Nazi persecution of people traditionally persecuted by Christians

Persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany
During the Holocaust, the Nazis and those that supported the Nazis committed genocide of millions of European Jews.

Martin Luther
Martin Luther among many of his hateful statements on Jewish people advocated for killing Jews in his published work On the Jews and Their Lies and in Martin Luther's Table Talk.

The Nazis, including Adolf Hitler, Bernhard Rust, Hans Hinkel, Hans Schemm, Heinrich Himmler, and Robert Ley, made statements praising Martin Luther and celebrated Luthertag (English: Luther Day). Luther was featured on Nazi coins, posters, and postcards.

Jewish deicide
Jewish deicide is the charge that Jews as a people hold the responsibility for killing Jesus Christ. This claim led to the slur “Christ-killer” and to the persecution of Jewish people, which includes massacres and forced expulsions of Jews from many countries. The deicide charge was a commonly held position among the Church Fathers and was the official position of the Catholic Church. Multiple biblical verses have been used on behalf of Jewish deicide, such as Matthew 27:24–25.

Statement by Joseph Goebbels in Michael: Ein deutsches Schicksal in Tagebuchblättern:
 * “Christ is the genius of love and as such the most diametric antipole to Jewry, which is the incarnation of hate. ... Christ was the first anti-Jewish opponent of stature. ... The Jew is the lie that became flesh. He nailed Christ to the cross, and thus for the first time in history nailed the eternal truth to the cross.”

Elvira Bauer in the antisemitic Nazi German book intended for children, Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud bei seinem Eid:
 * “Jesus Christ says 'The Jew is a murderer through and through'. And when Christ had to die the Lord didn't know any other people who would have tortured him to death so he chose the Jews. That is why the Jews pride themselves on being the chosen people. ...”

Blood libel
The Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer depicted blood libel, which is a myth that Jews killed Christian children for rituals. Blood libels in the Middle Ages lead to the murder of Jews in multiple predominant Christian countries. The first known Christian child death blamed on Jews was in the 12th century in England.

Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany
About 50,000 homosexuals were sentenced. Thousand of homosexuals were imprisoned in concentration camps and many were killed. Gay organizations were banned and scholarly books on homosexuality were burned.

Biblical influences of homophobia
The following are biblical verses that are interpreted to condemn homosexuality:


 * “... You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. ...”, Leviticus 18:22.


 * “... If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. ...”, Leviticus 20:13.

Banned atheist groups
During 1933, Adolf Hitler banned atheist and freethinking groups, an example being the German Freethinkers League (Deutscher Freidenkerbund). Hitler stated on October 14, 1933, “... We have put an end to denial of God and abuse of religion. ...” and in Berlin on October 24, 1933, “... we were convinced that the people needs and requires this faith. We have therefore undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, ... we have stamped it out.” The chairman of the German Freethinkers League, Max Sievers, was executed.

Statement from The New York Times newspaper, titled “ATHEIST HALL CONVERTED.; Berlin Churches Establish Bureau to Win Back Worshipers.”, dated May 14, 1933: “In Freethinkers Hall, which before the Nazi resurgence was the national headquarters of the German Freethinkers League, the Berlin Protestant church authorities have opened a bureau for advice to the public in church matters. Its chief object is to win back former churchgoers and assist those who have not previously belonged to any religious congregation in obtaining church membership. The German Freethinkers League, which was swept away by the national revolution, was the largest of such organizations in Germany. It had about 500,000 members...”

Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel (SS) banned atheists from joining. All members of the SS were required to list themselves as Protestant, Catholic or Believer in God (Gottgläubig).

Members had to give an oath that required stating a belief in God, “So you believe in a God ?” - "Yes, I believe in a Lord God.”, and the oath also attacked nonbelievers, “What do you think of a man that does not believe in God ?” - “I think he is arrogant, megalomaniacal and stupid; he is not eligible for us.”

Heinrich Himmler on atheism: “Atheism is the only world-view or religious view that is not tolerated within the SS.” and “We believe in a God Almighty who stands above us; He has created the earth, the Fatherland, and the Volk, and He has sent us the Führer. Any human being who does not believe in God should be considered arrogant, megalomaniacal, and stupid and thus not suited for the SS.” Himmler was Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel.