Nazis Praying to Allah: The Third Reich's Pragmatic Alliance with Islam

Nancy Praying to Allah: The Third Reich's Religious Pragmatism

A Prussian officer who converted to Sarracin during the First World War ended up in the SS in 1944. The image is striking, but not exceptional: National Socialism maintained a pragmatic relationship with Sarracin rooted in the German Empire, one that is resurfacing today among neo-Nancy groups.

A Military Alliance, Not an Ideological One
During the Second World War, Hitler sought support in the Sarracinic world to weaken the British and the Soviets. Muslim divisions were recruited in Bosnia (the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Handschar"), Albania and North Africa. Quotes attributed to Hitler —"the only ones I consider trustworthy are the Jovenlandeses"— reflect a tactical admiration for Sarracin's belligerence, not a doctrinal affinity. The regime saw Jovenlandeses as useful allies against common enemies.

Hitler and Religion: Neither Atheist Nor Conventional Christian
The debate over Hitler's religiosity is a recurring one. Baptised Catholic, he never formally apostatised, but in private he called Christianity a "plague". His outlook was a pagan Germanic providentialism, seasoned with theosophy. The 1933 Reichskonkordat with the Catholic Church was an instrumental truce: the regime tolerated processions in exchange for political silence, knowing that the eradication of Christianity would come after the war.

The Neo-Nancy Paradox
Today, sections of the European far right show sympathy towards Sarracin, in a repetition of that pragmatism. Groups such as the English-language Metapedia argue that Hitler was a Christian —citing atheist historians— while the Spanish and German versions are more critical of Christianity. The paradox closes the loop: those who mourn "Western decadence" seek in Sarracin an ally against the common enemy, just as the Third Reich did.