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21 Nov.
45
churches. This
(influence) must be broken completely and finally."
"Only
the Reich Government and by its direction the Party, its components,
and attached units have a right to leadership of the people. Just as
the deleterious influences of astrologers, seers, and other fakers are
eliminated and suppressed by the State, so must the possibility of
church influence also be totally removed. Not until this has happened,
does the State leadership have influence on the individual citizens.
Not until then are people and Reich secure in their existence or all
the future." (D-75) And
how the Party had been securing the Reich from Christian influence, will
be proved by such items as this teletype from the Gestapo, Berlin, to
the Gestapo, Nuremberg, on July 24, 1938. Let us hear their own account
of events in Rottenburg.
"The
Party on 23 July 1939 from 2100 on carried out the third demonstration
against Bishop Sproll. Participants about 2500-3000 were brought in
from outside by bus, etc. The Rottenburg populace again did not
participate in the demonstration. This town took rather a hostile
attitude to the demonstrations. The action got completely out of hand
of the Party member responsible for it. The demonstrators stormed the
palace, beat in the gates and doors. About 150 to 200 people forced
their way into the palace, searched the rooms, threw files out of the
windows and rummaged through the beds in the rooms of the palace. One
bed was ignited. Before the fire got to the other objects of equipment
in the rooms and the palace, the flaming bed could be thrown from the
window and the fire extinguished. The Bishop was with Archbishop
Groeber of Freiburg and the ladies and gentlemen of his menage in the
chapel at prayer. About 25 to 30 people pressed into this chapel and
molested those present. Bishop Groeber was taken for Bishop Sproll. He
was grabbed by the robe and dragged back and forth. Finally the
intruders realized that Bishop Groeber is not the one they are
seeking. They could then be persuaded to leave the building. After the
evacuation of the palace by the demonstrators I had an interview with
Archbishop Groeber who left Rottenburg in the night. Groeber wants to
turn to the Führer and Reich Minister of the Interior, Dr. Frick,
anew. On the course of the action, the damage done as well as the
homage of the Rottenburg populace beginning today for the Bishop I
shall immediately hand in a full
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