Mihael Faulbaher Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in the Third Reich Date of Birth: 05.03.1869 Country: Germany

1. Early Life and Career
2. Archbishop of Munich and Cardinal
3. Under the Nazi Regime
4. Later Years

Early Life and Career

Michael Faulhaber, a German cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, was born on March 5, 1869, in Klosterheidenfeld, Lower Franconia. In 1892, he was ordained as a priest and went on to become a professor of Old Testament Studies in Strasbourg in 1903. In 1911, he was appointed bishop of Speyer, where he became an ardent supporter of Germany's involvement in World War I.

Archbishop of Munich and Cardinal

In 1917, Faulhaber was installed as Archbishop of Munich and Freising. In 1921, he was named a cardinal, a position that he held until his death. During his tenure, Faulhaber became a staunch advocate for Bavarian Catholicism, vigorously defending the church and its teachings. Despite the Weimar Republic's declaration of religious freedom, Faulhaber criticized the republican government for "granting equal rights to truth and error."

Under the Nazi Regime

With the rise of the Nazi regime, Faulhaber found himself navigating the treacherous terrain between the needs of the church and the demands of the Nazi authorities. Shortly after the March 1933 elections, he traveled to Rome to inform Pope Pius XI of the evolving situation in Germany. Upon his return, he relayed the Pope's public praise for Chancellor Hitler's anti-communist stance.

While Faulhaber welcomed the signing of the 1933 Concordat between the Nazi government and the Catholic Church, it soon became evident that Hitler had no intention of strictly adhering to its terms. In November 1933, Faulhaber spoke out against the promotion of "new paganism," defending the Old Testament and warning that "man cannot be robbed of his sense of dignity and treated as a rightless slave."

Despite ongoing attacks on the church, Cardinal Faulhaber endeavored to maintain a semblance of dialogue with Nazi authorities. In 1936, Hitler invited him to the Berghof in Obersalzberg, where he sought to assuage the cardinal's concerns. However, Faulhaber remained steadfast in his belief that Nazi ideology posed a threat to the church.

In 1938, during the annexation of Austria, Faulhaber appealed for Catholic unity and prayer for peaceful cooperation between church and state within the Greater German Reich. He also urged German bishops to congratulate Hitler for "this decisive step toward the preservation of international peace."

During the November 1938 "Kristallnacht" pogrom against Jews, Cardinal Faulhaber expressed sympathy for the victims and supported the Munich chief rabbi's plea to protect synagogues from destruction. Despite his efforts to alleviate the suffering of Nazi victims, Faulhaber declined to participate in a conspiracy against Hitler, even as the Gestapo interrogated him about his connections to the Resistance movement.

Later Years

After the failure of the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, Faulhaber publicly condemned the attempt and reaffirmed his personal loyalty to the Führer. He died in Munich on June 12, 1952.