08/19/2021 – The Rosary in Germany

August 19, 1934, a referendum was held in Germany to make Hitler not just Chancellor but also Fuhrer, that is to give him absolute power. The referendum was carried and the rest is history.

It was notable in this, as well as the election of 1933, that the support for the Nazi party and its leader among Catholics was low.

There are many reasons for this, for example Church authorities wrote and preached against National Socialism. However it would seem that the devotion of German Catholics of the time to the rosary was significant.

The daily habit of honouring and meditating on the life of Our Redeemer brings many graces, one of these is that it puts political promises and propaganda in perspective. Our Lady promised “…. my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary” and “ The Rosary shall be a powerful armour against Hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

”Although the referendum passed by 89%, “Some in the Nazi leadership were disappointed by the results of the referendum.[10] For instance, Joseph Goebbels’ diary entry for 22 August speaks of the referendum as a failure: “Initial results: very bad. Then better. Finally over 38 million for the Führer. I expected more. The Catholics failed Rosenberg!” (wikipedia)