“Flagrant” Nazi violation of those codicils of the Concordat dealing with freedom of religious education in Germany is indicative of conditions affecting every phase of life in the Reich, it was charged here tonight by the Osservatore Romano, semi-official Vatican newspaper, according to the Havas News Agency.
After scoring the Nazis’ maneuvers to force Catholic parents into endorsing of a totalitarian school system, the newspaper declared, “the scholastic struggle constitutes only the apparent conflict. The problem entails in the same terms not only the education and development of youths but the entire life of the country.”
As evidence of its statements, the Osservatore pointed out that 48 confessional schools had been closed since Christmas in Bavaria, where 80 per cent of the student population was formerly enrolled in Catholic schools. By Easter 103 more Parochial schools will have met a similar fate, it added.
The newspaper cited several “significant episodes” which, according to its analysis, indicated the Reich was seeking the destruction of Christianity.
For one thing, it quoted from a letter written by a Protestant pastor charging that Reich Minister for Religions Hans Kerrl had declared it was “ridiculous” to regard Jesus Christ as the son of God.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
