Catholicism and the Roots of Nazism: Religious Identity and National Socialism
"Sometimes good things come in strange packages. I was looking through Derek Hastings' new book Catholicism & the Roots of Nazism to figure out what his arresting title could possibly mean. Hastings demonstrates beyond doubt that before the failed Beer Hall Putsch in Munich in 1923, significant segments of Catholic clergy and faithful in Munich were among the most important supporters of National Socialism, very much in tune with its increasing emphasis on Aryan racial supremacy and its contempt for Jews....a sound scholarly account of the links between Modernist Catholicism and National Socialism up until 1923. Though the book is provocatively titled, Hastings knows the difference between orthodoxy and Modernism. Specialists will find his work valuable."--CatholicCulture.org"Hastings's scholarly narrative...connects historic anti-Semitic ideology to the empire that implemented the Final Solution." --ForeWord Reviews"The interpretation of early Nazism is quite insightful and sheds significant new light." --CHOICE"[An] authoritative monograph [that] has incorporated archival and printed sources to show how the Nazi movement and Catholic identity were intertwined in Bavaria."--Catholic Historical Review"This remarkable and highly original new book...sheds light on an important and hitherto neglected dimension of the history of National Socialism.  Combining different historical approaches, Derek Hastings's lucid, beautifully written and persuasive study examines the party's early history in the local context of the Bavarian capital in light of its relationship with the Catholic Church." -Anna von der Goltz,German History"Highly recommended for those interested in the history of the Christian Churches, Nazism, and the Shoah." -Eugene J. Fisher,Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations"Though previous scholarship has already shown that a significant number of Christians in the Third Reich embraced Nazism, Derek Hastings breaks new ground by demonstrating that völkisch Catholics in and around Munich played an essential role in the origin and establishment of the Nazi party during the 1920s...A significant contribution to our understanding of Nazism in its earliest stages." -Heath A. Spencer,Catholic History"The revelations contained in Hasting's book contribute significantly to our current understanding of Munich's contribution to the early Nazi movement...it presentsoriginal and indispensable scholarship on the roots of Nazism that can be found in Munich and in Catholicism and, hence, is required reading for all scholars of Bavariaand of religion in the dark twentieth century." --The Journal of Modern History