How Christian art reacted to Nazi totalitarianism. One form of resistance by the Church was placing Hitler in parish stained-glass windows in a demonic or highly symbolic form.

---

 

In several churches in Germany and France, “scandalous” images are hidden.

Among Gospel and biblical scenes, and between patriarchs, saints, and apostles, none other than Adolf Hitler appears!

How is that possible? Catholic parishes glorifying the leader of a criminal regime? This is a typical social-media reaction, from those who stop at headlines, who are instantly scandalized—professionally so—and fire off comments without thinking or looking deeper.

You just need to look into it, visit the place, or view the images to immediately understand the context in which these works were created.

 

Hitler among the idols

For the cover of this article, for example, we chose what appears on the stained glass window of the small church of Vasperviller, a village of 300 inhabitants in Lorraine (France).

The protagonist is Rachel, a biblical figure known for an episode in Genesis, in which she steals her father Jacob’s idols when he fled with his family.

In the stained glass window, the woman is depicted taking an idol still standing on its pedestal, while under her left arm she carries a bust of Hitler. A message that hardly needs explanation.

 

Hitler in church in place of Satan

Another stained-glass window, perhaps even more famous, is found in the German town of Weil der Stadt, inside the Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

The image is located on the right side of the nave, behind the baptismal font, and is part of a multi-panel composition depicting scenes from the life of Jesus.

One of these panels shows the temptation of Christ in the desert, drawn from the Gospel of Matthew, and the artist decided to place Hitler in the role of Satan, the one who offers all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his worship.

The work dates to 1939–1940, almost at the height of Nazi power, a moment when daring such symbolism could cost one’s life.

The author is JoKarl Huber, a German artist targeted by the regime. It was the parish priest, Fr. August Uhl, himself an unyielding critic of Nazism, who commissioned the stained glass window as an act of solidarity, artistic resistance, and symbolic renewal.

 

Hitler and Mussolini in a church in Austria

A curious case can be found in Austria, where alongside Hitler the stained glass window also includes Benito Mussolini.

The window is located in the parish church of “The Sacred Blood” in Herrengasse, in the center of Graz. The two dictators smile menacingly as they witness the passion and torture of Jesus.

 

Art as a form of resistance

In at least fourteen other churches across Germany, France, and Austria, the Führer appears in stained-glass windows, always in demonic or symbolic roles.

The Christian art of the time responded to Nazi totalitarianism with subtle means, using symbolic language to denounce the evil engulfing society.

As we have already noted in the past, once the war was over, Hitler would have destroyed the Catholic Church in Germany. This was his stated intention.

One of the greatest experts on the German dictator, British historian Ian Kershaw, in his famous biography quoted the chief Nazi ideologue and Hitler’s right-hand man, Joseph Goebbels:

“It’s clear that we will find a solution after the war. There is an irreconcilable opposition between the Christian worldview and a heroic-German worldview.” ¹I. Kershaw, “Hitler 1936–1945: Nemesis”, Penguin Edition 2001, pp. 381–382.