I'm getting the impression that perhaps my original comment of "Certainly nothing religious about that" was misunderstood.
That comment was sardonic in nature, certainly not a definitive statement.
But...
"The jews were not the only religous group targeted. The aryan believers had a particular loathing for Christians as well."
That is true, but it shows a marked misunderstanding of the nature of the situation in Germany.
Jews were the only religous group targeted as a whole, as I've noted. Methodists were not required to wear red W's on their clothes, not prohibited from owning property, were not prohibited from marrying into other religious groups, or even marrying believers in the Aryan mythos if they so wished.
Repression of other religious groups came only as a means of repressing those who spoke out against the Nazi movement within Germany -- in those instances the Nazis were targeting INDIVIDUALS, not an entire religion or religious denomination.
The situation with the Jews, though, was totally different. Hitler, in his early days, had many Jewish supporters, especially among those in the business community. They saw his drive to establish a strong Germany, free of the economic strangulations of the Treaty of Versailles, as a means of re-establishing their own economic fortunes. In that sense, they were no different than many others in Germany. But unlike Hitler's Christian supporters, the being a Jew and a supporter of the Nazi movement meant one thing -- a Jew was a Jew, and their time was numbered.
"I consider that plausible, but if anything, it reinforces the general statement that the final solution is a poor example of atheists slaughtering believers. Both christians and nazis qualify as believers slaughtering believers."
You're right, it is a poor example, but it was an example I was not intending to make. I didn't notice where the discussion was limited to general religious strife to that of athiest vs. religious, and that's my fault.
Finally, yes, Mein Kampf was an early work in Hitler's political life. But I think it's rather simplistic to say that sometime between 1922 and 1935 Hitler suddenly had a mystical conversion in which all Christian factors of his life were suddenly, or even slowly, purged from his mindset.
Yes, Hitler performed as a high priest at Aryan rallies. Does that mean, though, that that is proof of his dismissal of Christian influences, or does it mean he was fulfill his role as leader of the Nazi movement?
In the same sense, would his opening the 1936 Berlin Olympics mean that he had transformed into an all around sportsman, or would it simply mean that he was fulfilling his role as leader of Germany?
Hitler was, without a doubt, a politician -- and as politicians are know to do, they bend to meet their audience. In that sense, though, I find that Mein Kampf is even MORE believable as a true light into Hitler's nature because it was written at a time when Hitler was an unknown.
Here's another great quote from Mein Kampf, one that echos the writings of Martin Luther: "....the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew."
And one final, and very telling, thing that I forgot...
Not long after he won the right to govern as a dictator via the Enabling Decree of 1933, Hitler outlawed athiest organizations. The most obvious target of this action were Communists, who were, by definition, athiests.
