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Wanting different things (strongmen rulers and the Christian church)

When strongmen rulers appeal to the "moral majority", and claim to uphold traditional values against the onslaught of liberal decadence, they follow in the footsteps of rulers who have gone before them, not least Adolf Hitler.  

    • The period between the First and Second World Wars in Germany is known as the Weimar Republic (1918-1933). This followed defeat in World War One, and various attempted uprisings at that time. The Weimar Republic was an attempt to introduce liberal democracy to Germany, however it ultimately served as the prelude to the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler. As well as the infamous hyper-inflation and the inept divisions in party politics, the Weimar Republic was a time of moral decadence. Berlin was particularly notorious for this decadence, represented by figures such as Anita Berber (painted by Otto Dix - left) or night clubs such as the Eldorado or Moka Efti.

    The Nazi party was able to capitalise on popular revulsion towards the moral decadence of the Weimar period to present their alternative, which might have been seen as a return to the purity of traditional values. No doubt this was appealing to many. However, ultimately, at its core Nazism was not about the family, but about far more sinister values such as hatred for non-Germans (especially Jews, but not only) and expansionist ambitions.  

    The Christian church, regretably, has a long history of being "taken in" by, and supporting powerful rulers who appear to be on the side of "righteousness", but who, in reality, are only really interested in power and control, in the pursuit of which truth is relativised and human life expendable. 

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