oldenburg-l - Nachricht 2008-01 00112

[W. Fred Rump <fredrump(a)gmail.com>]

On Jan 20, 2008 11:00 PM, Jan & John King <scooter(a)cruzio.com> wrote:
> Chris -
>
> During a visit to the Oldenburg area this past October, my husband noticed a
> book in a bookstore in Vechta whose title translated into something like,
> "How the Priests Fought the Nazi Terrorists".  When I asked my cousin (who
> lives in the area) about the book, she told us that during WWII, a few Nazi
> representatives came to the area and attempted to coerce the residents into
> giving up their religious symbols (this area has a large Catholic
> population).  The residents of the town surrounded the Nazi representatives
> and there was talk of attacking them, so the Nazi representatives beat a
> hasty retreat.  However, during the war, priests were hidden by the area's
> inhabitants so I would imagine there was, eventually, some persecution going
> on.

Close but a bit off target. What your friends were telling you about
was the famous Kreuzkampf which caused the administration in Oldenburg
to back off from the removal of religious symbols from the regions
public schools. It should be known that the schools were public but
not totally secular as we know them. Religion was taught and the edict
was fought by both RC and Lutheran schools. In effect, the back-off by
the Nazis is the only known instance (to me) were the people actually
stood up and resisted the regulations of the regime enmasse. The
entire situation was pretty much purged from the press less others get
similar ideas. The Nazis always came on as if they were acting in the
will of the people and for the people. When they rebelled that put a
lie to the propaganda.

They also had to be careful about there actions against the RC Church
in general lest the people get upset with what was happening. The
trick was always to act in secret and not make public spectacles of
arrests. People were simply and quietly removed from their positions
often without charges other then some trumped up anti-patriotic crime.
Priests were not hidden. Some were more outspoken then others and were
transferred but only a few were actually arrested and sent to
concentration camps. Many were simply drafted into the military and
had to serve as soldiers on the front. Anything to get them out of the
way.

In general, the RC parts of Oldenburg were more anti-Nazi then the
more protestant sections in the north. The southern farmers were
following ancient traditions and did not appreciate being told what to
do when by the new regime. They tried to ignore it as much as
possible.

Fred


-- 
Fred Rump,
730 5th St. NW Naples, FL 34120
fredrump(a)gmail.com
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We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to
tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.
Jefferson (1820)