Nazis and homosexuality.

 

After reading Himmler by Peter Padfield, it got me thinking about the issue of homosexuality.

The cause of homosexuality is usually explained down to two factors. environmental or genetic.

Coming from a Evangelical-Pentecostal background I've come to the conclusion that for the Church it is easier to explain the issue as environmental.  This means that in the end it is really about ability to choose sexuality. The reason I write that it is easier, is that the theology dosn't need to be examined and changed as much if it was genetic.

What I found interesting was for the Nazis there core understanding that homosexuality was genetic. That if homsexuals where killed and there genes where eliminated from the gene pool homosexuality would be eliminated from the German race and there would be 'racial purity'.
In many ways this was used as an excuse to kill opposition to Hitler and his regime. As well as to kill those who where different.

This is a completely different understanding to the 'Church'.

Personally I think there is a combination of the two, environmental and genetic. What ever the case the Church needs to re-think its theology. Especially if it is genetic and God has made man. 

Himmler, Peter Padfield

Christina has just finished "Twilight" about vampires, while I've just finished "Himmler". It got me wondering if you had no knowledge of vampires and no knowledge about Nazi philosophy and the Halocaust you then had to pick which one of these books is true. You would want the vampires.

There where a few things about the Nazis which I really didn't know about. The first was eugenics. A type of Hyper-Darwinism gone mad. Most of the mad Nazi decisions where based on this. Such as the holocaust, sterilisation, euthanasia programs to eliminate the sick and elderly. The Nazis where dedicated to getting rid of bad blood and purify the German blood line. 
I had no idea of the strength of this ideology, in decision making. Himmler was the one who implemented this scheme.

This is different to the Stalin's slaughter of his peoples. Stalin's aim was the preservation of his power.  Not that it makes it any better. (Stalin and his Hangmen)

It got me thinking about modern genetics which could possibly now forefill Nazi's perfect genetics. Without breeding and deaths.

The other interesting thing was operation 'Valkryie' the operation to eliminate Hitler in '44. Lead by Claus Von Stauffenberg. It would appear that Himmler knew of the opposition to Hitler. That it wouldn't have gotten as far as it did without Himmler letting it.

Himmler was a loyal Hitler to his own detriment and blindness. He was the second most powerful person in the Reich. Yet he could see the deterioriation of the war, came quickly to an understanding it was futile. Yet through his indecision was unable act.

Stages of faith and extreme politics

I'm currently slowly plowing my way though 'Himmler' by Peter Padfield. Just as a background Himmler was the head of Hitlers SS and the prime archtect of the concentration camps. A firm believer in eugenics. Very nasty.
Himmler got involved with the Nazis very early in life 19 years of age. He worked his way to the top very quickly. He was a 'believer' in the cause.
What has stuck me as I'm reading the book is the overlap between the spiritual development and his career. I write this in reference to a latter post which I did What's happening when what I believe is not what I used to believe', based on 'Fowlers Stages of faith'.

It would seem to me that Himmler's god was Nazism, that he was stuck in stages 2 to 3. He was an absolute fundamentalist to the Nazi cause.

• Stage 2 – "Mythic-Literal" faith (mostly in school children), stage two persons have a strong belief in the justice and reciprocity of the universe, and their deities are almost always anthropomorphic.

• Stage 3 – "Synthetic-Conventional" faith (arising in adolescence) characterized by conformity

Maybe the most dangerous Fowlers Stages of faith is an idol of extreme politics while in stages 2-3...Himmlers god was Nazism of which he was one of the ultimate fundamentalist.