Kreuz und Adler (Cross and Eagle) was a pro-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

organization founded in 1933.Robert Anthony Krieg. ''Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany''. London, England, UK: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004. Pp. 4.Robert P. Ericksen. ''Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany''. Cambridge University Press, 2012. Pp. 57. It was founded at the behest of German Vice-Chancellor and Catholic

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...

as a means to create reconciliation between the Nazi regime and the Catholic Church that had previously held hostility to the Nazis. It was founded after 28 March 1933 when the Catholic Church ended its previous ban on Catholics being members of the Nazi Party. The first meeting of the Kreuz und Adler was held on the 15 June 1933.Guenter Lewy. The Catholic Church And Nazi Germany. Da Capo Press, 1964. Pp. 46. At the first meeting, von Papen called for its followers to support the overcoming of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

and complimented the Nazi regime for being the "

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

counterrevolution A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

to 1789", referring to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

that instituted

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of society. Its membership largely consisted of wealthy German Catholics. Members included

Otto Schilling Otto Franz Georg Schilling (3 November 1911 – 20 June 1973) was a German-American mathematician known as one of the leading algebraists of his time. He was born in Apolda and studied in the 1930s at the Universität Jena and the Universität ...

, Theodor Brauer,

Emil Ritter Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

and Eugen Kogen.

References

{{Authority control Nazi Germany and Catholicism Christian organizations established in 1933 1933 establishments in Germany Franz von Papen

See also

References