worldviews including similar beliefs, doctrines and practices. Moreover, they argue that Mormons tried to convey this view to Nazi officials in order to escape persecution. [43]

Historian Douglas Tobler counters this thesis by arguing it was actually a disjunction of worldviews which formed the "foundation of the Nazi-Mormon relationship." According to Tobler, although there was some agreement of peripheral principles, the Nazis were concerned with gaining a "monopoly of power" and considered sectarian theology nonsense. On the other hand, Mormons were interested in their spiritual mission, not political power. [44] Mission documents further bolster this argument. In 1935, for example, mission records indicate "that the German attitude toward the [Mormon] Church, or any church, was that the churches were for the 'soul saving' part of life only, and that the state should develop the youth, and that the churches should not interfere in state affairs." [45]

The Nazis, in other words, found little in Mormonism they considered subversive. The regime seems to have regarded Mormons as "apolitical" and patriotic citizens. They may also have accepted some Mormon beliefs and practices as compatible with their own values. Tobler maintains that "presumably, the Nazis found no specific doctrines like rejection of military service, occultism or total reliance upon God's power in healing the sick" that would cause them concern. [46] Hitler's regime was thus willing to tolerate Mormons while it continued to consolidate power. In many respects, the Nazis' attitude toward the Latter-day Saints resembled their views of the Free churches who desired to retain independence to preach the gospel. [47] The Free Churches advocated separation of church and state, supported themselves financially and had relatively insignificant membership in Germany. Furthermore, many of these denominations had some influence abroad. Therefore, the Nazis, in the interests of foreign relations refrained from blatant harassment of these denominations. [48]

Official tolerance of the Mormons, however, turned out to be a mirage. Douglas Tobler and Alan Keele have described this two-year illusion of harmonious relations as a "fool's paradise." [49] Mormons continued their policy of accommodation with the Nazis, though the regime appears to have paid little attention to them except within the context of an overall policy on religion. [50] Each side was willing to ignore the other as long as it was left alone. As Tobler and Keele assert, "[ b]eing largely oblivious to the thrust of the numerous major events and policy changes going on at the time, Mormons tended to evaluate their circumstances largely in isolation on the basis of their personal well-being and the condition of the Church." [51] Nevertheless, both sides took advantage of opportunities presented by the other to advance their goals.

Doctrinal Parallels and Compatibility

That said, it cannot be denied that Mormons and Nazis did by coincidence rather than design share some common doctrinal ground, and both were aware of the similarities. [52] And it was the parallels that reinforced the illusion held by German Mormons. [53]

Among views shared by the two parties were an emphasis on genealogical research, the family, and the importance of health. Many Mormons also viewed several Nazi programs as resembling their own such as one of Hitler's program known as Eintopf Sonntag or "stew Sundays," in which participants fixed a modest meal and donated what they saved to the Nazi welfare program; a practice similar to the traditional Mormon "Fast Sunday."

Although superficially similar, the goals and objectives of the Mormons and Nazis were quite different. [54] Mormon programs reflected the faith's spiritual mission, while those of the Nazis represented their obsession for political and racial domination. Even so, common attitudes made Nazism more palatable to Mormons and Mormonism less suspect to Hitler's minions. [55]

Contacts with the Government

On 1 August 1934, Roy Welker became president of the German-Austrian mission; his tenure as mission president contributed to the illusion of "good feelings." Before leaving for Berlin, Welker met with President Heber J. Grant to discuss the German situation. Grant simply instructed Welker verbally to "meet the situation as it was," and to "exercise [his] own wisdom." [56] These vague directions left Welker on his own to deal with the Nazi regime. [57] Throughout his presidency, Welker continued the accommodation policy by complying with Nazi requests and investigations [58] which he later asserted was the "best policy." [59]

Welker also sought contacts with government officials. In 1936, he sent copies of Mormon scriptures to government officials including Adolf Hitler himself. [60] Furthermore, Welker met a low-ranking official from the Ministry of Religion who assured the mission president that the Mormons were in no danger. [61] Welker's wife, Elizabeth, also cultivated ties with the regime by occasionally meeting and establishing a working friendship with Gertrude Scholtz-Klink, head of the Nazi women's auxiliary, the NS Frauenschaft. [62]

Although both Welkers believed that their efforts improved the status of the Mormon Church in Germany, there is little evidence to bolster their claims. As Tobler concludes, "Welker apparently was convinced that '...Hitler was very much impressed with the Mormons,' a statement lacking support from other evidence." [63]

Harassment of LDS at the Local Level

While governmental pressure on the Latter-day Saints at the national level subsided considerably during 1934, at the local level harassment became quite intense. [64] In their 1933 year-end reports to Salt Lake City, both Francis Salzner and Oliver Budge wrote that the Reich government had interfered little with the activities of the Church. [65] However, Budge also indicated that zealous party members had harassed both the members and the missionaries; a point alluded to by Salzner. [66] Mission records from 1933 on indicate that local Nazi officials, aided by Catholic and Protestant clergymen, led attacks against Mormons. [67]

The Mormons were not persecuted in Nazi Germany. They felt the hot lash of Nazi disfavor only to the extent that other, ordinary Germans may have experienced harassment if they attracted attention or consorted with foreigners. The incidents described in Table 6 could have occurred in any secular or spiritual realm during the Third Reich. Considering the perceived divine nature of the Mormons’ undertaking and their history of being persecuted, an occasional, nonlethal squabble with the Nazi state was a small price to pay in order to reap God’s eventual glory. In the nineteenth century, because of the specter of polygamy, universal opposition by clerics, and hostility regarding the emigration of marriageable young women and draft-age men, Mormons seemed distinctly out of place in Germany. Weimar democracy gave constitutional rights to both the Mormons and their clerical antagonists, and the Mormons gained a grudging acceptance of their right to coexist in the shadow of the Catholics and Protestants. Under Nazi rule, when ecclesiastical opposition faded, Mormons finally became the kind of ordinary Germans that historian Eric Johnson described:

Most Germans . . . slept soundly at night, worked productively by day and enjoyed their lives during the peacetime years of National Socialist rule. Why should they not have? The economy was improving, most were finding employment, and their country was regaining its pride and was still at peace. . . . They knew there was a strong police presence, a surfeit of laws placing limitations on personal freedom, and potential danger for those who refused to comply with Hitler’s wishes. Many grumbled and complained privately, but most found little difficulty in conforming. . . . Nazi terror posed no real threat to most ordinary Germans.51


-- The Mormons in Nazi Germany: History and Memory, by David Conley Nelson


Nazi persecution on the local level took one of two forms. The first was the harassment of missionaries. In many localities the police limited missionary proselyting activities such as prohibiting going door to door or banning "cottage meetings." [68] Occasionally, police arrested missionaries and searched their apartments for subversive items. Throughout Germany, party officials banned missionaries from their cities. In extreme cases, local brown shirts used physical violence against the missionaries. For example, in April 1933, missionaries in Hindenburg were attacked by a uniformed Nazi who beat them with his belt. Party members also nearly beat Reed Bradford to death for refusal to salute a Nazi flag. [69]

In April 1933 a “uniformed Nazi” assaulted two American Mormon missionaries, P. Blair Ellsworth and Preston C. Allen, while the pair was walking door-to-door, seeking converts in the small town of Hindenburg, located in the Stendal district of northern Germany. The assailant, either an SA “storm trooper” or an older member of the Hitler Youth, removed his belt and began hitting Elder Ellsworth with the buckle end. The attack severely lacerated Ellsworth’s scalp. When the perpetrator and his two victims arrived at the police station, and later when they appeared in court, the Mormon missionaries declined to press charges. After consultation with their mission president, they decided it was “better not to arouse trouble.” The magistrate ordered the Nazi thug to apologize. He refused but received no penalty for either the assault or for violating the court’s order. [1]

This incident marks the only instance recorded in official Mormon mission records of an unprovoked, physical attack on representatives of the LDS Church by anyone connected with the National Socialist government or Nazi Party auxiliary organizations.2 The belt-whipping assault, which appears in the writings of faith-promoting author Gilbert Scharffs and Henderson State University historian Steven Carter, has become part of the lore that involves the Mormons in Nazi Germany.3 Together with the celebrated case of resister Helmuth Hübener and a few other incidents that occurred during wartime, it buttresses the myth that the Mormons were persecuted in Nazi Germany. Quite to the contrary, the Mormon survival strategy of accommodation and ingratiation made life as Latter-day Saints in Nazi Germany as tolerable as it was for other Christians who owed allegiances to both a church and the state.

_______________

Notes:

1 German-Austrian Mission Manuscript Histories, 3 Apr. 1933; German-Austrian Mission Quarterly Reports, Dec. 1933 (year-end report).
 
2 Carter, “Mormons in the Third Reich,” 73. Steven Carter, using an unpublished paper authored by Brigham Young University’s Douglas Tobler, cites an undated incident that did not appear in the official records of the two Mormon missions, a reference to a missionary named Reed Bradford whom “Party members . . . nearly beat to death for refusal to salute the Nazi flag.” The citation also does not reveal the location of that attack.
 
3 Scharffs, Mormonism in Germany, 84; Carter, “Mormons in the Third Reich,” 73. With regard to the belt whipping of missionaries Ellsworth and Allen, Scharffs’ account differs from the contents of the German-Austrian Mission Manuscript Histories and Quarterly Reports. Scharffs said: “Police refused to do anything about it.” The records show that the victims and the assailant appeared before a judge or a magistrate, and that the Mormons declined to press charges.

-- The Mormons in Nazi Germany: History and Memory, by David Conley Nelson


The second technique used by local authorities was to attack the native branches. Agents interrogated local members, confiscated branch records, and disrupted worship services. [70] Usually, members met with the police, explained Mormon activities and the quoted the Twelfth Article of Faith. Most of the time they convinced party officials that their "intentions were in harmony with those of the government" and not subversive. [71] In extreme cases based on "political suspicion," police closed the meeting halls [72] used by Mormons forcing the closure of several branches. [73]

Local harassment of Mormons varied from place to place, and from official to official. In Karlsruhe, Mormons were treated well. [74] On the other hand, branches in Breslau, Dresden and Hamburg suffered intense harassment. In 1935, missionaries were banned in Saxony. [75] This pattern of uneven treatment suggests that local Nazi leaders, not the Reich government, determined policy regarding Mormons.

The 1936 Berlin Olympics

Local harassment did have an effect on missionary proselyting activities. By mid-1935, mission documents state "tracting averages for the missionaries have reached a low point. Plans are being worked out to find a way in which this important missionary activity, in spite of police restrictions, can be increased." [76] Missionaries in both missions turned to unorthodox methods to contact potential converts. In particular, the American missionaries turned to basketball, [77] which President Welker endorsed. [78]

It is impossible to determine the impact of "basketball proselyting" although some missionaries were able to develop a good rapport with the local officials at a time of intense local harassment. [79] One unexpected outcome occurred in 1935 when the German army recruited several missionaries to teach basketball to the soldiers. [80] Later, officials asked several missionaries to train the German Olympic basketball team and help officiate during the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. [81] Mormons saw this representing recognition by national leaders and as a way to improve the religion's status. The Nazis believed that Mormon missionaries could help them in their propaganda effort by achieving a victory for the German basketball team. [82] In the end, however, the German Olympic basketball team exited the tournament early. And although Mormons were involved in such a high profile event, there is no evidence the Olympics improved their image or respectability. [83]

The Olympics, however, did benefit Mormons indirectly as the Hitler dictatorship put forth its best appearance and temporarily relaxed its attacks on religion.
[84] Under these conditions, Mormons held their largest youth conference before World War II in Berlin, and missionaries found it easier to proselytize at this time. Mission records from October, 1936, noted "[t]racting and visiting totals continue to show increased activity on the part of the missionaries." [85]

Renewed Harassment

The Olympics represented the climax of a two-year period of seemingly cordial relations between the Mormons and the Nazi regime. Shortly after the Olympics, however, the Nazis renewed their assault on the Christian churches. [86]

Mormons also experienced an intensification of harassment. In Hamburg, Nazis charged district president, Alwin Brey, with spying for the United States. [87] For months, government authorities monitored LDS congregations and missionaries, censored their correspondence, and confiscated records and publications. Moreover, officials informed Brey "[I]f the Church wished to remain in [Hamburg] they must cease all youth activities and gathering." Brey complied with this demand and canceled a proposed "Youth Day." The impact upon the LDS community in Hamburg was chilling. Church reports noted, "[a] decided tension between the government's attitude in this district was everywhere apparent." [88] Similar harassment and "investigations" occurred throughout the Reich. [89]

Many missionaries felt the sting of renewed Nazi persecution. In addition to the usual harassment, a number of missionaries were arrested as suspected American spies and incarcerated for several days. [90] There were incidents of anti-Mormons who denounced the missionaries as representatives of a banned sect. The missionaries would have to prove, through intense interrogations, that this was not the case. [91]

There was always a concern among Mormon leaders that young callow missionaries might do or say something to endanger the Church, [92] and during the late 1930s there were two incidents in which missionaries did offend Nazi sensibilities. In 1937, Alvin Schoenhals was arrested after the Nazis intercepted a letter he wrote criticizing the regime. After a month in jail, Schoenhals was deported. [93] Later, a set of missionaries had to flee to Switzerland after the Gestapo obtained a photo of the two with a party flag wrapped around themselves like a breech cloth. [94]

Mormon leaders in both Germany and Utah took these incidents seriously. During the summer of 1939, the Church sent Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith to Germany in part to investigate these events. [95] Such incidents, no doubt, contributed to the Nazis' growing suspicion of the Mormons. A 1935 Gestapo report on "subversive activities" of religious organizations omitted mention of the Latter-day Saints. [96] Three years later, the Security Service (SD) labeled Mormons "enemies of the state." [97] By late 1937 and early 1938, however, as Hitler was preparing for war and needed national support, the overall church struggle in Germany subsided. [98] This, in part, prevented the Nazis from attacking the Mormons more vigorously. At the same time, not wanting to antagonize the United States unnecessarily, especially while high LDS dignitaries from Utah, including J. Reuben Clark and church president Heber J. Grant, were touring Germany, the Hitler regime "did not look at [the Mormons] as a very serious problem." [99]

The Mormons and the German Media

One of the more controversial events concerning the relations between Mormons and the regime centered on the Church and the media. Ever since the founding of Mormonism, Latter-day Saints faced unflattering accounts in the media at home and abroad. During the Nazi era, however, they experienced both positive and negative media coverage. [100]

Mormons, too, appreciated the media and utilized it in Europe to spread their message. [101] Moreover, LDS leaders sought opportunities to rebut false accounts of Mormonism in local newspapers. [102] It was this activity that led to the appearance of a controversial article in the Volkischer Beobachter in the spring of 1939.

In November, 1938, the Nazis unleashed their most brutal attack on the Jews up to that time. In response to American criticism in the aftermath of Kristallnacht, the Volkischer Beobachter published an article entitled, "The State within a State: An American Parallel to the Jewish Question in Germany." [103] The column, addressed to "fair-minded Americans" compared Nazi treatment of the Jews to the official handling of the "Mormon question" in Missouri and Illinois during the nineteenth century. Both Mormons and the Jews, the writer claimed, were enemies of mankind. [104]

The article outraged Alfred Rees who was the president of the newly formed East German mission. [105] Rees, who believed that his purpose was to work with government officials, had been making contacts with influential Nazi organizations since he arrived in Berlin. As early as November, 1937, he had established a relationship with "a certain influential agency," most likely the Propaganda Ministry. [106] At the time, Rees believed that he had struck a "secret deal" with the Ministry in which the press would refrain from publishing unfavorable articles about the Latter-day Saints. [107] In return, Rees agreed to write "positive" articles about Germany for the American press. [108] Although Rees believed that he had bested the Propaganda Ministry, he did not realize that Goebbel's Ministry had been making quid pro quo agreements with other denominations in exchange for favorable public relations abroad. [109] Furthermore, on 19 April 1939 Rees published an article on Mormonism in the Volkischer Beobachter.

Rees, in his article entitled, "In the Land of the Mormons," favorably compared Mormonism and Nazism and emphasized doctrinal similarities. He also suggested that common experience gave Mormonism a unique understanding of the "new Germany," especially its grievances resulting from World War I. Rees asserted "to a student of Mormonism, recent developments in Germany present a most impressive study." He mentioned J. Reuben Clark, no doubt, reminding the Nazis of Clark's efforts to relieve the financial situation in Germany as president of the Foreign Bondholders' Association. Rees concluded that Mormons exhibited the "application of the German ideal: Community welfare before personal welfare," an allusion to Point 24 of the Nazi Party program of putting "common interests before self-interest." [110]

Rees believed that the article would help the Mormon cause in Germany and even had it published in pamphlet form for missionary use. [111] Douglas Wood of the West German mission, however, opposed the article and objected to Rees' "friendly relationship" with the Nazis. [112] Wood refused to distribute the tract in the West German mission arguing that it linked Mormonism too closely to National Socialism. [113] Ultimately,
it was Nazis who restricted distribution of the tract because the swastika on the front cover implied Party sanction of an American denomination. [114]


While Rees intended to spread the Mormon message and to provide safety for the 8,000-9,000 Mormons living in the East German mission [115] he underestimated the ruthlessness of the Nazis and overestimated his ability to deal with them. [116] Rees, rather than help the Mormon cause with the publication of his article in the Volkischer Beobachter, unwittingly tied his religion to the pagan cult of National Socialism.

Conclusions

The outbreak of war a few months after the publication of Rees' article dramatically changed church/state relations in Germany. Hitler, needing national support, let up on the church struggle. In August, 1939 the Mormon Church withdrew its missionaries from Europe leaving more than 13,000 coreligionists in the Third Reich. Both the Hitler regime and the Mormon Church sought to survive the war.

Between 1933 and 1939, Mormons, like other denominations struggled to formulate strategies to deal with the Nazi regime. LDS attitudes were shaped by the mandates of the Twelfth Article of Faith and the accommodation policies developed at the turn of the century. This meant that the Latter-day Saints would concern themselves with spiritual rather than political matters in the Reich. They pledged themselves to be loyal citizens and support the regime that was in power; it was an approach that alleviated Nazi suspicions to a considerable degree. Relations between Hitler's government and the Mormon Church were, therefore, better than those involving most other small denominations. That does not mean that the Latter-day Saints escaped Nazi harassment. Instead a two-tiered pattern developed. On the national level, the Nazis eliminated the Church's Boy Scout organization while the Gestapo monitored LDS meetings and financial activities. During the middle of the decade, Mormons felt optimistic. This was because the Nazis, at the national level, paid very little attention to the Mormons. As long as there was something to be gained internationally, the regime tolerated Latter-day Saints in much the same way it tolerated Baptists and Methodists. After the Olympics, Nazi suspicions of the LDS had grown substantially while toleration had waned considerably.

Locally, Mormons faced continued harassment, and in some places, outright persecution. As with other denominations, grass-roots Party activists determined the degree and nature of this harassment. For example, Nazi officials nearly succeeded in banishing Mormonism in Saxony in 1935. Nevertheless, LDS leaders were willing to tolerate such abuse because of their seemingly "privileged" status nationally.

But overall, the Mormons did not endure the intense persecution suffered by other religions. The Party never banned the Mormons.
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

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Part 2 of 3

Appendix A

Der Stern
No. 65
14. Juli 1933
Ein aufklarender Brief

Der unter abgedruckte Brief wurde durch die Schwierigkeiten veranlasst, die unsern Missionaren in Darmstadt entstanden waren. Die Behorden hatten die Ausweisung der Missionare verfugt, weil ihre Anwesenheit angeblich nicht im Interesse des deutschen Volkes liege. Unser zustandiger Bezirksleiter, Altester Rudolf A. Noss, nahm sofort die Verhandlungen mit den Regierungsstellen auf, um eine Zuruckziehung der Ausweisungsverfugung herbeizufuhren. Die Verfugung wurde denn auch, wenn zunachst auch nur vorlaufig, zuruckgezogen und das Missionsburo ersucht, eine offizielle Erklarung uber einige die Regierung besonders interessierende Punkte in bezug auf unsre Lehren und Bestrebungen, Stellung zu Staat und andern Kirchen, Organisation, Arbeitsweise usw., belegt mit entsprechenden Unterlagen aus der Kirchenliteratur, abzugeben; auf Grand dieser Erklarung und Unterlagen werde die Angelegenheit eingehend gepruft und eine endgultige Entscheidung getroffen werden. Daraufhin hat das Missionsburo das folgende Schreiben abgefasst und mit zahlreichen Belegen aus unsrer Literatur durch den Bezirksleiter der hessischen Staatsregierung uberreichen lassen. Wie uns Bruder Noss soeben mitteilt, hat die Regierung die Ausweisungsverfugung nunmehr endgultig aufgehoben und ihre Entscheidung dahin getroffen, dass Aufenthalt und Tatigkeit unsrer Missionare nicht mehr beanstandet werden.

Da der Brief uber den Kreis der Betroffenen hinaus von Interesse sein durfte, bringen wir ihn nachstehend auch unsern Lesern zur Kenntnis.

Schriftleitung.
Basel, den 22. Juni 1933.
An die Hessische Staatsregierung zu Handen des
Herrn Staatskommissars Dr. Best
Darmstadt

Betr. Ausweisungsverfugung gegen die Missionare Ryman und Niederhauser. Sehr geehrter Herr Staatskommissar!

Sie hatten die Freundlichkeit, die angefuhrte Ausweisungsverfugung auf Grand einer Besprechung zwischen einem Ihrer Herren Regierungsrate und unserm zustandigen Frankfurter Bezirksleiter, Herrn Rudolf Noss, einstweilen zuruckziehen zu lassen.

Wir danken Ihnen herzlich fur diese Entgegenkommen und geben der Zuversicht Ausdruck, Sie mochten sich an Hand der Ihnen heute zugehenden Unterlagen davon uberzeugen, dass die Bestrebungen unsrer Kirche durchaus geeignet sind, das Wohl des deutschen Volkes zu fordern und dass deshalb die Verfugung endgultig zuruckgenommen werden sollte.

Es wird in diesem Scheiben weder moglich noch erwunscht sein, die Lehre unsrer Kirche in alien Punkten eingehend darzustellen, wir beschranken uns daher im folgenden auf solche, von denen wir annehmen, dass Sie ihnen besondern Wert beilegen, und verwiesen im ubrigen auf die angeschlossene Literatur. Etwa weiter gewunschte Unterlagen und Erklarungen stehen Ihnen jederzeit zur Verfugung.

1.

Unsere Lehre ist das alte, ursprungliche Evangelium Jesu Christi, rein und unverfalscht von irgendwelchen unchristlichen, fremdartigen Einflussen, wie es Christus verkundigt hat. Grundlage ist die Bibel, insbesondere das Neue Testament. Dieses Evangelium ist nach einem jahrhundertelangen Abfall in unsrer Zeit durch Offenbarung der Menschheit von neuem gegeben worden, eine Offenbarung, durch welche die Reformation weitergefuhrt und vollendet wurde. Wir sehen in Martin Luther einen Mann Gottes und den Vorlaufer der in der Schrift vorausgesagten „Wiederherstellung aller Dinge". — Die Hauptpunkte unserer Lehre sind in den 13 „Glaubensartikeln" der Kirche zusammengefasst.

(Beilagen 1.)

Das Evangelium ist uns der grosse Plan des Lebens, dessen Befolgung uns zu bessern Manner und Frauen macht. Wir legen keinen Wert auf theologische Spitzfindigkeiten, gehen allem religiosen Streit aus dem Wege, betonen aber um so starker die Notwendigkeit eines praktischen Christentums, das sich im taglichen Leben des Einzelnen auswirken muss, zu seinem Wohle und zum Wohle des Gemeinwesens, in dem er lebt. Wir erlangen von unsern Mitgliedern Enthaltsamkeit von Rauschmitteln jeder Art und Form, leben also alkohol-und tabakfrei, verponen den Genuss von Bohnenkaffee und Schwarztee und ubermassiger Fleischkost und verpflichten die Mitglieder zu einer einfachen, natiirlichen Lebensweise, wie sie bekanntlich auch der deutsche Volkskanzler Adolf Hitler fuhrt. Dabei halten wir uns frei von Fanatismus und massen uns nicht an, unsre Umgebung bevormunden zu wollen. Vernunftige Belehrungen und unser eigenes gutes Beispiel sollen die andern uberzeugen, dass Gehorsam gegenuber den reinen, unverfalschten Lehren Jesu Christi zu einem wahrhaft befriedigenden, fortschrittlichen Leben fuhrt.

(Beilagen 2.)

2.

Die sittlichen Lehren unsrer Kirche machen diese zu einem eisernen Bollwerk gegen alle Besetzungsbestrebungen. Geschlechtliche Reinheit wird beiden Geschlechtern als eine hochste religiose Pflicht gelehrt, unbedingte Enthaltsamkeit vor der Ehe und lebenslangliche gegenseitige Treue in der Ehe als Oberstes Gesetz verkundigt und Ehebruch als ein Vergehen betrachtet, das an Fluchwurdigkeit gleich nach dem Mord kommt. Reinhaltung der Rasse wird als eine Verpflichtung der kommenden Generation gegenuber mit aller Strenge gefordert, auf korperliche Ertuchtigung durch Arbeit, Sport und Spiel grosser Wert gelegt, und selbstverstandlich alle jene Bersestzungserscheinungen, wie sie sich noch bis vor kurzem in Literatur, Theater, Presse, Film und Funk so widerwartig breitmachten, rucksichtslos abgelehnt und bekampft. Es gibt keine Kirche, die den grossen Volksschaden unsrer Zeit entschiedener zu Leibe ruckt und ihnen den Boden mehr entzieht als unsre. Auf die Pflege des Familienlebens als der Keimzelle des Volkes, und auf die Achtung vor Frau und Mutter als der Mittlerin zwischen Himmel und Erde wird der grosste Nachdruck gelegt. Kurz: es wird eine planmassige Hoherzuchtung und Veredlung des Menschen angestrebt wie sie in der bewuBten Hoherzuchtung von Pflanzen und Tieren ihr niedrigeres aber symbolisches Gegenstuck hat. Auf die Fruchte dieser Bestrebungen darf die Kirche Jesu Christi bei aller gebuhrenden Bescheidenheit doch mit berechtigtem Stolze hinweisen.

(Beilagen 3.)

3.

Die Stellung der Kirche Jesu Christi gegeniiber dem Staat wird durch ihren folgenden Glaubensartikel gekennzeichnet: „Wir glauben daran, Konigen, Prasidenten, Herrschern und Obrigkeiten untertanig zu sein, den Gesetzen zu gehorchen, sie zu ehren und zu unterstutzen."

Die Kirche halt sich von jeder Einmischung in Politik fern. Zwar strebt sie bewusst und mit alien Mitteln darnach, ihre Mitglieder zu tuchtigen Staatsburgern zu machen, die die Forderung des Wohles ihres Vaterlandes  und Volkes als eine heilige Pflicht betrachten, aber sie mischt sich nicht in Angelegenheiten, deren Regelung dem Staat vorbehalten ist, so wenig wie sie mit Parteipolitik je etwas zu tun hatte oder zu tun haben mochte. Ihre Mitglieder sind mundig genug, um von ihren staatsburgerlichen Rechten und Pflichten ohne jede Bevormundung den rechten Gebrauch zu machen; die einzige Bedingung ist, dass dies stets auf dem Boden der christlichen Weltanschauung geschieht, was aber als selbstverstandlich gilt.

Die Mission der Kirche enthalten sich aufs strengste jeder politischen Tatigkeit. Ihre Sendung ist eine rein religiose. Sie verkundigen das wiederhergestellte Evangelium, unterweisen die Menschen darin und arbeiten mit ihnen, dass sie seinen Gesetzen und Geboten gehorchen.

Die Kirche legt grossen Wert darauf, die vaterlandische Gesinnung bei ihren Mitgliedern zu pflegen. Jung und alt werden ermahnt, die guten alten Sitten und Grundsatze ihrer Vater als kostbares Gut treu zu bewahren. Die jetzt endlich wieder zu verdienten Ehren kommende alte Wahrheit „Gemeinnutz geht vor Eigennutz" wird in unsrer Kirche seit ihrer Grundung, also seit uber 100 Jahren, gelehrt und allgemein befolgt. Wir lehren unsre Mitglieder, ihr Volk als eine grosse erweiterte Familie zu betrachten mit all den damit verbundenen Pflichten und Verantwortlichkeiten. Als ein besondrer Beweis fur die Pflege des Heimat- und Volksgefuhls darf die Errichtung des deutschen Kriegerdenkmals in der Salzseestadt in den Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika durch deutschstammige Mitglieder unsrer Kirche angesehen werden. Wir verweisen angelegentlich auf die hier beiliegenden Nummern des „Salt Lake City-Beobacters", der von der Kirche fur ihre deutschsprechenden Mitglieder in Amerika herausgegeben wird. Die Einweihung dieses Denkmals hat am 30. Mai d.J. im Beisein des deutschen Militarattaches, Generalmajors von Botticher, stattgefunden. Der zweitoberste Fuhrer des Kirche hat dabei das Weihegebet gesprochen. „Der Beobachter" ist die alteste deutsche Zeitung in Westen Amerikas und wurde von der Kirche ins Leben gerufen, um die deutschstammigen Mitglieder der Kirche in ihrem Bestreben, ihre Sprache und ihr Volkstum sich auch in Amerika zu erhalten, zu unterstiitzen.

Aus den weiter angeschlossenen gedruckten Unterlagen werden Sie noch manche andre Beweise der gutdeutschen, volkischen Gesinnung und Einstellung unsrer Mitglieder entnehmen konnen.

(Beilagen 4)

4.

Fir das Verhaltnis unsrer Kirche zu andern Kirchen ist unser folgender Glaubensartikel massgebend:

„Wir erheben Anspruch auf das Recht, den allmachtigen Gott zu verehren nach den Eingebungen unsres Gewissens und gestatten alien Menschen das selbe Reche, mogen sie verehren wie, wo oder was sie wollen."

Wie schon hervorgehoben, gehen wir allem religiosen Streit aus dem Wege, denn es ist uns durch Offenbarung ausdrucklich geboten worden: „Kampfet gegen keine Kirche!" Wir anerkennen das Gute, woimmer wir es finden und nehmen Wahrheit an aus jeder Quelle. Unser Fuhrer Brigham Young hat einst den Katholiken einen Bauplatz geschenkt, damit sie in der Salzseestadt in Amerika eine Kirche bauen konnten, und dieser Seit der Duldsamkeit beseelt die Kirche noch heute. Wir glauben, dass jeder Mensch fur sich selbst verantwortlich ist, und dass den Stifter des Christentums nichts so seht betrubt wie die Unduldsamkeit und der Bruderzwist in den Reihen Seiner angeblichen Junger. Deshalb scharfen wir alien unsern Mitgliedern und Beamten ein, andre Kirchen in Ruhe zu lassen, und diese Vorschrift wird auch allgemein befolgt.

(Beilagen 5)

5.

Zur Erreichung der kirchlichen Zwecke und Ziele dient eine Organisation, die der von Christus ins Leben gerufenen entspricht: Profeten, Apostel, Patriarchen, Hohenpriester, Siebziger, Aelteste, Bischofe usw. Sind als Beamte und Lehrer tatig, um die Mitflieder zu unterweisen und die Verwaltungsarbeiten zu erledigen. Ale Beamten uben ihre Tatigkeit ehrenamtlich aus und erhalten keinerlei finanzielle Entschadigung. „Umsonst habt ihr's empfangen, umsonst gebet es auch!" ist ein grundlegendes Gesetz in der Kirche. Da die Organisation sehr reichhaltig gegliedert ist und infolgedessen sehr viele Mitglieder ehrenamtlich tatig sind, kann die Arbeit so verteilt werden, dass sie in der Regel neben der Berufsarbeit getan werden kann, den einzelnen also nicht zu stark belastet. Im Aussendienst sind Missionare tatig, die ebenfalls ohne Lohn oder Gehalt arbeiten, sogar die Kosten ihres Unterhaltes aus eigener Tasche oder mit Hilfe von Angehorigen und Freunden bestreiten mussen. Meist sind es jungere Leute, die sich der Kirche zu diesem Zwecke fur zwei und mehr Jahre freiwillig zur Verfugung stellen und dabei von ihren Eltern unterstutzt werden, soweit ihre eigenen Ersparnisse nicht ausreichen.

Die Kirche huldigt dem Grundsatz der Selbstverwaltung. Die in uber hundert Orten des deutschen Sprachgebietes bestehenden Gemeinden werden meist von einheimischen Mitgliedern geleitet: gewohnlich ist es ein Prasident mit zwei Ratgebern, denen noch eine Priesterschaft, bestehend aus Aeltesten, Priestern, Lehrern und Diakonen, zur Seit steht. Die Priesterschaft besteht ausschliesslich aus einheimischen Mannern. Die Frauen haben ihre eigene Organisation, den sogen. Frauenhilfsverein, der vornehmlich Wohltatigkeits-und Ausbildungszwecke verfolgt und dessen Leitung ganz in den Handen ortsansassiger, deutscher Frauen liegt.

(Beilagen 6)

Wir hoffen, Ihnen hiermit einen Einblick in unsre Lehren und Bestrebungen gegeben zu haben und wurden uns freuen, wenn Sie sich aus der beiliegenden Literatur uber die einzelnen Punkte noch weiter unterrichten wurden. Im ubrigen verburgen sich die Unterzeichneten ausdrucklich dafur, dass sich unsre Korperschaft alien staatlichen Gesetzen und Einrichtungen unterwirft, und dass sich insbesondre unsre Missionare, ihrer rein religiosen Sendung gemass, in keinerlei Weise politisch betatigen.

Wir sehen Ihrer endgultigen Entscheidung nunmehr gerne entgegen und verharren inzwischen in vollkommener Hochachtung.

Schweizerisch-Deutsche Mission

(Unterschrift)  

Google Translate:

The star
No. 65
July 14, 1933
A clarifying letter

The letter below was prompted by the difficulties that had arisen for our missionaries in Darmstadt. The authorities had expelled the missionaries because their presence was allegedly not in the interest of the German people. Our district head, Old Testament Rudolf A. Noss, immediately commenced negotiations with the government authorities in order to bring about a withdrawal of the deportation order. The injunction was then, if at first only provisionally, withdrawn and the mission office requested an official statement on some points of particular interest to the government concerning our doctrines and aspirations, attitude to the state and other churches, organization, working methods, etc. with corresponding documents from the church literature. On the basis of this explanation and documents, the matter will be thoroughly examined and a final decision made. Thereupon the mission office wrote the following letter and handed it over with numerous documents from our literature by the district leader of the Hessian state government. As Brother Noss has just informed us, the government has finally lifted the deportation order and made its decision that the residence and activities of our missionaries will no longer be objected to.

Since the letter may have been of interest beyond the circle of those concerned, we will note it below to our readers as well.

Editorship.
Basel, June 22, 1933.
To the Hessische Staatsregierung at the hands of the
Mr. State Commissioner Best
Darmstadt

Subject. Ausweisungsverfugung against the missionaries Ryman and Niederhauser.

Dear State Commissioner!

They had the kindness to have the referenced deportation ceremony at grand meeting for a time between one of your gentlemen's governmental council and our competent district head, Rudolf Noss, retire for the time being.

We cordially thank you for your concessions and express your confidence that, on the basis of the documents you receive today, you would like to convince yourself that the aspirations of our Church are perfectly suited to demand the good of the German people and that, therefore, the disposal will finally be withdrawn should.

It will neither be possible nor desirable in this discourse to give a detailed account of the doctrine of our Church in all points, and we limit ourselves in the following to those which we suppose you attach special value to, and, moreover, refer to the related literature. Further desired documents and explanations are available at any time.

1.

Our doctrine is the ancient, original gospel of Jesus Christ, pure and undefiled by any unchristian, alien influence, as Christ has proclaimed. The basis is the Bible, especially the New Testament. This Gospel, after a centuries-long decline in our time, has been given anew by the revelation of humanity, a revelation by which the Reformation was continued and completed. We see in Martin Luther a man of God and the forerunner of Scripture's predicted "restoration of all things." The main points of our teaching are summarized in the 13 "Articles of Faith" of the Church.

(Supplements 1.)

The gospel is the great plan of life for us, the fulfillment of which will make us better men and women. We do not emphasize theological sophistries, avoid all religious strife, but emphasize the need for practical Christianity, which must be reflected in the daily lives of individuals, for the benefit and well-being of the community in which they live. We obtain from our members the abstinence of intoxicants of every kind and form, living alcohol- and tobacco-free, perverting the enjoyment of coffee and black tea and excessive meat and obliging the members to a simple, natural way of life, as well known by the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler leads. We are free from fanaticism and do not intend to patronize our environment. Reasonable teachings and our own good example should convince others that obedience to the pure, unadulterated teachings of Jesus Christ leads to a truly satisfying, progressive life.

(Supplements 2.)

Second

The moral teachings of our church make them an iron bulwark against all occupations. Sexual purity is taught to both sexes as a supreme religious duty, unconditional abstinence before marriage, and life-long mutual faithfulness in marriage proclaimed as supreme law, and adultery regarded as an offense that comes to cursing right after the murder.

Brigham was married to his first living and only legal wife, Mary-Ann Angell, in Kirtland, Ohio, in the year 1834. She is a native of New York State, and is still a pleasant, rather good-looking woman, though much saddened by the neglect of her husband, who rarely, if ever, visits her, and lately by the tragic death of her eldest daughter, and the still more recent death of her eldest son, Joseph A. Young, which has broken her very much. She is about the age of her husband, nearly seventy-three, and consequently is counted an old lady, while he is, according to Mormon theory, "a boy." Her mind is somewhat clouded, and this, like her sadness, is caused by the decline of her husband's affections, of whom she is very fond. She has been entirely devoted to him, and gave him as honest love when she married him, long before there was the slightest prospect of his ever occupying the position he holds now, as she has ever felt for him since his elevation to be the leader of the Mormon people; and she is repaid as it might be expected she would be, after listening to one of her husband's sermons to the women of his church.

Said he, on one occasion, when he felt called upon to reprimand the complaining sisters, "The old women come snivelling around me, saying, 'I have lived with my husband thirty years, and it is hard to give him up now.' If you have had your husbands that length of time, it is long enough, and you ought to be willing to give them to other women, or give other women to them; you have no business with your husbands, and you are disobeying God's commands to live with them when you are old." He certainly sees to it that his wife does not "disobey God's commands," which, from his blasphemous lips, means simply his own inclinations. She has moved about to suit her husband's caprice, just as he has chosen to move. They lived first of all in the old white house on the hill, not very far from where the Prophet's buildings now stand. When the Bee-Hive was finished she lived there, but as the number of plural wives increased, she was moved back again to the old house, to make room in the other building for the new-comers. She lived there until quite recently, when her husband had her removed to the old school-house behind the Bee-Hive, a dilapidated, cheerless place, not nearly so good as the house she has left. It is, indeed, little better than a barn, and is furnished very scantily. There she lives, and there she will probably remain until her death, unless some of her children see that she is better cared for.

-- Wife No. 19, the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy, by Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's Apostate Wife


Cleanliness of the race is demanded as an obligation of the coming generation with all severity, great emphasis on physical exercise through work, sport and play, and of course all those phenomena of manifestation, as yet until recently in literature, theater, press, film and Funk so stubbornly dismissed, ruthlessly rejected and fought. There is no church that more resolutely combats the great popular damage of our time and deprives them of more ground than ours. The care of family life as the nucleus of the people, and the respect for mother and wife as the mediator between heaven and earth is the greatest emphasis. In short, a planned hoaxing and refinement of the human being is aspired to as it has its lower but symbolic counterpart in the conscious hovering of plants and animals. The Church of Jesus Christ may, with all due modesty, point to the fruits of these aspirations with justified pride.

After all this preamble, -- the keys committed to Joseph, the relation of husbands and wives under the new dispensation defined, "Celestial Marriage" instituted, and a great many other matters discussed, we come to what was, no doubt, prominent in the Prophet's mind all the while he was dictating the Revelation to Elder Clayton, -- namely, how to manage "the Elect Lady," Mrs. Emma Smith. Accordingly she is made the subject of a special address. She is told to "receive all that have been given to my servant Joseph." She is forbidden to leave the Prophet, as she had threatened to do if he carried out his "celestial" system, and certain other very useful hints are given for her guidance if she would remain in peace. One particular passage is said to refer to a matrimonial scene in which a threat was held out that the life of the Elect Lady should be terminated by poison. She is here commanded to "stay herself, and partake not" of that which Joseph had offered her. It is, however, only right to add that the Mormon exponents of the Revelation say that this passage refers to an offer which Joseph had made to sacrifice his own personal feelings, and to accede to a divorce between Emma and himself. In these few lines more is disclosed of the Prophet's domestic life and difficulties than he probably was aware of. I give these paragraphs in full, that the reader may judge for himself.

20th. "Verily I say unto you, a commandment I give unto mine handmaid Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself, and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham; and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice; and let mine handmaid Emma Smith receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God; for I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph, that he shall be made ruler over many things, for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.

21st. "And I command mine handmaid Emma Smith to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment, she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law; but if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he has said; and I will bless him and multiply him, and give unto him an hundred fold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds. And again, verily I say let mine handmaid forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses, and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she has trespassed against me; and I, the Lord thy God, will bless her, and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice."

The concluding clauses speak for themselves. The reader will see that in the twenty-third the Prophet is completely set free from all responsibility, and left at liberty, without let or hinderance, to follow the dictates of his own sweet will. In the two concluding paragraphs the wildest licentiousness is permitted, in the name of "the Lord," to the masculine portion of humanity, -- if believers in Joseph, -- and the weaker sex are sternly warned of the penalties of doubt and disobedience.

23d. "Now as touching the law of the priesthood, there are many things pertaining thereunto. Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law, and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him. Let no one, therefore, set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he shall do the sacrifice which I require at his hands, for his transgressions, saith the Lord your God.

24th. "And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood: If any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent; and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery, for they are given unto him. For he cannot commit adultery with that which belongeth unto him, and to none else; and if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him; and they are given unto him therefore is he justified. But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world; and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that He may be glorified.

25th. "And again, verily, verily I say unto you, if any man have a wife who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things; then shall she believe, and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God, for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law. Therefore it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I the Lord his God will give unto him, because she did not believe, and administer unto him, according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor, and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law, when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife. And now, as pertaining to this law; verily, verily I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you hereafter; therefore let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen."

-- Wife No. 19, the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy, by Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's Apostate Wife


(Supplements 3.)

Third

The position of the Church of Jesus Christ on the state is indicated by its following article of faith: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and authorities, obeying, honoring and sustaining the laws."

The Church abstains from any interference in politics. True, it seeks consciously and by all means to make its members valiant citizens of the state, who regard the demands of the good of their homeland and the people as a sacred duty, but it does not interfere in matters reserved to the state
how she ever had or had anything to do with party politics. Its members are verbose enough to make the right use of their sovereign rights and duties without any patronage; the only condition is that this always happens on the basis of the Christian world view, which, however, is considered self-evident.

The mission of the Church is strictly limited to any political activity. Your mission is a purely religious one. They proclaim the restored gospel, instruct people in it, and work with them to obey their laws and commandments.

The Church attaches great importance to cultivating the patriotic sentiments among its members. Young and old are admonished to keep the good old customs and principles of their father as a precious good faithful. The old truth that is now finally coming back to honor, "common good goes to selfishness," has been taught and universally followed in our church since its foundation, over 100 years ago, and we teach our members to regard their people as a great extended family. As a special proof of the care of the home and the people's feeling, the establishment of the German War Memorial in the Salt Lake City in the United States of North America may be viewed by German-born members of our Church Numbers of the "Salt Lake City Beobacters" issued by the church for its German-speaking members in America. The inauguration of this monument took place on May 30, d.J. in the presence of the German military attache, Major General von Botticher. The second highest leader of the church spoke during the consecration prayer. "Der Beobachter" is the oldest German newspaper in western America and was founded by the church to support the German-speaking members of the church in their endeavor to preserve their language and their ethnicity in America.

From the further printed material you will find many other proofs of the good German, national sentiment and attitude of our members.

(Supplements 4)

4th

The relation of our church to other churches is determined by our following article of faith:

"We claim the right to worship the Almighty God according to the promptings of our conscience and allow all human beings the same right, may they worship as, where or what they want."

As already pointed out, we avoid all religious quarrels, for it has been expressly offered to us by revelation: "Fight against no church!" We acknowledge the goodness wherever we find it and accept the truth from every source.
"Our guide Brigham Young once gave Catholics a site to build a church in the Salt Lake City in America, and this Since Toleration is still the church today, believing that each person is responsible to himself, and that the founder of Christianity nothing is as troubling as the intolerance and the fraternal conflict in the ranks of His alleged young men, so we urge all our members and officials to leave other churches alone, and this rule is generally followed.

(Supplements 5)

5th

In order to achieve the purposes of the Church, there is an organization corresponding to that instituted by Christ: prophets, apostles, patriarchs, chief priests, seventies, elders, bishops, etc. Serving as civil servants and teachers to teach fellow servants and administrative work to do. All officials perform their duties voluntarily and receive no financial compensation. "In vain you have received it, give it in vain, too!" Is a fundamental law in the church. As the organization is very rich, and as a result many members are volunteers, the work can be distributed in such a way that it usually takes place alongside the ___. In the field service are missionaries working, who also work without wages or salary, even the cost of their maintenance from their own pocket or with the help of relatives and friends have to deny. Most are younger people who voluntarily make themselves available to the Church for this purpose for two or more years, assisted by their parents, unless their own savings are sufficient.

The church pays homage to the principle of self-government. The communities existing in more than one hundred places in the German-speaking area are usually run by local members: it is usually a president with two counselors who still have a priesthood consisting of elders, priests, teachers and deacons. The priesthood consists exclusively of native men. The women have their own organization, the so-called. Relief Society, which primarily pursues charitable and educational purposes and whose leadership is entirely in the hands of resident, German women.

(Supplements 6)

We hope to have given you an insight into our teachings and aspirations, and we would be pleased if you could learn from the enclosed literature on the individual points further. For the rest, the undersigned expressly insist that our bodies submit to all state laws and institutions, and that our missionaries in particular, in accordance with their purely religious mission, in no way engage politically.

We now look forward to your final decision and remain in full esteem.

Swiss-German Mission

(Signature)

Appendix B

September 8th, 1933
State Secret Service Police Office
Service Station Ad. II E, Room 218
Prinz Alberchtstr. 28
Berlin

Gentlemen,

In keeping with our conversation yesterday, and in compliance with your request, I make the following statement concerning THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. The name of the Church is the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," often called "Mormons." Although the word "Mormon" is but a nickname, we recognize it when we hear it. This name is derived from a book by the same name, which book was translated from golden plates on which was engraved a history of the American people. We claim it to be the first authentic history of the American people as far back as 600 B.C. It is particularly the history of the American Indian.

The Church was organized on the sixth day of April in the year 1830 at Fayette, state of New York, United States of America. It is called the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" because we claim that through Christ it was organized. The term "Latter-day Saints" is to distinguish the followers of Christ in this day from those in former days, or in the days of the Apostles.

Our articles of faith are: (quoted article of faith)

The German-Austria Mission of the Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comprises the north central and southeast part of Germany, and all of Austria; therefore it is called the German-Austrian Mission.

Our teachings are that those desiring to become members of the Church must be converted of their own free will and choice to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as found in the Bible and is taught by the Church. Before their baptism, or entrance into the Church, individuals must prove themselves worthy of membership; and certainly afterward are they expected, above all else, to be trustworthy, honest, virtuous, kind, and faithful.

If a member, or members, of the Church are known to be engaged in immoral practices, and do not immediately repent and lived in keeping with the teachings of the Church in this respect, they are excommunicated. These members are also taught to be exemplary in their own homes. The man is to make peace with his wife, and a wife is to make peace with her husband, and the parents are to make peace with children. It is expected that love abide in their homes, and that they thank the lord, morning and evening, for every blessing received, and, at the same time, ask for his protection during the day.

It is expected that every eligible member of this Church marry and live first great commandment — "multiplied to replenish the earth" — and that each of the contracting parties be true to themselves and to each other — a single standard of morality. Their children, and their children's children are taught personal cleanliness, and also to keep what we call the "Word of Wisdom," abstaining from the use of tobacco, intoxicating liquors, and other harmful beverages.

They are also taught, especially, to be able to class themselves with the best citizens of the country, and to support, in the full sense of the word, the ordinances and laws of the town, the state, and the country in which they live. The authorities of our Church have no advice to give regarding party politics, leaving the members free to identify themselves with whatever party they choose; but in any event, we teach that the present party in power, and the laws governing the country, be supported by the members of the church.

We have our own Church and own convictions concerning what it advocates, and we expect to carry our convictions through for the sake of our eternal salvation, so long as we do not come in conflict with the fixed laws of the government.

Our organizations are kept up, more or less, by free will donations. Considerable amounts of money come in and from America every year and are spent in Germany by the missionaries of this Church, which money is spent for their traveling, board and living expenses. Not a cent is received by these missionaries from the mission, but they're supported by themselves or by their parents in America.

Our work in this country is headed by an organization called the "Association of the German-Austrian Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," consisting of German citizens. It is a registered corporate body like any other organization in Germany.

Now in conclusion, as to your question concerning my attitude as president of the mission, let me say that nearly 40 years ago I spent three years here in Germany, at which time I learned the language in Berlin and had a splendid opportunity throughout the country to become acquainted with the German people. Therefore, for nearly 40 years, I have studied this people, and not only studied them, but have actually spent six years, all told, in the various cities in Germany, and up to the present time I have been a friend and supporter of the German people in their righteous endeavors. I have, possibly, seen this country at its best and again at its worst. And through it all I can truthfully say that the Germans possess a personal pride that is seldom found in other countries. They're full of vitality and ambition and are workers of the first class. No matter whether they possess much or little, their personal appearance is kept up to the highest degree, clothes pressed, shoes polished, hair combed and all in all, those who desire to live the good life are wholesome to look upon.

Of all the many foreign countries it has been my privilege to visit, give me Germany with its activity and high notions of thrift and prosperity. I have spent many thousands of Marks for railroad fare alone, and have visited many cities time and time again in this beautiful country. I can truthfully say that every courtesy has been accorded me by railroad officials, city officials, traffic officers, and the citizens of the country generally. I most highly appreciate the privilege of spending some time among this great people, representing as I do the Church to which I belong in a most worthy cause for the good and benefit of mankind, as well as for their moral and spiritual uplift.

Any detailed information regarding our faith or general attitude will be gladly furnished.

I thank you for the privilege of making the foregoing statement.

I am
Respectfully yours,
Oliver H. Budge
President of the German-Austrian Mission
Of the Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.

PS. I am enclosing a number of cards with the 13 Articles of Faith, and two copies of our magazine, "Der Stern," no. 2 from the volume for the year 1931, and no. 15 from the volume for the year 1933. In the latter number permit me to refer you to the article entitled "A Friend of Justice."  

Translation of illustrated article under the title
"In The Land of the Mormons"
by President Alfred C. Rees


Volkischer Beobachter
Berlin, Germany
April 14, 1939

How would you like to live in a city that is 4,300 feet above sea level; that nestles in a broad valley, surrounded entirely by rugged, picturesque mountains, whose tops are covered with eternal snow, a veritable fortress set up by Nature, apparently intended to defy invasion either by water, land or sky?

Such a place is Salt Lake City, capital of the state of Utah, scenic centre of America, the renowned gathering place and radiating point of the Mormon church; two day's travel from New York, one day from the Pacific Coast.

As any one of us, who have visited that remarkable city, will testify, it is one of the most attractive, beautifully situated cities in all the world; clean, modern, pulsating with life and glowing with hospitality; with a history of achievement that at once challenges out admiration.

And what a tragedy lies back of this outstanding accomplishment! Less than 100 years ago, all that vast, limitless territory, encompassed by the Rocky Mountains, was the very symbol of desolation. Little was known of it. Only a few venturesome trappers entered that forbidding waste. The silence of centuries brooded over that region of violent excesses of heat and cold.

It was in this very valley of threatening starvation and death that a little band of people sought refuge in 1847, after they had been persecuted, pillaged, plundered and driven from their comfortable homes in Eastern United States by mobs of priests and politicians.

Since there were no railroad connections until the late '60s, those who joined the early Mormon forces came by ox-teams and even handcarts. There are still men and women living in Utah, who, as girls and boys, covered that entire distance on foot, sustained and strengthened in all of their trials and tribulations by the knowledge that they were escaping the cruel persecutions that had been heaped upon them on account of their religious beliefs; and by the hope that peace and security awaited them somewhere in the unknown West.

This bitter, historic experience had produced out of the Mormons a deter- mined, practical people, as a result of which, they perhaps, better than many other, can appreciate what the German people endured as they passed through their hardships.

Thus the Mormon people know what persecution and suppression mean. And the German people, who have gone through the shadow of the valley since the World War; and who have been forced to rely upon their own strength and determination, and upon their undying belief in their own ability to restore their self-respect and their merited place among the mighty in the sisterhood of nations, reveal that same progressive character, which does not shun obstacles. For that reason, to a student of Mormonism, recent developments in Germany present a most impressive study.

From the very beginning, the Mormon people took care of their poor. They saw to it that the administration of relief was always in local hands, in order to limit abuses. They provided for an intimate personal acquaintanceship between those who gave and those who received. The result of this system of Mormon relief has brought about the total absence of want and suffering among their people in every community where the established principles and rules of the church are observed. It is upon this deep rooted principle that the Mormon church is now carrying out its widely publicized and praised program of self help at a time when ten million Americans are jobless and idle, due to a departure from America's traditional economic, industrial system.

In order to produce a sound body, Mormons have advocated and practiced, since 1830, what they call the "Word of Wisdom", which calls fro the total abstinence from the use of tobacco, alcohol, tea, coffee, and for the sparing use of meat. Statistics in the United States show that, as a result of close adherence to this formula, the Mormon people are freer from contagious and hereditary diseases, than any other people in the United States; and, in fact, the world. That is why the Mormon people, perhaps, more than any other people in all the world, pay high tribute to the German government for its bold declaration of war against the use of alcohol and tobacco by the youth of Germany.

Mormon people are proverbially practical believers, not only in the sanctity of the home, but also in large families. They are unalterably opposed to birth control, which they view as a contributing factor to the destruction of any race. The industry of men and women throughout Germany is a reminder of the proverbial attitude of the Mormon people toward work. It was Brigham Young who announced that the loafer should not eat the bread of the worker. In fact, the coat of arms of Utah is the beehive, indicative of the industry and cooperative spirit of the people.

Perhaps the outstanding financial system of the world for the maintenance of a religious organization is to be found in Mormonism: It is their Tithing System. A true, faithful Mormon pays to the church one-tenth of his total income for the upkeep of the church and its institutions. This has placed the church on a sound financial basis, and has made possible its remarkable expansion, growth and development and operation of its far flung educational and social institutions, all conducted under church supervision; also in the erection and maintenance of commodious places of worship, which dot and beautify the entire length and breadth of the land, in which the church has a following. Here is the application of the German ideal: Community welfare before personal welfare. Mormons are practical exponents of that wholesome doctrine.

Among these institutions of learning of which the Mormon church is especially proud, is the Brigham Young University, located in Provo, about a two hour's drive from Salt Lake City. That institution was established under the direction of a distinguished German, Dr. Karl G. Maeser, who was born in Meissen, Saxony, joined the Mormon faith, came to Utah, and was charged by Brigham Young with the responsibility of establishing that institution. The Mormon church makes the unique claim of having been established by direct revelation from God, through the instrumentality of a young man by the name of Joseph Smith, who, though unlettered and untutored, laid down principles of conduct in the realm of religion; announced truths in the field of general science; and gave to the world a philosophy of life, that challenge the thinking of every unbiased mind.

Among the Mormons who have make notable contributions to world thought is also J. Reuben Clark Jr., a member of the First Presidency of the Mormon church. He is an acknowledged diplomat, was United States Ambassador to Mexico, and today is the head of the Foreign Bondholders Association, which represents not only the United States government, but all Americans who hold securities of foreign countries. Mr. Clark is a frequent visitor to Berlin.

Perhaps the persistent driving force and the unfailing courage of the Mormon people find explanation in their belief that man is immortal; that he lives be- yond the grave; that he continues in his program of eternal progression; that divinity and complete mastery over all forces is his goal and destiny. In fact, their belief is crystallized thus; "As God now is, man may become." Mormonism sees in God a personal, living Being.
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

Postby admin » Wed Jul 04, 2018 8:07 am

Part 3 of 3
_______________

Notes:
 
1. Ernst Christian Helmreich, The German Churches Under Hitler: Background, Struggle, and Epilogue (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1979), pp. 128- 132.
 
2. The Nazis controlled Germany through their policy of Gleichschaltung or coordination/regimentation to Party aims.
 
3. Christine Elizabeth King, "Strategies for Survival: An Examination of the History of Five Christian Sects in Germany 1933-45," Journal of Contemporary History 14 (1979), 211; Christine Elizabeth King, The Nazi State and the New Religions (Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1982), p. 20.
 
4. Usually the small, non-traditional religions in Germany are referred to as "sects," which carries a pejorative connotation in German.
 
5. King, The Nazi State and the New Religions, pp. 19-20; King, "Strategies for Survival," 211. King argues that such considerations were based on the denomination's use as a propaganda tool, its wealth and influence and the amount of trouble that would be caused abroad if the denomination were persecuted.
 
6. See Table 10 in Jeffrey L. Anderson, "Mormons and Germany, 1914-1933: A History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany and its Relationship with the German Governments from World War I to the Rise of Hitler" (M.A. Thesis, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1991), pp. 214- 215.
 
7. Douglas F. Tobler and Alan F. Keele, "The Saints and the Reich: German Mormons under Hitler" (unpublished essay), pp. 3-4. Copy in author's possession.
 
8. Douglas F. Tobler, "The Narrow Line: The Experiences of the American Mormon Missionaries in Hitler's Germany, 1933-1939" (unpublished essay), p. 12. Copy in author's possession.
 
9. For the text of the respective responses to the Gestapo, see Oliver Budge letter to State Secret Police office, 8 September 1933, in "German- Austrian Mission Quarterly Reports, 1930-1937," Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, entry for "Visit of Secret Service Agent, (hereafter cited as "German-Austrian Quarterly Reports)," and "Ein Aufklarender Brief," Der Stern, 65 (15 July 1933), 214-218. See full text in Appendix A and Appendix B.
 
10. Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," p. 8.
 
11. Or in other words whatever regime was in power at the time. Pearl of Great Price, Article of Faith 1:12. "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."
 
12. Pearl of Great Price, Article of Faith 1:11. "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."
 
13. John A. Dahl, "Book Review of Building Zion," typed manuscript, Archive MS 15335, unpublished manuscript dated 14 October 1997, Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, comment #16, pp. 10-11. Dahl states that "Rudolph Noss ... President of the Frankfurt am Main LDS district ... after clearing with Francis Salzner armed with a briefcase full of all the pamphlets and the Standard Works then used in Germany met with the proper office of the Department of Culture and Education in Darmstadt, Hessen-Darmstadt. He invited them to study this material containing the principles of the gospel which our Elders were teaching freely to those interested in their message; and also to convince them that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were admonished to be law-abiding citizens. He further pointed out that these American Elders would bring in sorely needed US dollars." (Italics added)
 
14. See Appendix A and B.
 
15. Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," pp. 6-7.
 
16. Fay Ollorton, "A Visit to the German -Austrian Mission," Deseret News, 2 1 October 1933, Church Section, p. 3.
 
17. Eric A. Johnson, Nazi Terror: The Gestapo, Jews, and Ordinary Germans (New York: Basic Books, 1999), p. 229; John S. Conway, The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, 1933-1945 (New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1968), p. 69.
 
18. Many German Mormons have discussed visits to church meetings by the Gestapo. See, for example, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, Oral History, Interview by Steve Carter, 2 May 1998, Holladay, Utah, Tape Recording/Typescript, 1, Copy in author's possession; Inge Lang, Oral History, Interview by Steve Carter, 28 June 1998, Bountiful, Utah, Tape Recording, Copy in author's possession; Dahl, "Book Review," comment, #14, pp. 9-10; John A. Dahl, Oral History, Interview by Steve Carter, 21 March 2000, Salt Lake City, Utah, Tape Re cording/Typescript, p. 18, Copy in author's possession; Walter H. Speidel, Oral History, Interview by Steve Carter, Tape recording/Typescript, Provo, Utah, 30 April 1998, p. 7, Copy in author's possession. Gestapo monitoring of Mormon meetings varied from place to place. Usually, a plain-clothed agent slipped in and sat quietly in the back of the church. Occasionally, he might solicit information about upcoming "sermons." In these cases, the branch president provided the agent with a list of scheduled speakers for the next couple of weeks. In some branches, Gestapo agents attended meetings on a regular basis, and a few showed some congeniality with Church members. In other areas, there were few Gestapo visits. One German branch president recalled only one encounter with the Gestapo and that the agent left satisfied with what he found.
 
19. Both the Swiss-German Mission Manuscript History and German-Austrian Mission Manuscript History detail incidents where Gestapo agents interrogated missionaries and branch presidents as well as confiscated branch records. Agents usually seized the documents, examined them for a space of several weeks and returned them without explanation to the local LDS leader. See "German-Austrian Mission Manuscript History," Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Hereafter cited as "German-Austrian MSS History." See also "Swiss-German Mission Manuscript History, 1904-1938," Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Hereafter cited as "Swiss-German MSS History."
 
20. For instance, see "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for September 1934. German-Austrian mission records state: "The president of the Zwickau District was requested by the police in Plauen to furnish them with a list of the members of his district, and to inform them as to the party membership of each political party." (Italics added)
 
21. Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," p. 15.
 
22. Speidel, Oral Interview, 30 April 1998, p. 2; Walter H. Speidel, Oral History, Interview by Steve Carter, Tape recording/Typescript, Provo, Utah, 1 May 1998, p. 7.
 
23. "Swiss-German MSS History" entry for January 1934. "The Police in Germany investigated our case in many branches but apparently did not come to any conclusions about us as no further steps were taken to stop out missionary activity."
 
24. One of Hitler's goals was to indoctrinate German youth in Nazi values which meant control of education and youth organizations.
 
25. In Germany, the Boy Scouts had grown rapidly after its founding in 1911, and by 1914, it numbered over 80,000 members. Scouting attracted many German Mormon youths in part because of the Church's sponsorship of the organization in the United States. In 1911, the LDS Church endorsed Scouting in the US and shortly thereafter adopted it in Germany. Mormon authorities in Europe believed the Boy Scouts could strengthen the LDS youth and bring others into contact with their religion. By the 1930s, the Mormon Church had become a primary sponsor of the German Scout Association. By the end of 1933, the regime had eliminated all Scouting organizations except the two affiliated with the Mormon missions in Germany. At the time, according to mission records, there were 33 local Scout troops in the Swiss-German Mission alone. The German-Austrian Mission reported that over 150 teen-aged boys were registered in Scouts in that mission with another 100 youth who were involved in Scouting activities but were not registered. See Lawrence D. Walker, Hitler Youth and Catholic Youth, 1933-1936: A Study in Totalitarian Conquest, (Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1970), p. 8; "The Story of Scouting in the LDS Church," comp. LDS Relationships Boy Scouts of America, http://gemstate.net/scouter/story.htm (28 September 2000); Tobler, "The Narrow Line," p. 15; "German-Austrian Quarterly Report," entry for 30 June 1934; "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for May, 1934; "German-Austrian Quarterly Report," entry for 30 June 1934.
 
26. "German-Austrian Quarterly Report," entry for 30 June 1934. The German-Austrian Quarterly Report contains copies of the letter exchange of March and April, 1934.
 
27. "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for 30 March 1934. The Scout troops from Weimar and Erfurt held a four-day outing. This is the last recorded Scouting activity in Germany before the program was dissolved.
 
28. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for May 1934; "German-Austrian Quarterly Report," entry for 30 June 1934.
 
29. Although the LDS regretted the end of the Scouting program, many Mormon youngsters joined the Hitler Youth. Some became active participants in the Nazi organization and fondly recalled the experience. Other boys either did not participate or, under pressure, merely went through the motions. Of the latter, many found it difficult to attend Sunday church meetings; still others reported renewed harassment by the Hitler Youth. Mormon girls, too, joined the BDM (Bund Deutsche Model), the female counterpart to the Hitler Youth. And, as with the boys, they had mixed reactions to it. Some were active participants, others were not. See Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," p. 13; Fred Gassner and Erich Bernhardt, Oral History, Interview by Justus Ernst, 8 June 1985, transcript, Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 26; Rudi Wobbe and Jerry Borrowman, Before the Blood Tribunal (Salt Lake City, UT: Covenant Communications, Inc., 1992), pp. 7-8.
 
30. "Chonik der Gemeinde Karlsruhe," comp. Karl Lutz, (Karlsruhe, Germany: Gemeinde Karlsruhe, Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage, 1997), p. 92. See also Doris L. Bergen, Twisted Cross: The German Christian Movement in the Third Reich (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1996), pp. 165-171, on the German Christians and Jewish expressions in church hymns.
 
31. Both mission presidents instructed members to avoid such terms in talks and to omit them from church hymns. See Dahl, Oral Interview, pp. 4-5 and Speidel, Oral Interview, 30 April 1998, p. 4.
 
32. "German-Austrian MSS History," entry 1 1 July 1936; Gilbert W. Scharffs, Mormonism in Germany: A History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company, 1970), p. 85.
 
33. Kriminalpolizei Blatt no. 1751/54, in "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for January 1934. See also, "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for 5, 25 and 29 January 1934. During the first week of January 1934 the police forbid any further distribution of "Gottliche Vollmacht" in Germany. In both missions, the mission presidents complied with the order and had all copies of the tract either sent to the respective mission offices, turned over to the government officials or destroyed.
 
34. In the mid-1930s, for example, the regime banned the Christian Scientists from sending proceeds from the sale of their literature to the United States. Correspondence between the Christian Science Church and the United Stated diplomatic corps covering the period of 16 July 1936 to 28 July 1937, U. S. State Department Documents, 362. 116. Christian Science Church/8-12, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.
 
35. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for September 1934.
 
36. The previous month, Finance Minister, Hjalmar Schacht, had launched a new economic policy that sought to impose "strict controls on the allocation of foreign exchange" for the purpose of building up currency reserves. See Ian Kershaw, Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999), p. 576.
 
37. Registered Marks were more valuable than regular Marks and used for international trade. Mormon missionaries had had the privilege of purchasing Registered Marks since the Weimar era. See also "German-Austrian Quarterly Reports," December 1934, entry for October.
 
38. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for October 1934; "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for 6 October 1934; Tobler, "The Narrow Line," p. 17. The exchange rate for the Registered Mark was 3.31 per dollar, and for the regular Mark it was 2.48. According to Tobler, "the resulting loss of over 30% of the purchasing power of their $25 monthly check was difficult, if not devastating."
 
39. On 1 August 1934, Roy Welker replaced Oliver Budge as president of the East German Mission.
 
40. Correspondence between the LDS First Presidency and the United States diplomatic corps covering the period of 3 April to 13 April 1935, U. S. State Department Documents, 362.1 16.M82/35, 36, National Archives; Correspondence between William E. Dodd and Secretary of State, Corded Hull, and correspondence between U.S. State Department and LDS First Presidency covering a period between 28 May to 21 June 1935, U. S. State Department Documents, 362.1 16.M82/38, National Archives; "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for July 1935. See also Tobler, "Narrow Line," p. 17. The Benevolent Mark was an exchange rate which allowed missionaries to exchange fifty percent of their foreign currency for Registered Marks and fifty percent for Free Marks. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for March 1936; "German-Austrian MSS History," entry under "During the month of March." According to records, missionaries would have to apply for the privilege of buying Registered Marks. They received an exchange rate of about RM 4 per $1. They could purchase up to 200 Registered Marks per month.
 
41. "Chronik der Gemeinde Karlsruhe," pp. 92-93. President Salzner and his co-worker had a conversation with two officials of the State Police. He reported: 'The NS officials inquired about our work for the Church and requested that we should go to their office the next day for a discussion. I and my co-worker came as requested, were treaty politely and thoroughly questioned. The officials had a pile of newspaper and magazine articles about the Church to which they often referred during the conversation. After we were there an hour, they requested that we write a short history of the Church and describe the organization, goals and dimensions of our work. We complied with the request and presented the document on the following day. The officials informed us they were satisfied and assured us that we had no reason to fear. (Author's translation.)
 
42. William E. Dodd, Ambassador Dodd's Diary: 1933-1938, ed. by William E. Dodd, Jr., and Martha Dodd (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1941), p. 136.
 
43. King, The Nazi State and the New Religions, chapter 3. See also King "Strategies for Survival," pp. 225-228.
 
44. Tobler, "The Narrow Line," pp. 2-3.
 
45. "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for Thursday, 8 August 1935.
 
46. Tobler, "The Narrow Line," p. 3.
 
47. Helmreich, p. 405.
 
48. Ibid., p. 370 and 372.
 
49. Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," p. 14.
 
50. Anderson, p. 157.
 
51. Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," p. 14.
 
52. Joseph M. Dixon, "Mormons in the Third Reich: 1933-1945," Dialogue: A journal of Mormon Thought 7 (Spring 1972), 74. Dixon, argues that no "connection existed between the two ... but any parallels ... resulted from circumstance rather than plan."
 
53. For a thorough analysis of doctrinal common ground, see William D. Underwood, "Religions are Ordained of God: The Mormon Church in Nazi Germany" (M.A. Thesis, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1992), pp. 40-48.
 
54. Anderson, pp. 154-155.
 
55. Tobler, "The Narrow Line," pp. 2-3.
 
56. Roy A. Welker, Oral History, interviewed by Richard Jensen, 2-3 February, 1973, Archives, Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, pp. 28-29.
 
57. Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," pp. 13-14. Grant, more than likely, gave similar instructions to others who served as mission presidents during this period.
 
58. Ibid., p. 15.
 
59. Welker, Oral History, p. 31.
 
60. Scharffs, pp. 86-87.
 
61. "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for "During the Month of July, 1936; "German-Austrian Quarterly Reports," 30 September 1936; Welker, Oral History, pp. 62-64.

62. Several times Elizabeth Welker, when meeting with Scholtz-Klink, found herself in the presence of Hitler. Nevertheless, she never had occasion to speak personally with the dictator, according to her account, because of the language barrier. See Welker, Oral History, pp. 23-25 and 29-30.
 
63. Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," p. 15.
 
64. Such harassment on the local level did not affect only the Latter-day Saints. In fact, many groups including other Christian denominations, Communists and Socialists, and Jews faced increased local intimidation during the second half of 1934 going into 1935. See Ian Kershaw, Popular Opinion and Political Dissent in the Third Reich: Bavaria 1933-1945 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983), pp. 82-83, 165-74, 195-96, 205-06, and 232-38.
 
65. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry December 1933, "General Summary of the Year"; "German-Austrian Quarterly Reports," entry for 31 December 1933.
 
66. Ibid. See both of the above reports.
 
67. Both mission presidents suggest that the Catholic and Evangelical clergy were responsible for much of the action against the Mormons trying to halt their proselyting activities. Ibid.
 
68. For example, see "Swiss-German MSS History," entries for May and June 1933. In Minden, police interrupted a cottage meeting, holding all at gunpoint. After the missionaries explained the circumstances, the police left. See also "German-Austrian Quarterly Reports," entry for 31 December 1933, "October", a cottage meeting in Beuthen was disrupted and all participants taken into custody.
 
69. See "German-Austrian Quarterly Reports," entry for 30 June 1933, "April," and Tobler, "The Narrow Line," p. 12.
 
70. For example, see "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for Wednesday, 18 October 1933. See also "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for December 1934. "The police summoned the appearance of all members of the Goppingen Branch between the 10 and 16 December. The officers apparently wanted to learn the meaning of our meetings, since Germany is at present in an anxious state of political agitation and all meetings are looked upon with suspicion."
 
71. See for example "Swiss-German MSS History," entries for January 1934, April 1934, September 1934.
 
72. In Germany, Mormons rented meeting halls to hold their services. There were only one or two Church-owned chapels in the whole country.
 
73. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for May 1933. "The Hanau branch was denied the right to hold meetings in the 'Hohelandschule.' The reason being political suspicion." "Swiss-German MSS History," entry July 1933, "Branch Closed." "The Hanau branch was closed due to not having a meeting hall...." See also "German-Austrian Quarterly Reports," entry for 30 June 1933, heading of "May." On 9 May the use of public schools to hold meetings was refused in Stargard. In this case, no reason was given.
 
74. In Karlsruhe, according to the branch president, John Dahl, Mormons were treated well by the Party. See Dahl, Oral Interview, p. 18. Other Mormons and missionaries were able to maintain harmonious relations with local Party leaders or encountered little trouble.
 
75. Efforts by President Welker, European mission president, Joseph Merrill, and the American diplomatic corps to get the expulsion rescinded failed. See Steven E. Carter, "The Mormons and the Third Reich" (Ph.D. diss., University of Arkansas, 2003), pp. 110-112.
 
76. Swiss-German MSS History, entry July 1935, "Tracting Averages."
 
77. It was not uncommon for missionaries in Europe to be using basketball. Missionaries in Czechoslovakia, Great Britain and Sweden all participated in "Basketball Proselyting." See Bruce C. Van Orden, Building Zion: The Latter-day Saints in Europe (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company, 1996), p. 135.
 
78. President Welker, himself, encouraged the use of basketball in proselyting activities and believed that it "did quite a bit of good." Welker, Oral History, p. 59.
 
79. Les Goates, "Mormon Missionaries Train German Basketeers," Deseret News, 7 February 1936, p. 14.
 
80. "German-Austrian MSS History," entries for 8 August 1935 and 26 August 1935.
 
81. Goates, p. 14; Glynn Bennion, "New Ways of Proselyting and the Reason Therefore," Deseret News, 25 January 1936, Church Section 1, p. 7. As German basketball officials, the official Olympic report listed Charles Perschon, Jerome Christensen, Edward Judd and Vinton Merrill. XI Olympiade Berlin 1936, Amtlicher Berricht, vol. II, (Berlin: Organisationskomittee Fur die XL Olypiade Berlin 1936 e.V, Wilhelm Limpert-Verlag, 1936), pp. 1078-1079.
 
82. Bennion, p. 7. "In Germany Herr Hitler has sought the services of the Elders to teach basketball to the teams he hopes will achieve a Nordic victory at the Olympic games to be held this year in Berlin."
 
83. Even within the LDS community there were few German Mormons who were aware that missionaries were involved in the Olympics. Dahl, Oral Interview, p. 20.
 
84. In Berlin and throughout the country, the Nazis relaxed much of their censorship and restrictions they had imposed and did their best to hide anti-Semitic programs, including the Jew-baiting publication, Der Sturmer, and other racial signs from public view. They also let up on their attacks against the Christian churches. For example, they halted the show trials of Catholic priests charged with immorality and currency smuggling. See Duff Hart-Davis, Hitler's Games: The 1936 Olympics (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1986), p. 126 and 129, and Helmreich, p. 279.
 
85. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for October 1936, "Missionary Activities.
 
86. Conway, p. 168.
 
87. Sanford M. Bingham, Oral History, Interviewed by Douglas Tobler and Alan F. Keele. Provo, Utah, 1974, Typescript, The James Moyle Oral History Program, Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, pp. 5-6. Alwin Brey had been collecting a list of Mormons in the military from the Hamburg district in order to send them copies of Church publications. Nazi officials believed he was gathering the information to turn over to American intelligence.
 
88. "Swiss-German MSS History," entries for "March 1937: Difficulties in Hamburg District", "April 1937: Government wants Financial Report", and "April 1937: Conferences". The youth gathering was then moved to Switzerland where there was less oppression.
 
89. For example, in the Breslau district, the Walthenburg Branch was closed "on account of so much difficulty in obtaining permission to hold meetings." Moreover, "[p]olice refused the Saints permission to hold 'open' meetings in November the previous year, allowing only two outsiders to one gathering." In April 1937, the Reich and Prussian Minister of Science issued a decree making it unlawful for any religious meeting to be held in public school buildings. This decree affected several branches in the Breslau and Berlin districts that met in schools. "German-Austrian MSS History," entry for "During the Month of January 1936"; "Friday 29 April 1937."
 
90. Scharffs, p. 85.
 
91. Wallace D. Montague, "I was a 'Political Prisoner' of Hitler," The Instructor (March 1963), 90-91.
 
92. Scharffs, p. 90.
 
93. "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for "Missionary Imprisoned," June 1937; Bingham, Oral History, pp. 8-11; Tobler, "The Narrow Line," pp. 19-21.
 
94. Donald M. Petty, Oral History, Interviewed by Douglas Tobler, Salt Lake City, Utah, 6 and 13 August 1985, Typescript, The James Moyle Oral History Program, Archives, Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 50. According to Petty, the missionaries wrapped the flag around them like a "breech cloth;" and M. Douglas & Evelyn N. Wood, interview by Richard O. Cowan & Davis F. Boone, typescript, The James Moyle Oral History Program, Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, pp. 3-5.
 
95. Petty, Oral History, pp. 50-51.
 
96. Sonderbericht uber die Lage der Protestantischen Kirchen und in den verschiedenen Sekten und deren Staatsfeindliche Auswirkung, 1935, National Archives Microcopy No. T-175, Guide 39, Roll 409, National Archives.
 
97. Sonderbericht uber die Lage der Protestantischen Kirchen und in den verschiedenen Sekten und deren Staatsfeindliche Auswirkung, 1938, referenced in Tobler and Keele, "The Saints and the Reich," p. 22, and Tobler, "The Narrow Line," p. 9.
 
98. Ian Kershaw, Hitler: 'Nemesis (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000), p. 41 and 46.
 
99. See Tobler's comments in Bingham, Oral Interview, pp. 26-27.
 
100. A "positive" article, "A Visit with the Mormons", that explained Latter-day Saint doctrine appeared in the Rheinische Zeitung in February 1933. The following July, the Herforder Zeitung ran an article about the Mormon pioneers in Utah and the "sea-gull miracle." In contrast, a "slanderous" article, entitled "The Mormons Seek to Rule the World" appeared in the Wilhelmshaverner Zeitung in April 1934 and a 1938 Bremen Nachrichten article discussed Mormon "indulgence" in polygamy. See "Swiss-German MSS History," entries for February 1933, "Printed Article"; July 1933, "Newspaper Print Favorable Article"; April 1934, "Newspaper Article"; and October 1938, "Opposition."
 
101. At a 1932 mission presidents' conference held in Prague, then-European mission president, John Widtsoe, encouraged the European Church leaders to use "all forms of publicity" and to organize mission central publicity bureaus. "European Mission Presidents in Conference," The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star 25 (August 1932), 536-537.
 
102. For instance, when the article, "The Mormons Seek to Rule the World" appeared in the Wilhelmhavener Zeitung, the missionaries got permission to write a rebuttal that appeared on 20 May 1934. See "Swiss-German MSS History," entry for April 1934, "Newspaper Article."
 
103. "Germany Shifting Her Foreign Policy: Reaction Abroad Criticized," New York Times, 21 November 1938, p. 4. "Chancellor Hitler's own newspaper, the Voelkisher Beobacther, published what it called a history of the ejections of Mormons from the States of Missouri and Illinois, describing it as an 'American parallel to the Jewish problem in Germany.'" See also "West German MSS History," entry for Tuesday, 22 November 1938.
 
104. "West German MSS History," entry for Tuesday, 22 November 1938.
 
105. During the summer of 1937, Heber J. Grant announced that a third German-speaking mission would be created from the German-Austrian mission and the Swiss-German mission. The new missions, West German, East German and Swiss -Austrian missions would be organized on 1 January 1938. A third mission president, Alfred Rees was called at that time and arrived in Germany to help with the transition in the fall of 1937.
 
106. Ralph Mark Lindsey, Oral History, Interviewed by Matthew Heiss, Oakmont, California, 22 April 1990, Typescript, The James Moyle Oral History Program, Archives, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, pp. 1-2. Lindsey confirms that Rees had connections with the Propaganda Ministry. However, Lindsey states that the scandalous article was on Mormon polygamy. In searching mission records in late 1938 and early 1939, there is no mention of such an article.
 
107. Bingham, Oral History, pp. 25-26.
 
108. Ibid., p. 22.
 
109. Roland Bleich, "Selling Nazi Germany Abroad: The Case of Hulda Jost," Journal of Church and State 35 (Autumn 1993), 807-808. According to Blaich, "Concerned about the impact of a bad press on his foreign policy, Hitler realized that several small American-based denominations could be useful in influencing public opinion abroad. Methodists and Baptists, particularly, wielded considerable influence in America while posing little risk to Nazi totalitarian designs in Germany because of their small membership. These churches, on the other hand, had reasons of their own to collaborate; for in return they could expect toleration by the Nazi state."
 
110. Alfred C. Rees, "Im Lande der Mormonen," Volkischer Beobachter, 14 April 1939.
 
111. After its publication Rees petitioned the Propaganda Ministry to reprint thousands of copies of the article in pamphlets for missionaries to use. The ministry obliged apparently believing that distribution of the pamphlet would also benefit the Party. See Lindsey, Oral History, p. 2.
 
112. This led to a heated debate between Wood and Rees. Tobler, "The Narrow Line," pp. 26-27.
 
113. Ibid.
 
114. Dixon, p. 72.
 
115. Lindsey, Oral History, p. 2.
 
116. Tobler, "The Narrow Line," p. 28.  
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

Postby admin » Tue Jul 10, 2018 2:54 am

British Israelism
by Stirling
By Common Consent
February 15, 2006

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Photo of Odin from 1937 and 1942 church lesson manuals

In some ways, Joseph and the early Saints set about restoring, not just the practices of early Christianity, but also of ancient Israel. As such, they/we were both Christian and Old Testament “primitivists,” seeking to restore the primitive, and presumably superior, institutions of a previous culture.

Since much of the bible is the story of the relationship of one tribe, ”the Israelites”with God, the primitivist Mormons were intensely interested in that tribe. They prepared for the “literal gathering of Israel,” the Book of Mormon identified a new world people as Israelites, and the European Saints, though non-Israelite “Gentiles,” considered themselves to be spiritually of Israel, or to be of Israel through adoption.

But many Saints came to view themselves as literally of Israel; they believed they were genetically descended from Israel (through Ephraim). The Mormon tendency towards a literal “Israelism” seems to have played out over time. First the Smith family was identified as literal descendants of Israel. Later, as Brigham Young was describing Joseph Smith as a “pure Ephraimite,” many Mormons began to assume that all or almost all of the Saints were Israelites. Mauss and Green show this trend was strengthened in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries as the Saints were influenced by the Protestant religious movement of “Anglo” or “British Israelism.”

Anglo Israelism was the belief that the peoples of Northern European nations were descended principally from the “lost” tribes of Israel who migrated there after Assyria conquered Israel in 877 B.C. British Israelism was a variant on the theme that viewed the British Isles as being populated principally by descendants of the favored tribe of Ephraim.

Did we Mormons become adherents of Anglo Israelism / British Israelism? I suggest that we didn’t formally adopt the belief as official doctrine/theology. But, for a few decades we repeated and extended the claims of British Israelism in sufficient numbers of church-published books, magazines, lesson texts, and sermons, that it could appear we certainly had accepted British Israelism.


After giving some examples below of Mormons preaching British Israelism in the previous century, the questions I’m going to get to are:

1. When was the last time (if ever) you heard British Israelism passed around within Mormonism as a valid concept?

2. I think our literal Israelism is fading, and that as a church we are taking a more allegorical/symbolic/spiritual view of “Abrahamic lineage.” Do you have counterexamples or related anecdotes? Do you disagree?

A quick and incomplete primer on the history of British Israelism:

We Mormons weren’t unique in creating for ourselves a literal Israelite heritage that had a distinctly English air. Other contemporaneous Christian groups had done the same, including the Christian Israelites in England (ca. 1822), Nathaniel Wood and the New Israelites of Middletown, Vermont (ca: 1800), and the followers of London-based Richard Brothers, who in 1794 pronounced himself the “Prince and Prophet of the Hebrews.”

The most prominent early book that preached British Israelism was John Wilson’s 1840 Lectures on Our Israelitish Origin.

By the 1870s, British Israelism had become a formal movement among protestant Christians, complete with societies, chapters, and monthly magazines in both England and the U.S. Many Mormons who had already come to view themselves as Israelites were receptive to the movement. In the 1870s George Reynolds published a series of articles in the Millennial Star that promoted British Israelism using arguments and quotes from the prominent B-I writers of the day, including John Wilson, A. B. Grimaldi, and Charles Smyth. In 1883 George Reynolds published his Israelism writings in a book, Are We of Israel? Reynolds became one of the 7 presidents of the 70 in 1890, and the book went through at least 7 editions; the 1916 edition was published as a class text by the Church’s Deseret Sunday School Union; the last edition was published in 1952 by the church-owned Deseret News Press.

But that was just the first Mormon British Israel work. There were dozens that followed. The high point of excitement for British Israelism within Mormonism seems to have been the middle 1920s through the 1930s, and into the first part, at least, of the 1940s. This follows just a few years after the high point of British Israelism in England, and it roughly matches the timeline of an international interest in lineage and racial “purity.”
A few of many examples are found in Mexico (ejecting the Chinese), the United States (think of our immigration laws, our eugenics movement, the racial purity laws), and with hindsight, most strikingly, Germany.

If you grew up Mormon in the first half of the 20th century, you were likely to be taught over and over–in Sunday School, genealogy, and priesthood lessons, in stake and general conferences, in church magazines, books, and pamphlets–that you were literally an Israelite, directly descended from Ephraim. This teaching would come in at least two forms:

1. The teaching one might call “Mormon Israelism” was that Ephraim’s descendants were scattered among all nations, but that almost all Mormons were Ephraimites (for some, even “pure” Ephraimites) because the people that had responded to the missionary message were the select few with Israel in their veins. It was taught (including by Joseph Smith) and assumed by some that the more pure the Israelite blood, the more open a person was to the Mormon message.

2. Somewhat in conflict with this, you would also have been taught Mormon Anglo or British Israelism: that almost all Mormons were Israelites (and to some, pure Israelites), because the Saints were of Northern European stock (largely British), which was the place the not-so-lost tribes (mainly Ephraim) had settled.


In the 20th century, the main church leaders and authors who preached Israelism and British Israelism were Church Historian and Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, apostle and First Presidency member Anthony Ivins, Asst. Church Historian Andrew Jenson, and officers of the Utah Genealogical Society such as Archibald Bennett and James Anderson.

In dozens of articles, books, and general conference talks, these men played a significant role in teaching a couple of generations of Saints that they were literal descendants of Israel, with detailed proofs that the not-so-lost ten tribes had settled either Northern Europe or Great Britain taken directly from the prominent British-Israel works.
Anderson, in God’s Covenant Race, From Patriarchal Times to the Present, a 1937 book published by the Deseret News Press, even claimed (incorrectly) Mormon credit for starting the British-Israel Movement through the church’s 1830s missionary work in England (154-155). The 1938 and later editions of the book included an appendix with 127 pages of articles copied verbatim from the “Anglo-Israel Federation” magazine Destiny.

The [University of Virginia] Institute [of Public Affairs] in 1938 also invited one of America's most notorious antisemites, William J. Cameron, who had edited Henry Ford's Dearborn Independent, to present a paper on "The Interdependence of Farm and Industry" at its economic stability roundtable. Cameron had contributed significantly to the Dearborn Independent's vitriolic attacks on Jews during the 1920s. Part of the British Israelite movement that believed the Anglo-Saxons were the real descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Cameron claimed that contemporary Jews were the remnants of a racially distinct and inferior group despised by God. Remaining a top aide to Ford after the Dearborn Independent ceased publication in 1927, he cofounded the antisemitic Anglo-Saxon Federation in 1930 and was elected its president. In 1935 Cameron became director of Destiny, the Anglo-Saxon Federation organ whose diatribes laid the groundwork for the virulently antisemitic Christian Identity movement. Two weeks after the Institute roundtable, Cameron delivered the keynote address at the ceremony the Nazi government arranged for Henry Ford, at which it presented him with the highest honor it could bestow on a foreigner, the Grand Service Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle. [61]

Despite Cameron's long record of disseminating antisemitism, the Institute of Public Affairs leadership declared that it was honored to have him participate in its roundtable. [62] About three months after the conference, the Institute's acting director expressed to Cameron his "great personal satisfaction and the appreciation of the University and the Institute" for what he said was Cameron's "very important" contribution to the session, about which he had heard "many kind words." Gooch told Cameron that both he and university president John Lloyd Newcomb would be "most grateful" for any suggestions that "might be calculated to improve the conduct of the Institute." [63]

-- The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower: Complicity and Conflict on American Campuses, by Stephen H. Norwood


One collection of Mormon British-Israelism teachings was the 1942 Sunday School course book, Birthright Blessings; its 48 lessons included topics such as “The Chosen Race Being Gathered,” “Early Israelite Colonies,” “Mound Builders of Europe,” “Sagas and Civilization of Scandinavia,” “Who Are the Anglo-Saxons?,” “Early Welsh Customs,” ” Ancient Irish Pedigrees,” and “The Royal House of David.”

A very similar collection was the 1937 Junior Genealogy Class manual, Children of the Covenant. Its 40 lessons covered most of the Birthright topics mentioned and others such as “A White and a Blessed People,” “The Day of Ephraim,” and “The New Race of Israel.” The activity for one of the lessons instructed students to “Write a one page explanation, and read it in class or in a public meeting, of the topic: “My Heritage as a Descendant of Ephraim.”

Articles preaching British Israelism and Mormon Israelism were also common in the quarterly journal of the Church’s Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine.

Examples of this were the paired 1930 articles, “Mission of Ephraim,” by Joseph Fielding Smith, and “Children of Ephraim,” by Archibald Bennett. [Bennett, Archibald F. 1930, "The Children of Ephraim," Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 21 (April): 67-85)]

The latter even contained a detailed explanation and ancestral charts explaining how the Norse God Odin (Woden) was ancestor of “most of the kingly and noble races of the north,” and therefore, of Anglo-Saxons and Mormons. Consequently, you can find Mormon family trees from that period that include both Odin and Thor (there’s a current example of this in my extended family). Odin is also discussed in detail in the Birthright Blessings and Children of the Covenant manuals, in a lesson called Sagas and Civilization of Scandinavia that recounts Icelander Snorri Sturluson’s Ynglinga Saga. Both books included a photo of a B.E.F. Fogelberg’s statute of Odin (the graphic at the top of this post).


Returning to the questions:

1. I think our literal Israelism (the belief that most Mormons are genetic descendants of Israel, particularly Ephraim or Manasssah) is fading, and that as a church we are taking a more allegorical/symbolic/spiritual view of “Abrahamic lineage.” Do you have counterexamples or related anecdotes? Do you disagree?

2. When was the last time (if ever) you heard British Israelism passed around within Mormonism as a valid concept?

Sources

Arnold H. Green, “Gathering and Election: Israelite Descent and Universalism in Mormon Discourse,” Journal of Mormon History, Vol. 25 (Spring 99)
Armand L. Mauss, All Abraham’s Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage (University of Illinois Press, 2003), esp. 17-36, 269-272.
Mauss, “In Search of Ephraim: Traditional Mormon Conceptions of Lineage and Race,” Journal of Mormon History, Vol. 25 (Spring 99) 131-173
Mauss, “Mormonism’s Worldwide Aspirations and its Changing Conceptions of Race and Lineage,” Dialogue, 34:3-4 (Fall/Winter 2001) 103-133.
Birthright Blessings: Genealogical Training Class (Deseret Sunday School Union Board, 1942), 48 Sunday School Lessons
Children of the Covenant: A Lesson Book for Second Year Junior Genealogical Classes (Genealogical Society of Utah, 1937), 40 lessons
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Issues from the 1920s-1940s.
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

Postby admin » Tue Jul 10, 2018 3:25 am

Mission of Ephraim
by Joseph Fielding Smith
from Doctrines of Salvation, Volume III
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine
1930

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[Ephraim], because of his faithfulness and integrity to the purposes of the Lord, was rewarded with the births right in Israel … When Jacob blessed Joseph, he gave him a double portion, or an inheritance among his brethren in Palestine and also the blessing of the land of Zion … He also blessed him with the blessings of heaven above, of the deep which lieth under, and of posterity….Jacob also blessed the two sons of Joseph with the blessings of their father, which they inherited…blessings are to be realized in the Latter-days…because of this rebellion the Lord punished him by mixing him among the nations…blessing the people of other nations with the blood of Israel among whom Ephraim "mixed" himself…the tribe of Ephraim, rebellious, proud, and headstrong, which was scattered more than any other among the people of other nations. The chief reason is that it is Ephraim who is now being gathered from among the nations…It is essential in this dispensation that Ephraim stand in his place at the head, exercising the birthright in Israel which was given to him … Therefore, Ephraim must be gathered first to prepare the way…the great majority of those who have come into the Church are Ephraimites…It is Ephraim, today, who holds the priesthood…When the "lost tribes" come…they will have to receive the crowning blessings from their brother Ephraim…receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands… the ten tribes of Israel who had been led away by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, to prepare them for their return…The Book of Mormon came to Ephraim, for Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite…Joseph Smith, father of the Prophet, received the birthright in Israel which he inherited through his fathers back to Ephraim and Joseph and Jacob to Abraham. For that reason the Patriarchal Priesthood was conferred upon him.

-- Mission of Ephraim, by Joseph Fielding Smith

 
EPHRAIM GAINED BIRTHRIGHT IN ISRAEL.

Joseph, son of Jacob, because of his faithfulness and integrity to the purposes of the Lord, was rewarded with the births right in Israel. It was the custom in early times to bestow upon the firstborn son special privileges and blessings, and these were looked upon as belonging to him by right of birth. Reuben, the first of Jacob's sons, lost the birthright through transgression, and it was bestowed upon Joseph, who was the most worthy of all the sons of Jacob.250. 31

When Jacob blessed Joseph, he gave him a double portion, or an inheritance among his brethren in Palestine and also the blessing of the land of Zion -- "the utmost bound of the everlasting hills." He also blessed him with the blessings of heaven above, of the deep which lieth under, and of posterity.251. 32 Jacob also blessed the two sons of Joseph with the blessings of their father, which they inherited, and he placed Ephraim, the younger, before Manasseh, the elder, and by inspiration of the Lord conferred upon Ephraim the birthright in Israel.251. 33

SCATTERING OF EPHRAIM AMONG THE NATIONS.

After the death of Solomon his son Rehoboam was placed upon the throne of Israel, but the 10 northern tribes revolted and set up the kingdom of Israel, with Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, as their king. The southern kingdom, composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, became known thereafter as the kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom is frequently referred to in the chronicles and in prophecy as Ephraim. There are passages in the scriptures, however, which have direct reference to descendants of Ephraim and the blessings which were pronounced upon their heads. These blessings are to be realized in the Latter-days.

While the Israelites possessed the land of Canaan they were rebellious and failed to heed the commandments of the Lord. Among these tribes were none who were more guilty of this offense than Ephraim, and because of this rebellion the Lord punished him by mixing him among the nations. It is true that Israelites from the other tribes were also scattered among the nations, but particularly is this true of the Ephraimites. The words of Hosea have direct application to those of the tribe of Ephraim wherein he says: "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned."251. 34

In scattering Ephraim the Lord had two purposes in mind: l. The scattering was to be a punishment to a rebellious people; 2. It was for the purpose of blessing the people of other nations with the blood of Israel among whom Ephraim "mixed" himself. The scattering of other Israelites answered the same purpose.

We have very good reason to believe, however, that it was the tribe of Ephraim, rebellious, proud, and headstrong, which was scattered more than any other among the people of other nations. The chief reason is that it is Ephraim who is now being gathered from among the nations. In these last days the Lord said that Ephraim should not be rebellious as he was formerly, and that now, the rebellious were not of Ephraim and should be "plucked out." 252. 35


EPHRAIM STANDS AT HEAD IN LATTER-DAYS.

It is essential in this dispensation that Ephraim stand in his place at the head, exercising the birthright in Israel which was given to him by direct revelation. Therefore, Ephraim must be gathered first to prepare the way through the gospel and the priesthood, for the rest of the tribes of Israel when the time comes for them to be gathered to Zion. The great majority of those who have come into the Church are Ephraimites. It is the exception to find one of any other tribe, unless it is of Manasseh.

It is Ephraim, today, who holds the priesthood. It is with Ephraim that the Lord has made covenant and has revealed the fulness of the everlasting gospel. It is Ephraim who is building temples and performing the ordinances in them for both the living and for the dead. When the "lost tribes" come -- and it will be a most wonderful sight and a marvelous thing when they do come to Zion -- in fulfilment of the promises made through Isaiah and Jeremiah, 252. 36 they will have to receive the crowning blessings from their brother Ephraim, the "firstborn" in Israel.


LATTER-DAY ISRAEL TO RECEIVE BLESSINGS FROM EPHRAIM.

The leaders of our people from the beginning have looked forward to this great day when Ephraim would be gathered and would stand in his place to crown the tribes of Israel. In an epistle issued by the First Presidency in October, 1852, the following appears:

"The invitation is to all, of every nation, kindred and tongue, who will believe, repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands. Come home: come to the land of Joseph, to the valleys of Ephraim."253. 37

The Prophet Joseph Smith looked forward to the great day when Israel would be gathered. He stated at a conference held in June, 1831, "that John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel who had been led away by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, to prepare them for their return from their long dispersion."253. 38 President Brigham Young had these same thoughts constantly in mind and frequently spoke of them. "It is the house of Israel, we are after," said he, "and it is the very lad on whom Father Jacob laid his hands, that will save the house of Israel. The Book of Mormon came to Ephraim, for Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite."253. 39

"We are now gathering the children of Abraham who have come through the loins of Joseph and his sons, more especially through Ephraim, whose children are mixed among all the nations of the earth. . . . I see a congregation of them before me today." 253. 40

President Young declares that Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite. This is true, Joseph Smith, father of the Prophet, received the birthright in Israel which he inherited through his fathers back to Ephraim and Joseph and Jacob to Abraham. For that reason the Patriarchal Priesthood was conferred upon him with the commandment that it should be handed down from father to son. 254. 41

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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

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British Israelism
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 7/9/18

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An 1890 book advocating British Israelism. According to the doctrine, the Lost Ten tribes of Israel found their way to Western Europe and Britain, becoming the ancestors of the British and related peoples.

British Israelism (also called Anglo-Israelism) is a movement which holds the view that the people of England (or more broadly, the people of United Kingdom) are "genetically, racially, and linguistically the direct descendants" of the Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Israel.[1] With roots in the 16th century, [British Israelism was inspired by several 19th-century English writings, notably John Wilson's 1840 Our Israelitish Origin.[2] The movement never had a head organisation or a centralized structure. Various British Israelite organisations were set up throughout the British Empire as well as in America from the 1870s; a number of these organisations are still active today. In America, its ideas gave rise to the Christian Identity movement.

The central tenets of British Israelism have been refuted by evidence from modern archaeological,[3] ethnological,[4] genetic, and linguistic research.[5]

Earliest recorded expressions

At the beginning of 1534, the tolerant German town of Munster in Westphalia embarked on an unusual type of Reformation. Radical Anabaptists and Evangelicals (Lutherans) united against the Catholic Bishop Francis Waldeck, and forced him to leave the city. The latter immediately called in troops and began a siege, but was not able to stop all traffic in and out of the city for a long time. Jan Matthijs, the leader of Munster’s Anabaptists, influenced by Melchior Hoffman’s eschatological views, announced on February 25, 1534 that all adult citizens who refused to be baptized “by faith” would be killed as “godless” and “wicked.”

During the next week, the majority of the Catholics and Lutherans left the city; the “Munsterite kingdom” episode had begun. During this first period, the Catholic churches of the city were sacked; their altars and images were broken, the relics of the saints were desecrated, and the wonderful town library was burned. Thousands of fervent Anabaptists from different places moved to the “holy city, New Jerusalem” (Munster) and occupied the houses of the citizens who had escaped. Some of them were stopped by troops, and others reached the town. On April 4, Jan Matthijs was killed in a fight with the besieging army of Bishop Waldeck. After that, Jan van Leiden, a young and still more radical leader, became the head of Munster. He immediately abolished the city council and proclaimed himself “the new King David” of the Messianic “Israelite” kingdom. In obedience to “the voice of the Lord” that he heard, Jan van Leiden chose “twelve elders of the twelve tribes of Israel,” and renamed the citizens “Israelites.”

In practice, this meant a period of terror and horror in Munster. To resist the “king” was to resist God’s will and divine revelations. Not a few citizens were executed, especially because of their criticism of the new regime. The official list of capital crimes, based on the Old Testament, included blasphemy, disobedience to the ruling powers, seditious orations, disrespect to parents, adultery, gossip, and complaining. In addition to this revolutionary order, Jan van Leiden instituted by his unchallenged power, the principle of common property and polygamy in Munster. According to contemporary accounts, the king himself had a harem with perhaps fifteen wives (including the Queen Divara of Haarlem, Jan Matthijs’ widow), while the chief ideologist of Munster’s kingdom, Bernard Rothmann, probably had nine wives....

But why did the extremism of the Anabaptists take a special form, namely the seizure of a town? Some of the key ideas of Anabaptist eschatology answer to that question. The designation of Munster as the “Holy City New Jerusalem” goes back to Melchior Hoffman’s teaching on the Last Days, when, according to this Anabaptist prophet, spiritual revelations would multiply. Before the second coming of Christ, there would be a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the earth, and then the righteous would have many great visions and revelations as in the time of the Old Testament prophets (Snyder, 1995, 205). The idea of the “holy city” was a favorite in the Melchiorite eschatological tradition. The New Jerusalem described in the Book of Revelation would be the only place of refuge for the chosen when the day of God’s wrath and vengeance against the godless came. The New Jerusalem would come down to earth, and believers would hear the message from God’s prophets concerning where to seek the holy city to which they should hurry in order to be saved. Melchior Hoffman himself named Strasbourg as the place of gathering; other prophets mentioned Groningen, Amsterdam, Munster and London (Klaassen, 1986, 29-30). Finally, the opinion of the “Enoch of the End Times” (Jan Matthijs) won out: Munster (where the Anabaptists had political weight at that time), not Strasbourg, was seen as the true New Jerusalem.

-- The Munsterite Tragedy, by Constantine Prokhorov


Identity asserts that disease, addiction, cancer, and sexually transmitted infections (herpes and HIV/AIDS) are spread by human "rodents" via contact with "unclean" persons, such as "race-mixers".[45]:85 The apocrypha, the first book of Enoch, is used to justify these social theories ...[45]:86

-- Christian Identity, by Wikipedia


By now he was calling himself "Joseph Smith The Prophet." In Kirtland, the Saints began practicing primitive communism, according to that passage of the Acts of the Apostles which specifies that the early Christians "had all things in common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need." The vehicle for this collectivism was called the United Order of Enoch, with center of gravity in Kirtland....

After ousting an opposition faction, he attempted to revivify the United Order of Enoch, his primitive communist administration. On July 8, 1838 in Far West, Smith announced a new revelation urging the Saints to transfer the title of all of their property to the Mormon Church. In return, each man would receive a tract of land for his "everlasting inheritance," with the number of acres increasing with the size of his family. (Brodie, p. 220)

Since many had already been skinned in Kirtland, Joseph asked the Saints to lease their property to the Mormon Church "without consideration or interest" for terms varying between 10 and 99 years. What he had in mind was a kind of theocratic corporate state: "The whole church was then to be divided into four huge 'corporations' -- farmers, mechanics, shopkeepers, and laborers -- which would utilize the land, machinery, and skills of the church members for the common good." (Brodie, p. 221)...

Bennett compared the Saints to the Anabaptists in Germany during the Peasant War of the 1520s. Under the prophet Thomas Muntzer, the Anabaptists tried to destroy all earthly authority and create the kingdom of God on earth. Like the Mormons, they practiced primitive communism. Bennett wrote that the Anabaptists "appeared in the year 1525, in Germany, during the religious excitement and confusion produced by the attempts of Luther and his coadjutors to reform the papacy. They so remarkably resemble the Mormons, that it is quite evident the latter have taken them for models, and have copied their doings with as much accuracy as the spirit of the age would permit. The first leader of the Anabaptists was a low, ignorant fellow, named Thomas Muntzer, who, like Joe Smith, was at the same time their Prophet and military commander. They, precisely again like the Mormons, gave themselves out for 'Latter-day Saints,' and profess to be chosen by the Almighty as instruments to produce the promised millennium reign of Christ on earth. They believed, likewise, that they were especial favorites of heaven in every respect, and that they were, when they wished it, favored with familiar personal intercourse with the deity, and from him constantly received revelations and instructions." (Bennett, p. 304)...

He claimed in 1867 that he had been called by God "to dictate affairs in the building up of his Zion," and that this gave him the totalitarian power to determine everything, "even to the ribbons the women wear." [144] One is reminded of the Soviet planners who wanted to control economic activity "down to the last bolt."

-- Just Too Weird: Bishop Romney and the Mormon Takeover of America: Polygamy, Theocracy, and Subversion, by Webster Griffin Tarpley, Ph.D.


According to Brackney (2012) and Fine (2015), the French Hugenot magistrate M. le Loyer's The Ten Lost Tribes, published in 1590, provided the first expression that "Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Scandinavian, Germanic, and associated cultures"[6] were direct descendants of the ancient Israelites.[1] Anglo-Israelism has also been attributed to Francis Drake and James VI and I,[6] who believed he was the King of Israel.[1] Adriaan van Schrieck (1560-1621), who influenced Henry Spelman (1562-1641) and John Sadler (1615-1674), wrote in the early 17th century about his ideas on the origins of the Celtic and Saxon peoples. In 1649, Sadler published The Rights of the Kingdom, "which argues for an 'Israelite genealogy for the British people'".[6]

Aspects of British Israelism and its influences have also been traced to Richard Brothers' A Revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times in 1794, John Wilson's Our Israelitish Origin (1840s), and John Pym Yeatman's The Shemetic Origin of the Nations of Western Europe (1879).


Foundation

British Israelism arose in England, then spread to the United States.[7]:52–65 British-Israelists cite various medieval manuscripts to claim an older origin, but British Israelism as a distinct movement appeared in the early 1880s:

Although scattered British Israel societies are known to have existed as early as 1872, there was at first no real move to develop an organization beyond the small groups of believers which had arisen spontaneously. The beginnings of the movement as an identifiable religious force can, therefore, be more accurately placed in the 1880's when the circumstances of the time were particularly propitious for the appearance of a movement so imperialistically-orientated.[8]


In the 1870s George Reynolds published a series of articles in the Millennial Star that promoted British Israelism using arguments and quotes from the prominent B-I writers of the day, including John Wilson, A. B. Grimaldi, and Charles Smyth. In 1883 George Reynolds published his Israelism writings in a book, Are We of Israel? Reynolds became one of the 7 presidents of the 70 in 1890, and the book went through at least 7 editions; the 1916 edition was published as a class text by the Church’s Deseret Sunday School Union; the last edition was published in 1952 by the church-owned Deseret News Press.

-- British Israelism, by Stirling, Common Consent


Heyday, end of the 19th and early 20th centuries

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William Pascoe Goard

The extent to which the clergy in Britain became aware of the movement may be gauged from the comment made by Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801–1890) when asked why he had left the Church of England in 1845 to join the Roman Catholic Church. He said that there was a very real danger that the movement "would take over the Church of England."[9]:86

In the later 19th century, Edward Hine, Edward Wheeler Bird, and Herbert Aldersmith developed the British Israelite movement. Hine and Bird would achieve a degree of "doctrinal coherence" by seeing off competing forms of the ideology: In 1878 the Anglo-Ephraim Association of London, which followed Wilson in embracing the broader community of western European Germanic peoples among those they believed were favored by God, would be absorbed into Bird's Metropolitan Anglo-Israel Association, espousing the Anglo-exclusive view promoted by Hine.[10]:209

By the 1890s, the "Anglo-Israel Association" had 300 members; it was based in Britain and founded in 1879 by physician George Moore. Hine later departed for the United States where he promoted the idea.[7]:56

The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia stated that British Israelism's adherents "are said to number 2,000,000 in England and the United States",[11] an unreliable figure if association membership and journal subscription numbers are any guide, though there would have been a broader, unmeasurable sympathy towards the views of the movement among Protestants globally.[10]:209

Between 1899 and 1902, adherents of British Israelism dug up parts of the Hill of Tara in the belief that the Ark of the Covenant was buried there, doing much damage to one of Ireland's most ancient royal and archaeological sites.[12] At the same time, British Israelism became associated with various pseudo-archaeological pyramidology theories, such as the notion that the Pyramid of Khufu contained a prophetic numerology of the British peoples.[13]

In 1914, the thirty-fourth year of its publication, the Anglo-Israel Almanac listed details of a large number of Kingdom Identity Groups operating independently throughout the British Isles and in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and the United States of America.

In 1919, the British-Israel-World Federation (BIWF) was founded in London, and Covenant Publishing was founded in 1922. William Pascoe Goard was the first director of the publishing house. During this time, several prominent figures patronized the BIWF organization and its publisher; Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was Patron-in-chief in pre-World War II days. One of the most notable members was William Massey, then Prime Minister of New Zealand. Due to the expansive nature of the British Empire, believers in British Israelism spread worldwide and the BIWF expanded its organization to the commonwealth. Howard Rand promoted the teaching and became National Commissioner of the Anglo-Saxon Federation of America in 1928. He published The Bulletin, later renamed The Messenger of the Covenant. More recently, it has been renamed Destiny.[7]:57

In the 20th century, the main church leaders and authors who preached Israelism and British Israelism were Church Historian and Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, apostle and First Presidency member Anthony Ivins, Asst. Church Historian Andrew Jenson, and officers of the Utah Genealogical Society such as Archibald Bennett and James Anderson.

In dozens of articles, books, and general conference talks, these men played a significant role in teaching a couple of generations of Saints that they were literal descendants of Israel, with detailed proofs that the not-so-lost ten tribes had settled either Northern Europe or Great Britain taken directly from the prominent British-Israel works. Anderson, in God’s Covenant Race, From Patriarchal Times to the Present, a 1937 book published by the Deseret News Press, even claimed (incorrectly) Mormon credit for starting the British-Israel Movement through the church’s 1830s missionary work in England (154-155). The 1938 and later editions of the book included an appendix with 127 pages of articles copied verbatim from the “Anglo-Israel Federation” magazine Destiny.

-- British Israelism, by Stirling, Common Consent


During its heyday in the early 20th century, British Israelism was also supported by John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher. A prolific author on British Israelism during the later 1930s and 40s was Alexander James Ferris.

Contemporary movement

The BIWF continues to exist, with its main headquarters located in Bishop Auckland in County Durham.[14] It also has chapters in Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa.[15]

In 1968, one source estimated that there were between 3,000 and 5,000 British Israelites in Britain.[16] There, the theology of British Israelism has been taught by a few small Pentecostal churches. The espousal of British Israelism by George Jeffreys, founder of the Elim Pentecostal Church, led to a schism, precipitating his 1939 resignation and the formation of the Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship,[17] which continues to teach the doctrine.[18]

Herbert Armstrong

The teaching of British Israelism was vigorously promoted beginning in the 1960s by Herbert W. Armstrong,[7]:57 founder and former Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God. Armstrong believed that the teaching was a key to understanding biblical prophecy: "One might ask, were not biblical prophecies closed and sealed? Indeed they were—until now! And even now they can be understood only by those who possess the master key to unlock them."[19] Armstrong believed that he was called by God to proclaim the prophecies to the Lost Tribes of Israel before the "end-times".[20] Armstrong's belief caused his separation from the Church of God Seventh Day because of its refusal to adopt the teaching.

Armstrong created his own church, first called the "Radio Church of God" and later renamed the "Worldwide Church of God".[20] He described British Israelism as a "central plank" of his theology.[21]

After Armstrong's death, his former church abandoned its belief in British Israelism and changed its name to Grace Communion International (GCI) in 2009. It offers an explanation for the doctrine's origin and its abandonment by the church at its official website.[20] Church members who disagreed with such doctrinal changes left the Worldwide Church of God/GCI to form offshoot churches. Many of these organizations still teach British Israelism, including the Philadelphia Church of God, the Living Church of God, and the United Church of God. Armstrong promoted other genealogical history theories, such as teaching the belief that modern-day Germany represents ancient Assyria, writing "The Assyrians settled in central Europe, and the Germans, undoubtedly, are, in part, the descendants of the ancient Assyrians.".[22]

Tenets

All Israelites Are Not Jews


Adherents believe the Twelve Tribes of Israel are the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob (who was later named Israel). Jacob elevated the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph) to the status of full tribes in their own right, replacing the tribe of Joseph. A division occurred among the twelve tribes in the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam, with the three tribes of Judah, Benjamin and partially Levi, forming the Kingdom of Judah, and the remaining ten tribes forming the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria).[23] Thus, they argue, "the great bulk of Israelites are not the Jews".[24]:71 [25][26] W. E. Filmer, writing in 1964, suggested that the fact that some Jews continue to search for the ten lost tribes implies that their representatives are not found among modern, historically multi-ethnic, Jews.[27] A number of British-Israelites quote Josephus to support their claim that the lost tribes of Israel are not the Jews: "the entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country; wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude."[28][24]:247[29][30]

British descend from the Lost Tribes

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Jehu kneeling at the feet of Shalmaneser III on the Black Obelisk.

The key component of British Israelism is its representation of the migrations of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Adherents suggested that the Scythians, Cimmerians and Goths were representatives of these lost tribes, and progenitors of the later invaders of Britain.[31][32]:26–27 John Wilson would argue for the inclusion of all Western European Gothic peoples among the descendants of the Israelites, but under the later influence of Edward Hine the movement would come to view only the peoples of the British Isles as having this ancestry.[10]:209

Herodotus reported that the ancient Persians called all the Scythians Sacae, but that they called themselves Scoloti. However, a modern comparison among the forms given in other ancient languages suggests Skuda was their name.[33] Ancient writers, such as Josephus and Jerome would associate the Scythians with the peoples of Gog and Magog,[34] but British Israelist etymologists would see in Sacae a name derived from the biblical "Isaac",[24]:294–295 claiming that the appearance of the Scythians where they claimed the Lost Tribes were last documented also supported a connection.[11] Further, British Israelists find support in the superficial resemblance between King Jehu's pointed headdress and that of the captive Saka king seen to the far right on the Behistun Rock.[35] The chain of etymological identification leading from Isaac to the Sacae was continued to the Saxons (interpreted as Sac's sons - the sons of Isaac),[24]:294–295[32]:21[36]:121 who are portrayed as invading England from Denmark, the 'land of the Tribe of Dan'.[11] They saw the same tribal name, left by the wanderers, in the Dardanelles, the Danube, Macedonia, Dunkirk, Dunglow in Ireland, Dundee in Scotland, and London,[37][38][39] and ascribed to this lost tribe the mythical Irish Tuatha Dé Danann.[11]

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The 'Tyninghame' copy of the Declaration from 1320 AD

Bede (died 735) had linked the Picts to the Scythians, but British Israelists suggested that he had confused the two tribes of Scotland, and that it was the Scotti (Scots) who were one with the Scoloti (Scyths) of Herodotus.[40] They drew particular support from the derivation of the Scots from the Scythians found in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath,[24]:262 reflecting a tradition related in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum that the Scots descended from the union of a Scythian exile with Scota, daughter of a Pharaoh, a tale found in some form in several other early-14th-century historical and poetic sources.[41] The Declaration begins:

"Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today."[42]


British-Israel Associations cite the Declaration as evidence for the link between the Scots and the Scythians, and hence the Lost Tribes,[43] as had been proposed by the early British Israelist etymologists.[24]:285–296

Other Celtic invaders would be given an analogous descent. In the Welsh (Cymry) the British Israelists would see a direct connection through the Cimbri to the Cimmerians, the Gimirri of Assyrian annals,[44]:57 a name sometimes also given by the ancient Babylonians to the Scythians and Saka.[45] Perceived similarity between this and the name by which the Assyrian annals referred to Israel, Beth Khumbree, would lead the British Israelists to claim that the Welsh too were members of the Lost Tribes.[44]:57

According to the Anglo-Israelists, these claimed connections would make the British the literal descendants of the Lost Tribes, and thus inheritors of the promises made to the Israelites in the Old Testament.[46]

Some adherents further claim that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David. Citing the Book of Jeremiah, they claim that the daughters of Zedekiah fled to Egypt, then 'the isles' in the sea, which they interpret as Ireland. The descendants of these princesses are said to have crossed to England where they became ancestors of the monarchs.[47] The Stone of Scone, used in coronations of Scottish, English and British monarchs for centuries, is claimed to be none other than the pillow stone used by biblical patriarch, Jacob.[1]

Britain and the United States are the inheritors of Jacob’s birthright

A commonly found British-Israel doctrine is that the Tribe of Ephraim and the Tribe of Manasseh can be identified as modern day Britain and the United States of America.[48][49][50] British-Israel adherents cite numerous theological, semiotics, archaeological, and ethnological resources as proofs.

Part of the foundation of the British-Israel doctrine is the theological claim that particular blessings were bestowed upon three of the tribes of Israel,[51][52][50][24]:317 in that the tribe of Judah was to be the 'chief ruler' e.g. King David, and that Ephraim was to receive the birthright (See Jacob and Esau). Adherents believe that these blessings have continued down through the ages to modern times, with the British Monarchy identified as the continued blessing upon Judah, and both Britain (Ephraim) and the USA (Manasseh) as recipients of the national birthright blessing. They cite passages such as 1 Chron 5:1-2 and Gen 48:19-20 as supporting this.

Relation to Christian Identity

Early British Israelites such as Edward Hine and John Wilson were philo-semites.[53][32]:33 British Israelism itself had several Jewish members and it received support from rabbis throughout the 19th century. Within British politics, the movement supported Benjamin Disraeli, who was descended from Sephardi Jews,[32]:13–19[54] while they also favoured Theodor Herzl in his advocacy of Zionism.[53]

That Chamberlain is a strong Anti-Semite adds to the value of the testimony which he bears to the nobility of the Sephardim, the intensely aristocratic Jews of Spain and Portugal, the descendants of the men whom the Romans, dreading their influence, deported westward. "That is nobility in the fullest sense of the word, genuine nobility of race! Beautiful forms, noble heads, dignity in speech and in deportment."

-- The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, by Houston Stewart Chamberlain


Still, below the surface there had existed an anti-semitic strain such as in the scientific racialism that led Wilson to deny the 'racial purity' of modern Jews, leading to the view more broadly within the movement that modern Jews were 'un-Semitic impostors'.[10]:206–210 Some American adherents of British Israelism would adopt a racialized, strongly anti-Semitic theology that became known as Christian Identity,[55]:xii which has at its core the belief that non-Caucasian people have no souls and therefore cannot be saved.[32]:68 Emerging in the 1920s, Christian Identity began teaching that the Jews are not descended from the tribe of Judah (as British Israelites maintain) at all, but are instead descended from Satan & Lilith or from Edomite-Khazars.[55]:62–97

The Original Semites were the fifth and most important of the seven Atlantean Races, because in them we find the first germ of the corrective quality of Thought. Therefore the Original Semitic Race become the "seed race" for the seven races of the present Aryan Epoch....

Under the guidance of a great Entity, the Original Semitic Race was led eastward from the continent of Atlantis, over Europe, to the great waste in Central Asia which is known as the Gobi Desert. There it prepared them to be the seed of the seven Races of the Aryan Epoch, imbuing them potentially with the qualities to be evolved by their descendants....now his thoughts were to be turned from the visible Leaders, the Lords from Venus, whom he worshiped as messengers from the gods -- to the idea of the true God, the invisible Creator of the System. Man was to learn to worship and obey the commands of a God he could not see....

The Original Semites ... were taught to worship an invisible God and to expect to be rewarded by material benefits, or punished by painful afflictions....

To transmute Cunning into Reason proved no easy task. The earlier changes in man's nature had been easily brought about. He could then be led without difficulty because he had no conscious desire, nor mind to guide him, but by the time of the Original Semites he had become cunning enough to resent limitations of his liberty and to circumvent repeatedly the measures taken to hold him in line. The task of guiding him was all the more difficult because it was necessary he should have some liberty of choice, that he might in time learn self-government. Therefore a law was enacted which decreed immediate rewards for obedience and instant punishment for disregard of its provisions. Thus was man taught, coaxed and coerced into reasoning in a limited manner that "the way of the transgressor is hard," and that he must "fear God," or the Leader who guided him.

Out of all who were chosen as "seed" for the new Race, few remained faithful. Most of them were rebellious and, so far as they were concerned, entirely frustrated the purpose of the Leader by intermarrying with the other Atlantean Races, thus bringing inferior blood into their descendants. That is what is meant in the Bible where the fact is recorded that the sons of God married the daughters of men. For that act of disobedience were they abandoned and "lost." ...

The rebellious ones who were abandoned are the Jews, of whom the great majority are still governed more by the Atlantean faculty of Cunning than by Reason. In them the race-feeling is so strong that they distinguish only two classes of people: Jews and Gentiles. They despise the other nations and are in turn despised by them for their cunning, selfishness and avarice....

Races are but an evanescent feature of evolution. Before the end of the Lemurian Epoch there was a "chosen people," different from the ordinary humanity of that time, who became the ancestors of the Atlantean Races. From the fifth race of those, another "chosen people" was drawn, from which the Aryan Races descended, of which there have been five and will be two more....

[E]xtra care must be taken that as few of the spirits as possible become enmeshed in the fetters of Race. This is exactly what happened to the spirits reborn in the Jewish Race-bodies. They attached themselves so firmly to the Race that they are drawn back into it in successive births. "Once a Jew, always a Jew" is their slogan. They have entirely forgotten their spiritual nature and glory in the material fact of being "Abraham's seed." Therefore they are neither "fish nor flesh." They have no part in the advancing Aryan Race and yet they are beyond those remnants of the Lemurian and Atlantean peoples which are still with us. They have become a people without a country, an anomaly among mankind. ...

The Original Semites were set apart and forbidden to marry into other tribes or peoples, but they were a stiff-necked and hard people, being yet led almost exclusively by desire and cunning, therefore they disobeyed the command. Their Bible records that the sons of God married the daughters of man -- the lower grades of their Atlantean compatriots. They thus frustrated the designs of Jehovah and were cast off, the fruit of such cross-breeding being useless as seed for the coming Race.

These cross-breeds were the progenitors of the present Jews, who now speak of "lost tribes." They know that some of the original number left them and went another way, but they do not know that those were the few who remained true. The story of the ten tribes being lost is a fable. Most of them perished, but the faithful ones survived, and from that faithful remnant have descended the present Aryan Races.

-- The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception: An Elementary Treatise Upon Man's Past Evolution, Present Constitution and Future Development, by Max Heindel


In contrast to the new, growing, Anglo-Saxon race, look, for instance, at the Sephardim, the so-called "Spanish Jews"; here we find how a genuine race can by purity keep itself noble for centuries and tens of centuries, but at the same time how very necessary it is to distinguish between the nobly reared portions of a nation and the rest. In England, Holland and Italy there are still genuine Sephardim but very few, since they can scarcely any longer avoid crossing with the Ashkenazim (the so-called "German Jews"). Thus, for example, the Montefiores of the present generation have all without exception married German Jewesses. But every one who has travelled in the East of Europe, where the genuine Sephardim still as far as possible avoid all intercourse with German Jews, for whom they have an almost comical repugnance, will agree with me when I say that it is only when one sees these men and has intercourse with them that one begins to comprehend the significance of Judaism in the history of the word. This is nobility in the fullest sense of the word, genuine nobility of race! Beautiful figures, noble heads, dignity in speech and bearing.

-- The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, by Houston Stewart Chamberlain


Gobineau's [unlike Chamberlain's] was an honest Antisemitism, it was, like Nietzsche's, an historical Antisemitism: it had nothing whatever to do with modern Antisemitism, that movement born from fear, envy, and impotence ... [ I]t is an upright, a genuine, a gentlemanly Antisemitism, it is the Antisemitism of the aristocrat, who sees his very blood threatened by revolutionary religions.

-- Oscar Levy, from "Breeding Superman: Nietzsche, Race and Eugenics in Edwardian and Interwar Britain", by Dan Stone


The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the emergence of Christian Identity from British Israelism as an 'ugly turn':

Once on American shores, British-Israelism began to evolve. Originally, believers viewed contemporary Jews as descendants of those ancient Israelites who had never been "lost." They might be seen critically but, given their significant role in the British-Israel genealogical scheme, not usually with animosity. By the 1930s, however, in the U.S., a strain of antisemitism started to permeate the movement (though some maintained traditional beliefs—and a small number of traditionalists still exist in the U.S.)[56]


Another source describes the emergence of Christian Identity from British Israelism as a paradoxical "remarkable transition" from their philo-semitic origins to antisemitism and racism.[32]:13 Their adoption of the British Israelist belief that the Israelite-derived Anglo-Saxons had been favored by God over the 'impure' modern Jews meant that a reluctantly anti-Semitic Klansman "could now maintain his anti-Semitism and at the same time revere a Bible cleansed of its Jewish taint."[57]

Claims and criticism

British Israelism has been criticized for poor research and scholarship. The Encyclopedia Britannica summarises in 1910 that: "The theory [of British-Israelism] rests on premises which are deemed by scholars - both theological and anthropological - to be utterly unsound".[58] Current scholarship is not consistent with the claims of British Israelism, with scholars drawing attention to its "historical and linguistic inaccuracies" in addition to its links to antisemitism.[1] Hale (2015) refers to "the overwhelming cultural, historical and genetic evidence against it."[59]:181

Research standards

Critics of British Israelism note that the arguments presented by promoters of the teaching are based on unsubstantiated and highly speculative amateur research. Tudor Parfitt, author of The Lost Tribes: The History of a Myth, states that the proof cited by adherents of British Israelism is "of a feeble composition even by the low standards of the genre."[7]:61

Historical linguistics

Some proponents of British Israelism have claimed numerous links in historical linguistics between ancient Hebrew and various European place names and languages.[7]:62 This can be traced to the works of John Wilson in the 19th century. Wilson, who was self-trained, looked for similarities in the sounds of words and argued that many Scottish, British and Irish words stemmed from ancient Hebrew. Wilson's publications inspired the development of British Israel language associations in Europe.[32]:33

Modern scholarly linguistic analysis shows conclusively that the languages of the British Isles (English, Welsh, and Gaelic) belong to the Indo-European language family, while Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family.[60] In 1906, T. R. Lounsbury stated that “no trace of the slightest real connection can be discovered” between English and ancient Hebrew,[61] while Michael Friedman in 1993 wrote of the claims that Hebrew was closely related to Celtic and Anglo-Saxon that "the actual evidence could hardly be any weaker".[32]:33

Others have addressed the specific word relationships proposed. Russell Spittler (1973) says of the "disputable" etymological claims made by the British Israelists that they "have no ample basis in linguistic scholarship and are based on coincidences only."[38] William Ingram (1995) would present arguments made by British Israelism as examples of "tortured etymology".[36]:121

Scriptural interpretation

Adherents of British Israelism cite various scriptures in support of the argument that the "lost" Northern Israelite Tribes migrated through Europe to end up in Britain. Dimont (1933) argues that British Israelists misunderstand and misinterpret the meaning of these scriptures.[62]:5–7

One such case is the distinction that British Israelists make between the “Jews” of the Southern Kingdom and the “Israelites” of the Northern Kingdom. They believe that the Bible consistently distinguishes the two groups. Dimont says that many of these scriptures are misinterpreted because the distinction between “Jews” and “Israelites” was lost over time after the captivities.

British Israelists believe that the Northern Tribes of Israel lost their identity after the captivity in Assyria and that this is reflected in the Bible. Dimont disagrees with this assertion and argues that only higher ranking Israelites were deported from Israel and many Israelites remained.[62]:5 He cites examples after the Assyrian captivity, such as Josiah, King of Judah, who received money from the tribes of “Manasseh, and Ephraim and all the remnant of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:9), and Hezekiah, who sent invitations not only to Judah, but also to northern Israel for the attendance of a Passover in Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 30);[62]:6 British Israelites interpret 2 Chronicles 34:9 as referring to "Scythians".

Dimont is also critical of the interpretations of biblical prophecy embraced by the movement, saying, "Texts are torn from their context, and misapplied without the slightest regard to their original meaning."[62]:18

Historical speculation

British Israelism rests on linking different ancient populations. This includes linking the "lost" tribes of Israel with the Scythians, Cimmerians, Celts, and modern Western Europeans such as the British. To support these links, some adherents believe that similarities exist between various cultural aspects of these population groups, and they argue that these links demonstrate the migration of the "lost" Israelites in a westerly direction. Examples given include burial customs, metalwork, clothing, dietary customs, and more.[63] Dimont argues that the customs of the Scythians and the Cimmerians are in contrast with those of the Ancient Israelites,[62]:7–10 and he further dismisses the connection between these populations and the Saxons and Celts, particularly criticing then-current formulations of British Israelism that would interject Semites between the closely related English and Germans.[62]:10–11

The Scythian origin of the Scots has been referred to as mythical.[64][65] Algernon Herbert, writing in 1848, characterized the linguistic derivation of Scots from Scoloti as "strictly impossible",[64] and Merrill (2005) referred to it as false etymology.[40]

Addressing their view on the fate of the exiled tribes, Frank Boys would refer to their volumous output, "All the effort to write these volumes might well have been saved on the premise that 'they were never lost,' which we believe to be the correct one."[38]

Ideology

Parfitt suggests that the idea of British Israelism was inspired by numerous ideological factors, such as the desire for ordinary people to have a glorious ancestral past, pride in the British Empire, and the belief in the "racial superiority of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants",[7]:62 and Aikau characterized the movement as "fundamentally about providing a rationale for Anglo-Saxon superiority."[66] To Kidd, its theology represents a "quasi-heresy", serving to "blunt the universalist message apparent in the New Testament".[10]:204 Its role in fostering anti-semitism in conservative Protestant Christianity has been highlighted,[44]:57 as has a "racial chauvinism" that is "not always covert".[36]:121–122

Separately, the mythology of British Israelism has been cited as fostering "nationalistic bellicosity".[67] To some adherents, British Israelism served as a justification for British colonialism and imperialism, and perhaps even genocide, while also feeding American Manifest Destiny.[10]:212–213

Notable adherents

Image
Poole, WH, Anglo-Israel

• Richard Brothers (1757–1824), early believer and teacher/promoter of this teaching
• John Wilson (1799–1870) published a series of his lectures in a book, Our Israelitish Origin (1840)
• Archbishop William Bennett Bond (1815–1906), Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
• Charles Piazzi Smyth(1819–1900), pyramidologist and Astronomer Royal for Scotland
• William H. Poole (1820–1896), Methodist minister, known for his book Anglo-Israel, or the British Nation the Lost Tribes of Israel (1889)
• Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910), founder of Christian Science[68][69]
• Edward Wheeler Bird (1823–1903), Anglo-Indian judge and British-Israel author
• Edward Hine (1825–1891), artist, historian, author of Forty-Seven Identifications of the British Nation with the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel
• John Cox Gawler (1830–1882) was a Keeper of the Jewel House and a British Israelite author.
• Elieser Bassin (1840–1898), a Russian-Jewish convert to Christianity
• John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher (1841–1920), Admiral of the Fleet
• Richard Reader Harris (KC) (1847–1909), founder of the Pentecostal League of Prayer movement in London
• John Harden Allen (1847–1930), an American Holiness minister, wrote Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright
• C. A. L. Totten (1851–1908), Professor of Military Tactics at Yale University, wrote countless articles and books advocating British Israelism, including a 26-volume series entitled Our Race
• Charles Fox Parham (1873–1929), American preacher, instrumental in the formation of Pentecostalism
• William Comyns Beaumont (1873–1956), British journalist, author, and lecturer
• William Aberhart (1878–1943), a Social Credit premier of Albertafrom 1935 to 1943
• Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883–1981), a patron of the British-Israel-World Federation
• David Davidson (1884–1956), Scottish structural engineer and pyramidologist
• George Jeffreys (1889–1962), Welsh minister and evangelist who founded the Elim Pentecostal Church[17]
• Herbert W. Armstrong (1892–1986), American founder of the Worldwide Church of God
• Boake Carter (1903–1944), British-educated American radio news commentator
• Patience Strong (1907–1990), poet[9]
• Alexander James Ferris, a prolific author on British Israelism.
• Garner Ted Armstrong (1930–2003), Church of God International (United States)
• Robert Bradford (1941–1981), Methodist minister and Ulster Unionist politician
• Alan Campbell (1949-2017), former Pentecostal pastor from Northern Ireland
• Nelson McCausland (born 1951), Democratic Unionist politician[70]

See also

• And did those feet in ancient time, the poem written by William Blake which is popularly known as "Jerusalem"
• Armstrongism
Destiny Publishers
• Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites
House of Joseph (LDS Church) [Mormons]
• Supersessionism
• Two House theology

References

1. Brackney, William H. Historical Dictionary of Radical Christianity. Scarecrow Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9780810873650. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
2. Eller, Jack David (2007). Introducing Anthropology of Religion: Culture to the Ultimate. p. 291. ISBN 1138024910.
3. Melton, J. Gordon (2005). Encyclopedia of Protestantism. New York: Facts on File, Inc. p. 107. ISBN 0-8160-5456-8.
4. Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192802903.
5. Shapiro, Faydra L. (2015). Christian Zionism: Navigating the Jewish-Christian Border. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. p. 151.
6. Fine, Jonathan (2015). Political Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: From Holy War to Modern Terror. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442247567. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
7. Parfitt, Tudor (2003). The lost tribes of Israel : the history of a myth (1st pbk. ed., 2nd impression. ed.). London: Phoenix. ISBN 978-1842126653.
8. Wilson, J. (March 1968). "British Israelism". The Sociological Review. 16 (1): 41–57. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.1968.tb01291.x.
9. Strong, Patience (1986). Someone had to say it. Bachman & Turner, London. ISBN 978-0859741323.
10. Kidd, Colin (2006). The forging of races : race and scripture in the Protestant Atlantic world, 1600-2000 (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge [etc.]: Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0521797290.
11. Jacobs, Joseph (1901). "Anglo-Israelism". In Singer, Isidore. Jewish Encyclopedia: Anglo-Israelism. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. p. 600. ASIN B01K2CBAKE. ISBN 978-1117918952.
12. Indy media, IE.
13. Moshenska, G. (2008). 'The Bible in Stone': Pyramids, Lost Tribes and Alternative Archaeologies". Public Archaeology. 7(1): 5–16.
14. "Contact Us". The British-Israel-World Federation. The British-Israel-World Federation. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
15. "Other British-Israel Organisations". The British-Israel-World Federation. The British-Israel-World Federation. Retrieved 24 August2015.
16. Wilson, J. (1 January 1968). "British Israelism: A Revitalization Movement in Contemporary Culture" (PDF). Archives de sociologie des religions. 13 (26): 73–80.
17. Anderson, Allan Heaton (2014). An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 101–102.
18. Wilson, B. R. (1973). "American Religion: Its Impact on Britain". In den Hollander, A. N. J. Contagious Conflict: The Impact of American Dissent on European Life. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 244.
19. Armstrong, Herbert (1967). The United States and Britain in Prophecy. p. 5.
20. Orr, R (1999), How Anglo-Israelism Entered Seventh-day Churches of God: A history of the doctrine from John Wilson to Joseph W. Tkach, retrieved July 19, 2007.
21. Joseph Tkach, "Transformed by Truth: The Worldwide Church of God Rejects the Teachings of Founder Herbert W Armstrong and Embraces Historic Christianity. This is the Inside Story"
22. Armstrong, Herbert (1985). Mystery of the Ages. p. 183.
23. Encyclopedia Britannica (11th ed.). p. vol. 15, p. 373.
24. Allen, J.H. (1917). Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright (16 ed.). Haverhill, MA: Destiny Publishers.
25. Harmsworth’s History Volume 3. pp. 1781–1782, 1784–1785.
26. "The DNA of Western European Nations". British Israel Basics. Canadian British-Israel Association.
27. Filmer, W. E. (1964). A Synopsis of the Migrations of Israel. Covenant Books. p. 5. ISBN 0852050615.
28. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities. p. 11:133.
29. "British-Israel Answers its Critics". The British-Israel Church of God.
30. Poole, William Henry (1879). Anglo-Israel; Or, The British Nation the Lost Tribes of Israel. Bengough Bros. p. 23. ISBN 1330950690.
31. Chryssides, George D. (2012). Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements. Lanham: The Scarecros Press, Inc. p. 65.
32. Quarles, Chester L (2004). Christian Identity: The Aryan American Bloodline Religion. McFarland & co. ISBN 978-0-78641892-3.
33. Strassler, Robert (2009). The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories. New York: Anchor Books. p. 759.
34. van Donzel, Emiri; Schmidt, Andrea (2009). Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall. Leiden: Brill. pp. 10–13.
35. Capt, E. Raymond (1985), Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets, Artisan, ISBN 0-934666-15-6.
36. Ingram, William L. (1995). "God and Race: British-Israelism and Christian Identity". In Miller, Thomas. America's Alternative Religions. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. pp. 119–126.
37. Kelly, Aidan A. (1990). The Evangelical Christian Anti-Cult Movement: Christian Counter-Cult Literature. New York: Garland Publishing. p. 86.
38. Spittler, Russell P. (1963). Cults and isms: twenty alternatives to evangelical Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company. p. 101.
39. Friedman, O. Michael (1993). Origins of the British Israelites: The Lost Tribes. San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press. p. 62.
40. Merrill, A. H. (2005). History and Geography in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 284–5.
41. Broun, Dauvit (1999). The Irish Identity of the Kingdom of the Scots in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Woodbridge, England: Boydell Press. pp. 78–79,119–122.
42. "Declaration of Arbroath - English Translation". Constitution Society.
43. For example, Davidy, Yair (1996). "Lost Israelite Identity": The Hebraic Ancestry of Celtic Races. Brit-Am. pp. 240–242., Ogwyn, John H. The United States and Britain in Prophecy. pp. 27–28.
44. Pierard, Richard V. (1996). "The Contribution of British-Israelism to anti-Semitism within conservative Protestantism". In Locke, Hubert G.; Littell, Marcia Sachs. Holocaust and church struggle: religion, power and the politics of resistance. University Press of America. pp. 44–68.
45. Gershevych, Ilya (1985). The Cambridge History of Iran, volume 2: The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 94.
46. Katz, David S. (2001). "Israel in America: The Wanderings of Lost Ten Tribes from Mikveigh Yisrael to Timothy McVeigh". In Bernardini, Paolo; Fiering, Norman. The Jews and the Expansion of Europe to the West, 1450 to 1800. New York: Berghahn Books. p. 112.
47. Hexham, Irving (2001). "British Israelism". In Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (2 ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company. p. 187.
48. Ferris, A. J. (1941). Great Britain & The U.S.A. Revealed as Israel The New Order.
49. Glover, Frederick Robert Augustus (1881). England, the Remnant of Judah and the Israel of Ephraim. Rivingtons.
50. Armstrong, Herbert W. (2007). The United States and Britain in Prophecy. Philadelphia Church of God. ASIN B002ILY91A.
51. Wild, Joseph (1888). The Future of Israel and Judah: Being the Discourses on the Lost Tribes from How and when the World Will End. Nabu Press. p. 108. ISBN 9781287712565.
52. The Standard of Israel and journal of the Anglo-Israel association. 1875. p. 8.
53. Gardell, Mattias (2003). Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. p. 372.
54. Life From The Dead, 1875, Vol. III, p. 154.
55. Barkun, Michael (2003). Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469611112.
56. "Christian Identity". Anti-Defamation League.
57. Phillips, Michael (2006). White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 95.
58. The Encyclopedia Britannica. 11th edn. 1910. Vol.II, page 31.
59. Hale, Amy (2016). "Reigning with Swords of Meteoric Iron: Archangel Michael and the British New Jerusalem". In Parker, Joanne. The Harp and the Constitution: Myths of Celtic and Gothic Origin. Brill Academic Pub. ISBN 9789004306370.
60. Warf, Barney (2006). "Language, Geography of". Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Thousand Oaks CA: SAGE Publications. pp. 270–275.
61. Lounsbury, T (1906). History of the English Language. pp. 1, 12–13.
62. Dimont, Charles T. (1933). The legend of British-Israel. London: Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge.
63. "The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy". UCG. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
64. Todd, James Henthorn (1848). "Editor's Preface". The Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius. Dublin: Irish Archæological Society. p. xcvii.
65. Klieforth, Alexander Leslie; Munro, Robert John (2004). The Scottish invention of America, Democracy and Human Rights: A History of Liberty and Freedom from the Ancient Celts to the New Millennium. Dallas: University Press of America, Inc. p. 5. ISBN 978-0761827917.
66. Aikau, Hokulani K. (2012). A Chosen People, a Promised Land: Mormonism and Race in Hawai'i. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8166-7462-6.
67. Pearse, Meic (2007). The Gods of War: Is Religion the Primary cause of Violent Conflict?. InterVarsity Press. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-0830834907.
68. Eddy, Mary Baker, The United States and Great Britain as Anglo Israel (poem), Read book online, archived from the original on 2011-05-13.
69. Gottschalk, Stephen (1978). Christian Science. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520037182.
70. McDonald, Henry (26 May 2010). "Northern Ireland minister calls on Ulster Museum to promote creationism". The Guardian.

Further reading

• Baron, David (1915), The History of the Ten "Lost" Tribes: Anglo-Israelism Examined.
• Darms, Anton (1945). The Delusion of British Israelism: A comprehensive Treatise. Loiseaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot. ASIN B01NBNXA8N.
• Jowett, George F (1980) [1961]. The Drama of the Lost Disciples. London: Covenant Publishing Company Ltd.ASIN B003VP662W.. A work of theoretical history which covers many relevant themes of Biblical and British connections.
• Kellogg, Howard, British-Israel Identity, Los Angeles: American Prophetic League.
• Kossy, Donna (2001) [1994], "The Anglo-Israelites", Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of Human Belief (2nd exp. ed.), Los Angeles: Feral House, ISBN 978-0-922915-67-5.
• May, HG (16 September 1943), "The Ten Lost Tribes", Biblical Archaeologist, 16: 55–60.
• McQuaid, Elwood (Dec./Jan. 1977–78), "Who Is a Jew? British-Israelism versus the Bible", Israel My Glory: 35.
• Michell, John (1999). "Jews, Britons and the Lost Tribes of Israel". Eccentric lives and peculiar notions : with 56 illustrations(Paperback/electronic ed.). Kempton, Ill.: Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 978-0932813671.
• Reisenauer, Eric Michael (September 2008). "Anti-Jewish Philosemitism: British and Hebrew Affinity and Nineteenth Century British Antisemitism". British Scholar. 1 (1): 79–104. doi:10.3366/brs.2008.0006.
• Wilson, John (1 January 1968). "The Relation between Ideology and Organization in a Small Religious Group: The British Israelites". Review of Religious Research. 10 (1): 51–60. doi:10.2307/3510673.

External links

• Brit Am Israel
• British-Israel basics
• Christian, Messianic, and Jewish research on the Ten Lost Tribes
• Literature on the Lost Tribes of Israel from Destiny Publishers
• Menassah ben Israel, The Hope of Israel (London, 1650, English translation), scanned text online at Oliver's Bookshelf
• Robinson, BA, Anglo-Israelism and British Israelism, Religious Tolerance.
• "Anglo-Israelism", Jewish Encyclopedia.
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Re: Mormonism in The New Germany, by Dale Clark

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Christian Identity
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 7/9/18

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Christian Identity (also known as Identity Christianity[1]) is a racist, anti-Semitic, and white supremacist interpretation of Christianity which holds that only Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Nordic, Aryan people and those of kindred blood are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and hence the descendants of the ancient Israelites (primarily as a result of the Assyrian captivity).

Christian Identity is not an organized religion, and is not connected with specific Christian denominations; instead, it is independently practiced by individuals, independent congregations and some prison gangs.[2]

The [Dearborn Independent] paper reached a circulation of 900,000 by 1925, second only to the New York Daily News.

-- The Dearborn Independent, by Wikipedia


Its theology promotes a racial interpretation of Christianity.[3][4] Christian Identity beliefs were primarily developed and promoted by two authors who regarded Europeans as the "chosen people" and Jews as the cursed offspring of Cain, the "serpent hybrid" or serpent seed (a belief known as the two-seedline doctrine). White supremacist sects and gangs later adopted many of these teachings.

Christian Identity holds that all non-whites (people not of wholly European descent) on the planet will either be exterminated or enslaved in order to serve the White race in the new Heavenly Kingdom on Earth under the reign of Jesus Christ. Its doctrine states that only "Adamic" (white people) can achieve salvation and paradise. Many adherents are Millennialist.

Adherents of Christian Identity refer to non-whites as "mamzers" or "tares".

Tenets

Rather than being an organized religion, Christian Identity ("CI") is adhered to by individuals, independent congregations and some prison gangs[5] with a white supremacist theology[6][7] that promotes a racial interpretation of Christianity. Christian Identity beliefs were primarily developed and promoted by two authors who considered Europeans to be the chosen people and Jews to be the cursed offspring of Cain, the "serpent hybrid" (or Serpent seed) (a belief known as the two-seedline doctrine). An early Christian Identity teacher, Wesley A. Swift (1913–1970), formulated the doctrine that non-Caucasian peoples have no souls and therefore can never earn God's favor or be saved.[8][9] The theology was promoted by George Lincoln Rockwell (1918 – 1967), the founder of the American Nazi Party.

No single document expresses the Christian Identity belief system; there is much disagreement over the doctrines being taught by those ascribing to CI beliefs, since there is no central organization or headquarters for the CI sect. However, all CI adherents believe that Adam and his offspring were exclusively White and that the other pre-Adamite races are separate species, which cannot be either equated with or derived from the Adamites.[10] CI adherents cite passages from the Old Testament, including Ezra 9:2, 12 and Nehemiah 13:27, which they claim contain injunctions by Yahweh against interracial marriages. Christian Identity believers reject the doctrines of most contemporary Christian denominations[11] and they believe that the doctrine which advocates the view that God's promises to Israel (through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) have been expanded to create a spiritual people of "Israel", i.e., the Christian Church, is heresy.[12]

The Christian Identity movement first received widespread attention from the mainstream media in 1984, when the white nationalist organization known as The Order embarked on a murderous crime spree before it was suppressed by the FBI. Tax resister and militia movement organizer Gordon Kahl, whose death in a 1983 shootout with federal authorities helped inspire The Order, also had connections to the Christian Identity movement.[13][14] The movement returned to public attention in 1992 and 1993, in the wake of the deadly Ruby Ridge confrontation, when newspapers discovered that former Green Beret and right-wing separatist Randy Weaver had at least a loose association with Christian Identity believers.[15]

These groups are estimated to have two thousand members in the United States[16] and an unknown number in Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth. Due to the promotion of Christian Identity doctrines through radio and later through the Internet, an additional fifty unaffiliated individuals are thought to hold Christian Identity beliefs.[16] The primary spread of Christian Identity teachings is believed to be through white supremacist prison gangs.[17]

Origins

The Christian Identity movement emerged in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s as an offshoot sect of British Israelism.[18][19] The idea that "lower races" are mentioned in the Bible (in contrast to Aryans) was posited in the 1905 book Theozoology; or The Science of the Sodomite Apelings and the Divine Electron by Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels, a volkisch writer seen by many historians as a major influence on Nazism. Adolf Hitler, however, did not subscribe to the belief that the Israelites of the Bible were Aryans; in a speech he gave in Munich in 1920 titled "Why We Are Anti-Semites", he referred to and disparaged Abraham as racially Jewish.[20]



Relation to British Israelism

While early British Israelites such as Edward Hine and John Wilson were philo-semites, Christian Identity emerged in sharp contrast as a strongly antisemitic theology.[21]

That Chamberlain is a strong Anti-Semite adds to the value of the testimony which he bears to the nobility of the Sephardim, the intensely aristocratic Jews of Spain and Portugal, the descendants of the men whom the Romans, dreading their influence, deported westward. "That is nobility in the fullest sense of the word, genuine nobility of race! Beautiful forms, noble heads, dignity in speech and in deportment.... That out of the midst of such men prophets and psalmists should go forth, that I understood at the first glance -- something which I confess the closest observation of the many hundred 'Bochers' in the Friedrichstrasse in Berlin had failed to enable me to do."

-- The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, by Houston Stewart Chamberlain


The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the emergence of Christian Identity from British Israelism as an 'ugly turn':

Once on American shores, British-Israelism began to evolve. Originally, believers viewed contemporary Jews as descendants of those ancient Israelites who had never been "lost." They might be seen critically but, given their significant role in the British-Israel genealogical scheme, not usually with animosity. By the 1930s, however, in the U.S., a strain of antisemitism started to permeate the movement (though some maintained traditional beliefs—and a small number of traditionalists still exist in the U.S.)[19]


Another source describes the emergence of Christian Identity from British Israelism as a "remarkable transition", also noting that traditional British Israelites were advocates of philosemitism which paradoxically changed to antisemitism and racism under Christian Identity.[22] In fact, British Israelism itself had several Jewish members, and it received support from rabbis throughout the 19th century; within British politics it supported Benjamin Disraeli, who was descended from Sephardi Jews.[23][24] However, Christian Identity, which emerged in the 1920s, began to turn antisemitic by teaching the belief that the Jews are not descended from the tribe of Judah (as British Israelites maintain), but are instead descended from Satan or Edomite-Khazars.[25] The British Israel form of the belief held no antisemitic views; its followers instead held the view that Jews made up a minority of the tribes of Israel (Judah and Benjamin), with the British and other related Northern European peoples making up the remainder.

Early years

Christian Identity can be traced back to 1886 with the publication of the book, Lost Israel Found in the Anglo-Saxon Race, by E.P. Ingersoll.[26] This was followed in the 1920s by the writings of Howard Rand (1889–1991).[27][28]

Rand was a Massachusetts lawyer who obtained a law degree at the University of Maine. He was raised as a British Israelite, and his father introduced him to J. H. Allen's work Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright (1902)[29] at an early age.[30] While Rand's father was not an antisemite, nor was Rand in his early British Israelite years, Rand first added an antisemitic element to British Israelism in the 1920s. He claimed as early as 1924 that the Jews were not really descended from the tribe of Judah, but were instead the descendants of Esau or Canaanites.[31] However, Rand never claimed that modern Jews were descendants of Satan, or that they were in any way inferior; he just claimed that they were not the true lineal descendants of Judah.[32] For this reason Rand is considered a 'transitional' figure from British Israelism to Christian Identity, but not its actual founder.[33]

Rand is known as the first person to coin the term 'Christian Identity'.[34] Rand had set up the Anglo-Saxon Federation of America in 1933 which promoted his view that Jews were not descended from Judah; this marked the first key transition from British Israelism to Christian Identity. Beginning in May 1937, there were key meetings of British Israelites in the United States who were attracted to Rand's theory that the Jews were not descended from Judah. This provided the catalyst for the eventual emergence of Christian Identity. By the late 1930s the group considered Jews to be the offspring of Satan and demonised them, as they did non-Caucasian races.[35][36] William Dudley Pelley, founder of the clerical fascist Silver Shirts movement, also promoted an anti-semitic form of British Israelism in the early 1930s.[37] Links between Christian Identity and the Ku Klux Klan also emerged in the late 1930s,
although the KKK was past the peak of its early 20th century revival.[38]

Key developers

Wesley Swift (1913–1970) is considered by the FBI to have been the most significant figure in the early years of the Christian Identity movement. Swift was born in New Jersey, and eventually moved to Los Angeles in order to attend Bible college. It is claimed that he may have been a "Ku Klux Klan organizer and a Klan rifle-team instructor."[39] In 1946, he founded his own church in Lancaster, California. In the 1950s, he was Gerald L. K. Smith's West Coast representative of the Christian Nationalist Crusade. In addition, he hosted a daily radio broadcast in California during the 1950s and 1960s, through which he was able to proclaim his ideology to a large audience. Due to Swift's efforts, the message of his church spread, leading to the creation of similar churches throughout the country.

In 1957, the name of his church was changed to The Church of Jesus Christ Christian, which is used today by Aryan Nations (AN) churches. One of Swift's associates was retired Col. William Potter Gale (1917–1988). Gale had previously been an aide to General Douglas MacArthur, and had coordinated guerrilla resistance in the Philippines during World War II. Gale became a leading figure in the anti-tax and paramilitary movements of the 1970s and 1980s, beginning with the California Rangers and the Posse Comitatus, and helping to found the militia movement. Numerous Christian Identity churches preach similar messages and some espouse more violent rhetoric than others, but all of them hold the belief that Aryans are God's chosen race. Gale introduced future Aryan Nations founder Richard Girnt Butler to Swift. Until then, Butler had admired George Lincoln Rockwell and Senator Joseph McCarthy, and had been relatively secular. Swift quickly converted him to Christian Identity. When Swift died, Butler took over the Church, to the apparent dismay of both Gale and Swift's families. Neither Butler nor Gale rivaled Swift as a dynamic orator, and attendance dwindled under the new pastor. Butler eventually renamed the organisation "The Church of Jesus Christ Christian/Aryan Nations" and moved it to Hayden Lake, Idaho.

Lesser figures participated as Christian Identity theology took shape in the 1940s and 1950s, such as San Jacinto Capt, a Baptist minister and California Klansman (who claimed that he had introduced Wesley Swift to Christian Identity); and Bertrand Comparet (1901–1983), one-time San Diego Deputy City Attorney (and lawyer for Gerald L. K. Smith). But for the most part, today's Christian Identity groups seem to have been generated by Wesley Swift, through his lieutenants William Potter Gale and Richard Butler.

Beliefs

Christian Identity asserts that the white people of Europe or Caucasians in general are God's servant people, according to the promises that were given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It further asserts that the early European tribes were really the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel and therefore the rightful heirs to God's promises, and God's chosen people. Colin Kidd wrote that in America, Christian Identity exploited "the puzzle of the Ten Lost Tribes to justify an openly anti-Semitic and virulently racist agenda."[40]

Two House Theology

Like British Israelites, Christian Identity (CI) adherents believe in Two House Theology, which makes a distinction between the Tribe of Judah and the Ten Lost Tribes.[41] However the major difference between British Israelism and CI is that British Israelites have always maintained that Jews are descended from the tribe of Judah.[42] In contrast, while also maintaining a Two House distinction, Christian Identity proponents believe that the true lineal descendants of Judah are not contemporary Jews, but are instead White Europeans whose ancestors settled mainly in Scotland, Germany, and other European nations, alongside the House of Israel. In short, Christian Identity adherents believe that instead of modern-day Jews, the true descendents of the Houses of Israel and Judah are the modern-day Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and kindred peoples.[41][43] Some CI scholars teach the belief that many contemporary Jews are the descendants of Cain, citing Genesis 3:15, John 8:44 and 1 John 3:12 in support of their position; they also teach that Cain was the spawn of Satan.[44]

Origin beliefs

Identity teaches that "Israel" was the name given to Jacob after he wrestled with the angel at Peniel as described in Genesis 32:26–32. "Israel" then had twelve sons, which began the Twelve Tribes of Israel.[45]:101 In 975 BC the ten northern tribes revolted, seceded from the south, and became the Kingdom of Israel.[45]:101 After they were subsequently conquered by Assyria at approximately 721 BC, the ten tribes disappeared from the Biblical record and became known as the Lost Tribes of Israel.[45]:101

According to Identity doctrine, 2 Esdras 13:39–46 then records the history of the nation of Israel journeying over the Caucasus mountains, along the Black Sea, to the Ar Sereth tributory of the Danube in Romania ("But they formed this plan for themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the nations and go to a more distant region, where no human beings had ever lived. … Through that region there was a long way to go, a journey of a year and a half; and that country is called Arzareth").[45]:101 The tribes prospered, and eventually colonised other European countries. Israel's leading tribe, the Tribe of Dan, is attributed with settling and naming many areas which are today distinguished by place names derived from its name – written ancient Hebrew contains no vowels, and hence "Dan" would be written as DN, but would be pronounced with an intermediate vowel dependent on the local dialect, meaning that Dan, Den, Din, Don, and Dun all have the same meaning.[45]:101 Various modern place names are said to derive from the name of this tribe:[45]:101

• Macedonia – Macedonia – derived from Moeshe-don-ia (Moeshe being "the land of Moses")
• Danube – Dan-ube, Dneister – Dn-eister, Dneiper – Dn-eiper, Donetz – Don-etz, Danzig – Dan-zig, Don – Don

Some followers claim that the Identity genealogy of the Davidic line can be traced to the royal rulers of Britain and Queen Elizabeth II herself.[45]:102–105 Thus Anglo-Saxons are the true Israelites, God's chosen people who were given the divine right to rule the world until the Second Coming of Christ.[45]:101

Adamites and pre-Adamites

A major tenet of Christian Identity is the pre-Adamite hypothesis. Christian Identity followers believe that Adam and Eve are only the ancestors of white people, and that Adam and Eve were preceded by lesser, non-Caucasian races which are often (although not always) identified as "beasts of the field";[46] for example, the "beasts" which wore sackcloth and cried unto God (Jonah 3:8) are identified as black races by Christian Identity adherents. To support their theory on the racial identity of Adam, Christian Identity proponents point out that the Hebrew etymology of the word 'Adam' translates as 'be ruddy, red, to show blood (in the face)' often quoting from James Strong's Hebrew Dictionary[47] and from this they conclude that only Caucasians or people with light white skin can blush or turn rosy in the face (because hemoglobin only appears under pale skin).[48] Proponents of Christian Identity believe that Adam was only created six thousand years ago, while the other, non-Caucasian races were created during far older epochs that occurred on the other continents.

Serpent seed

Dual Seedline Christian Identity proponents— those who believe that Eve bore children with Satan as well as with Adam —believe that Eve was seduced by the Serpent (Satan), shared her fallen state with Adam by lying down with him, and gave birth to twins with different fathers: Satan's son Cain and Adam's son Abel. This belief is referred to as the serpent seed doctrine. According to the "dual seedline" form of Christian Identity, Cain then became the progenitor of the Jews in his subsequent matings with members of the non-Adamic races.

The serpent seed idea, which ascribes the ancestry of legendary monsters such as Grendel to Cain,[43] was somewhat widespread in the Middle Ages. It also appears in early Gnostic Christian texts as well as in some Jewish texts, for example a 9th-century book titled Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer.[49] In his book Cain: Son of the Serpent, David Max Eichhorn, traces the idea back to early Jewish Midrashic texts and he identifies many rabbis who taught the belief that Cain was the son of a union between the Serpent and Eve.[49]

Some Kabbalist rabbis also believe that Cain and Abel were of a different genetic background than Seth. This teaching is based on the theory that God created two "Adams" (adam means "man" in Hebrew). To one he gave a soul and to the other he did not give a soul. The one without a soul is the creature known in Christianity as the Serpent. The Kabbalists call the serpent the Nahash (which means the serpent in Hebrew).


This is recorded in the Zohar:

Two beings [Adam and Nachash] had intercourse with Eve, and she conceived from both and bore two children. Each followed one of the male parents, and their spirits parted, one to this side and one to the other, and similarly their characters. On the side of Cain are all the haunts of the evil species; from the side of Abel comes a more merciful class, yet not wholly beneficial – good wine mixed with bad.

— Zohar 136


A seminal influence on the Christian Identity movement's views on pre-Adamism was a book published in 1900 by Charles Carroll titled The Negro a Beast or In the Image of God?. In the book Carroll concluded that Adam only gave birth to the White race and the White race was made in the image and likeness of God, while Negroes are pre-Adamite beasts who could not possibly have been made in God's image and likeness because they are beast-like, immoral and ugly.[50] Carroll claimed that the pre-Adamite races such as blacks did not have souls. Carroll believed that race mixing was an insult to God because it spoiled His racial plan of creation. According to Carroll, the mixing of races had also led to the errors of Atheism and evolutionism.[51]

Creationism

Christian Identity proponents are Old Earth Creationists, but they believe that Adam (who was the father of the white race or Caucasians) was only created around 6,000 years ago, while they also believe that both the universe and Earth are billions of years old and that non-Caucasian races were created hundreds of thousands or even millions of years ago.

Wesley Swift strongly criticised Young Earth Creationism and the traditional Judeo-Christian view that Noah's flood was global. He instead believed that the flood was only local and that the Earth was billions of years old.[43] Christian Identity adherents claim that the flood in Genesis only rose high enough to drown the region of the Tarim Basin below sea level (Gen. 7:20) and that therefore the Hebrew word "eretz" which appears in those verses should be rendered "the land" (as in a specific place) rather than "the earth."

Racialism

Racialism, or race-based philosophy, is the core tenet of Christian Identity, and most CI adherents are white nationalists who support racial segregation. Some CI adherents believe that Jews are genetically compelled by their Satanic or Edomite ancestry to carry on a conspiracy against the Adamic seedline and that Jews have today achieved almost complete control of the Earth through their claim to the white race's status as God's chosen people.[52] As a general rule, Christian Identity followers adhere to the traditional Christian views on the role of women (See Biblical patriarchy), abortion,[53] and homosexuality,[54] and they believe that racial miscegenation is a sin and a violation of God's law in Genesis 1:24–25 which commands that all creatures should produce "kind after kind."

In addition to their strict fundamentalist racial views Christian Identity adherents distinguish themselves from mainstream Protestant Fundamentalism in various areas of theology. Some Christian Identity adherents follow the Mosaic law of the Old Testament (e.g., dietary restrictions, the seventh-day Sabbath and certain annual festivals such as Passover). It is also commonplace for some Christian Identity adherents to follow the Sacred Name Movement and they insist on using the original Hebrew names when referring to God (Yahweh) and Jesus Christ (Yahshua). Some Christian Identity writers criticize modern Bible editions as well as the Jews for their removal of the original Hebrew name of God from the Bible. Although their adherence to Old Testament Mosaic law may make them appear "Jewish"; they claim that the Jewish interpretation of the law has been corrupted through the Jews' Talmud. Unlike many Protestant Fundamentalists, Christian Identity adherents reject the notion of a Rapture, believing it to be a Judaized doctrine which the Bible does not teach.[55]

Racial politics and economics

Christian Identity politics was first reviewed by Howard Rand and William J. Cameron after the Great Depression. In 1943, Rand published the article "Digest of the Divine Law" which discussed the political and economic challenges at that time. An excerpt from the article states: "We shall not be able to continue in accord with the old order. Certain groups are already planning an economy of regimentation for our nation; but it will only intensify the suffering and want of the past and bring to our peoples all the evils that will result from such planning by a group of men who are failing to take into consideration the fundamental principles underlying the law of the Lord."[56]

While Rand never formally admitted to what groups he was specifically referring, his hatred for Jews, racial integration, and the country's economic state at the time made the direction of his comments obvious. Identifying specific economic problems was not the only goal which Rand had in mind. He began to analyze how to make these changes happen through legal changes; thus creating strategic plans to integrate the Bible into American law and economics. The first goal was to denounce all man-made laws and to replace them with laws from the Bible. The second goal was to create an economic state that would reflect teachings from the bible.[57] Both Howard Rand and William Cameron believed in these principles and this was because according to Christian Identity's teachings, they possessed access to knowledge about God's law that no one else does. Since they had access to more information, they were responsible for influencing current civil law in order to maintain God's standards.

While William Cameron agreed with Rand's initial argument, he focused his writings more specifically on changing American economics. One of Cameron's articles "The Economic Law of God" spoke of the Bible supporting individualism and social justice in regards to economics. He also believed that the government had no right to tax land, or other forms of property. In accordance with this doctrine, tax refunds should be applied to family vacation trips and/or be applied to national festivals for Christian Identity movements.[58] Also for the betterment of the United States' economic future, no interest should be applied to accounts paid with credit, and no taxes should be imputed during the traveling time of goods from a manufacturer to the consumer.[58]

The mutual point which both Rand and Cameron shared, was that while they may have disagreed with how the government was operating, neither men resisted the current tax policies. Gordon Kahl was the first CI believer who took the founding principles from Rand and Cameron, and applied them in order to take action against the government.[58] Kahl believed that the men were on the right track in regards to what needed to be accomplished in order to change public policies, however he felt that without taking action against violators, no real changes would be made. In 1967 he stopped paying taxes because he felt he was paying "tithes to the Synagogue of Satan." Years later, Gordon Kahl, the CI farmer from North Dakota, took it upon himself to kill two federal marshals in 1983. Before he was caught for the murders, Kahl wrote a note in which he said "our nation has fallen into the hands of alien people. … These enemies of Christ have taken their Jewish Communist Manifesto and incorporated it into the Statutory Laws of our country and thrown our Constitution and our Christian Common Law into the garbage can."[58]

The [University of Virginia] Institute [of Public Affairs] in 1938 also invited one of America's most notorious antisemites, William J. Cameron, who had edited Henry Ford's Dearborn Independent, to present a paper on "The Interdependence of Farm and Industry" at its economic stability roundtable. Cameron had contributed significantly to the Dearborn Independent's vitriolic attacks on Jews during the 1920s. Part of the British Israelite movement that believed the Anglo-Saxons were the real descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Cameron claimed that contemporary Jews were the remnants of a racially distinct and inferior group despised by God. Remaining a top aide to Ford after the Dearborn Independent ceased publication in 1927, he cofounded the antisemitic Anglo-Saxon Federation in 1930 and was elected its president. In 1935 Cameron became director of Destiny, the Anglo-Saxon Federation organ whose diatribes laid the groundwork for the virulently antisemitic Christian Identity movement. Two weeks after the Institute roundtable, Cameron delivered the keynote address at the ceremony the Nazi government arranged for Henry Ford, at which it presented him with the highest honor it could bestow on a foreigner, the Grand Service Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle. [61]

Despite Cameron's long record of disseminating antisemitism, the Institute of Public Affairs leadership declared that it was honored to have him participate in its roundtable. [62] About three months after the conference, the Institute's acting director expressed to Cameron his "great personal satisfaction and the appreciation of the University and the Institute" for what he said was Cameron's "very important" contribution to the session, about which he had heard "many kind words." Gooch told Cameron that both he and university president John Lloyd Newcomb would be "most grateful" for any suggestions that "might be calculated to improve the conduct of the Institute." [63]

-- The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower: Complicity and Conflict on American Campuses, by Stephen H. Norwood


World's end and Armageddon

Christian Identity supporters believe in the Second Coming and Armageddon. Predictions vary, including a race war or a Jewish-backed United Nations takeover of the US, and they endorse physical struggle against what they see as the forces of evil.[59]

Miscegenation, homosexuality, and anti-Semitism

Identity asserts that disease, addiction, cancer, and sexually transmitted infections (herpes and HIV/AIDS) are spread by human "rodents" via contact with "unclean" persons, such as "race-mixers".[45]:85 The apocrypha, the first book of Enoch, is used to justify these social theories; the fallen angels of Heaven sexually desired Earth maidens and took them as wives, resulting in the birth of abominations, which God ordered Michael the Archangel to destroy, thus beginning a cosmic war between Light and Darkness.[45]:85 The mixing of separate things (e.g., people of different races) is seen as defiling both, and it is also considered a violation of God's law.[45]:86

Identity preachers proclaim that, according to the Bible, "the penalties for race-mixing, homo-sexuality, and usury are death."[45]:86 The justification for killing homosexuals is provided in Leviticus 20:13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:35–37 and Deuteronomy explicitly condemn usury.[45]:92 Ezekiel 18:13 states "He who hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him" and is quoted as justification for killing Jews.

Identity followers reject the label "antisemitic", stating that they cannot be antisemitic, since the true Semites "today are the great White Christian nations of the western world", with modern Jews in fact being descendants of the Canaanites.[45]

Anti-banking system

Identity doctrine asserts that the "root of all evil" is paper money (in particular Federal Reserve Notes), and that usury and banking systems are controlled by Jews.[45]:87 The creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 shifted control of money from Congress to private institutions and violated the Constitution. The money system encourages the Federal Reserve to take out loans, creating trillions of dollars of government debt and allowing international bankers to control America. Credit/debit cards and computerised bills are seen as the fulfillment of the Biblical scripture warning against "the beast" (i.e., banking) as quoted in Revelation 13:15–18. Identity preacher Sheldon Emry claims "Most of the owners of the largest banks in America are of Eastern European (Jewish) ancestry and connected with the (Jewish) Rothschild European banks", thus, in Identity doctrine, the global banking conspiracy is led and controlled by Jewish interests.[45]:91

Groups

Christian Identity is a major unifying theology for a number of diverse groups of white nationalist Christians. It is a belief system that provides its members with a religious basis for racial separatism. Herbert W. Armstrong is inaccurately described by some of his critics, as well as by supporters of Christian Identity, as having supported Christian Identity, due to his belief in a modified form of British Israelism, and the fact that during his lifetime, he propounded observances favoured by many Christian Identity groups, such as seventh-day Sabbatarianism and biblical festivals. The Worldwide Church of God which Armstrong founded did not subscribe to the anti-Semitism commonly espoused by the Christian or Israel Identity groups but instead adhered to the traditional beliefs of British Israelism; i.e., the belief that modern day Jews are descendants of the Tribe of Judah whereas the Anglo-Saxons, Celts, Danes, etc. are descendants of the remaining Ten Tribes of Israel formerly known as the Northern Kingdom.

Christian Identity groups include "The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord", the Phineas Priesthood, the Oklahoma Constitutional Militia, also known as The Universal Church of God. Christian Identity is also adhered to by other groups such as Aryan Nations, the Aryan Republican Army (ARA) and the Patriots Council, Church of Jesus Christ Christian, Thomas Robb, LaPorte Church of Christ, Mission To Israel, Folk And Faith, Jubilee, Traditionalist Youth Network, Yahweh's Truth (James Wickstrom), Church of Israel[17][60] and Kingdom Identity Ministries.

South African branches of Christian Identity have been accused of involvement in terrorist activities, including the 2002 Soweto bombings.[61]

Other Christian Identity groups include the Heritage Christian Church and the Legion for the Survival of Freedom.

See also

People

• Larry Gene Ashbrook
• Samuel Bowers
• Byron De La Beckwith
• Bo Gritz
• Chevie Kehoe
• August Kreis III
• Eric Rudolph
• Michael W. Ryan
• Dewey H "Buddy" Tucker
• Rick Tyler

Lists

• Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites
List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups

Other related topics

• Alt-Right
• Christian Patriot movement
• Christian Reconstructionism
• Christian values
• Christian terrorism
• Cultural Christian
• Elohim City, Oklahoma
• French Israelism
• Judeo-Christian
• Kinism
• Murder of Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder
• Nordic Israelism
• Positive Christianity
• Sovereign citizen movement

References

Notes


1. "Extremism in America – Christian Identity".
2. "Bigotry Behind Bars: Racist Groups In U.S. Prisons". Archived from the original on 2015-07-29.
3. Eck, Diane (2001). A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 347.
4. Buck, Christopher (2009). Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America's World Role. Praeger. pp. 107, 108, 213. ISBN 978-0-313-35959-0.
5. "Bigotry Behind Bars: Racist Groups In U.S. Prisons". Archived from the original on 2015-07-29.
6. Eck, Diane (2001). A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 347.
7. Buck, Christopher (2009). Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America's World Role. Praeger. pp. 107, 108, 213. ISBN 978-0-313-35959-0.
8. Quarles, Chester L. (2004). Christian Identity: The Aryan American Bloodline Religion. McFarland & Company. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-7864-1892-3.
9. Mason, Carol (2002). Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics. Cornell University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-8014-8819-1.
10. "Anglo-Saxon Israel – Beast of the Field".
11. "What is Christian Identity?".
12. "Could You Be An Israelite And Not Know It?".
13. "Sovereign Citizen Movement – Extremism in America". Adl.org. Archived from the original on 2005-07-29.
14. King, Wayne (August 21, 1990). "Books of The Times; A Farmer's Fatal Obsession With Jews and Taxes". The New York Times.
15. Alan W. Bock (October 1, 1993). "Ambush at Ruby Ridge". Reason.
16. Barkun, Michael (1996). "preface". Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. University of North Carolina Press. pp. x. ISBN 0-8078-4638-4.
17. "Extremism in America: Dan Gayman". Anti-Defamation League. 2005. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29.
18. Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement, Michael Barkun, 1997, Preface, xii, xiii.
19. "Christian Identity". Anti-Defamation League.
20. ""Why We Are Antisemites" - Text of Adolf Hitler's 1920 speech at the Hofbräuhaus".
21. Barkun 2003, p. xii.
22. Christian Identity: The Aryan American Bloodline Religion by Chester L. Quarles, 2004, p. 13.
23. Quarles, pp. 13–19
24. Life From The Dead, 1875, Vol. III, p. 154.
25. Barkun, pp. 62–97.
26. "Lost Israel Found In the Anglo-Saxon Race".
27. Barkun, p. 27.
28. Race Over Grace: The Racialist Religion of the Christian Identity Movement, Charles H. Roberts, 2003, pp. 9–10.
29. "Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright".
30. Race Over Grace: The Racialist Religion of the Christian Identity Movement, Charles H. Roberts, p. 9
31. Barkun, pp. 45–54.
32. Barkun, pp. 45–60.
33. Charles H. Roberts, p. 9
34. The Phinehas Priesthood: Violent Vanguard of the Christian Identity Movement, Danny W. Davis, 2010, p. 18
35. Barkun, p. 140.
36. Charles H. Roberts, pp. 11–15.
37. Lobb, David. 'Fascist Apocalypse: William Pelley and Millennial Extremism', Paper presented at the 4th Annual Conference of the Center for Millennial Studies, November 1999
38. Barkun, pp. 60–85.
39. D. Boylan (2004). "Christian Defense League". Updated 2004.
40. Colin Kidd, The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600–2000, 2006, p. 44
41. Charles H. Roberts, pp.40–60
42. Bosworth, F. E, The Bible Distinction Between the House of Israel and the House of Judah, Radio Address, 1920
43. "Basic Christian Identity : Dr. Wesley A. Swift : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Archive.org. 2001-03-10.
44. "Jewish Rabbis recognize Serpent Seedline as well as Sumerians, Targums and Biblical Accounts".
45. James Alfred Aho (1995). The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patriotism. University of Washington Press. p. 86. ISBN 0-295-97494-X.
46. Genesis 1:25
47. Hebrew Dictionary #119 (1890)
48. "Basics for Understanding Yahweh's Kingdom". Anglo-Saxon Israel. 2009-06-04. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23.
49. Cain: Son of the Serpent. Rossel Books. 1985. ISBN 0-940646-19-6.
50. Charles Carroll The Negro a beast"; or, "In the image of God"; the reasoner of the age, the revelator of the century! The Bible as it is! The Negro and his relation to the human family! The Negro not the son of Ham, 1900
51. Colin Kidd, The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600–2000, p. 150
52. "Who are the Jews? By: Bertrand Comparet". Church of True Israel. Archived from the original on 2007-02-25.
53. Exodus 21:22
54. Leviticus 20:13
55. "I Come as a Thief". Church of True Israel. Archived from the original on 2007-08-21.
56. Barkun, Michael (1997). Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement (Rev. ed.). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 202. ISBN 0-8078-2328-7.
57. Barkun, p. 203.
58. Barkun.[page needed]
59. Kaplan, Jeffrey (2002). Millennial Violence: Past, Present, and Future. Routledge. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7146-5294-8.
60. Max McCoy (28 January 2001). "Separatist by faith: Church of Israel's patriarch rebuts claims of racism" (PDF). Joplin Globe. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2012.
61. Martin Schönteich and Henri Boshoff (2003). 'Volk' Faith and Fatherland: The Security Threat Posed by the White Right. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. ISBN 1-919913-30-0. Archived from the original on 2006-04-11.

Bibliography

• Barkun, M. (1994). Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Revised edition, 1997, ISBN 0-8078-2328-7
• Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.
• Ingram, W.L., (1995). God and Race: British-Israelism and Christian Identity, p. 119–126 in T. Miller, Ed., America's Alternative Religions, SUNY Press, Albany NY.
• Kaplan, Jeffrey, (1997). Radical Religion in America, Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. pp. 47–48.
• Quarles, C. L. (2004). Christian Identity: The Aryan American Bloodline Religion. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland.
• Roberts, Charles H. (2003). Race over Grace: The Racialist Religion of the Christian Identity Movement, Omaha, Nebraska: iUniverse Press. ISBN 0-595-28197-4.

External links

• FBI backgrounder on Christian Identity
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