The Nazi Christmas cult aimed to transpose Nazi ideology onto German Christmas traditions. Nazi propaganda sought to diminish the influence of Christian beliefs on the national community. According to psychologist Wilfried Daim, Adolf Hitler was to assume the role of the Messiah and World Redeemer instead of Jesus Christ. The Nazi Christmas cult combined patriotic, “youthful,” and folkloric Christmas mysticism, supposedly borrowed symbolism from Germanic mythology, and exaggerated glorification of mothers and heroes.
The Germanized interpretation of Christmas was particularly of interest to Germanophile circles within the SS, the Rosenberg Office, and Folklore. Before the war, the Propaganda Ministry influenced the Christmas festival through the Winter Relief of the German People. It was presented to the population as a “festival of the entire people… transcending classes, ranks, and confessions.” During World War II, the Nazi leadership appropriated Christmas for war propaganda. The dispatch of field post parcels, the production and broadcast of so-called Christmas ring broadcasts on the radio, and the framing of Christmas as a festival of hero and dead worship were integral parts of those years. Despite all efforts, in large parts of the population, the traditional Christian Christmas festival could not be displaced.
The Meaning of Christmas in National Socialism
The worship of the sun and the returning light in the late month of December has roots in traditions from prehistoric times. Seasonal turning points (solstice) were reflected in rituals and mythology. The sun had essential significance for earthly survival. The summer solstice carried an aspect of death and transience, while the lengthening days after the winter solstice embodied life and resurrection. However, the role of the solstice in Nordic and late Germanic pre-Christian mythology is disputed. It is noteworthy that in the “Western” cultural sphere, the sun was attributed to the male principle, while in the Germanic region, an exception existed, associating the sun with the female origin. The Germanic people were said to have celebrated the Yule feast with fire and light symbolism during the winter solstice. Historically verifiable written evidence is scarce, mostly in the form of calendar sticks with runic symbols.
For a long time, the Christian Christmas festival (“the birth of the true sun” Jesus Christ) was considered an overlay of the Roman pagan cult of the emperor and the cult in honor of the god Sol. The assertion that Emperor Aurelian declared December 25th in the third century as the empire-wide “dies natalis solis invicti” is controversial in recent research. Today, a parallel development is assumed. The day of the winter solstice was likely occupied first by Christians since no pagan festival occurred at that time. The first secure mention of the pagan festival “Sol invictus” in the city of Rome dates back to the year 354. Furius Dionysius Philocalus described in the Chronicle of 354 that December 25th was the date of the birth of Jesus Christ. The development of festivals in honor of their respective gods had the same Neoplatonic-solar mythological roots and were closely connected. Both sides associated themselves with the “newly emerging sun” at the winter solstice.
In the early Middle Ages, Christian missionaries adapted Germanic customs and rituals, such as the Yule tree during the winter solstice. They did not do so out of fascination for Germanic traditions but believed that the goal of their mission, Christianization, would be easier to achieve if the population’s customs were incorporated into their religion. Christmas was mentioned for the first time in the German-speaking region at the “Bavarian Synod” and officially introduced in 813 at the Mainz Synod.
During the era of National Socialism, Nazi ideologists sought to diminish the Christian aspects of the Christmas festival. The research community Deutsche Ahnenerbe and the Rosenberg Office looked for historical and archaeological evidence to interpret Germanic rites and myths. A Nazi “replacement religion” was intended to be the goal of their entire ideological work, although there is disagreement on this view. In the external form of Nazi celebrations, Christian cult forms and rituals were incorporated. The experience that “made the heart beat faster” aimed to win over the average member of the Volksgemeinschaft. Therefore, the design of celebrations became crucial for shaping the Nazi state.
By permeating everyday life with new celebrations, symbols, and myths, and by reinterpreting religious festival customs deeply rooted in the population, Nazi celebration designers aimed to convey Nazi ideology and values through emotional attachment. Hitler’s leading ideologist, Alfred Rosenberg, incorporated elements from the Germanic sun cult and introduced occult and theosophical elements into the newly developed Volkstum and its customs. To link this new belief with Christian traditions, Rosenberg used a deliberately introduced Nazi language reminiscent of sacred church language. This language incorporated elements of church liturgy. For example, the so-called “Nazi creed” and the “Sieg Heil!” (Hitler salute) gained popularity, drawing inspiration from the common “Amen!” in liturgical celebrations.
According to Nazi representation, Christians and Jews had “stolen” Christmas from the Germans. In publications, they, without historical evidence, traced Christmas back to the Germanic Yule feast. The goal was to separate this intentional “re-Germanization,” a concept not universally embraced by all party members.
Christmas Between Secularization and Sacralization
The new secularization in the relationship between the state and the church in Germany was preceded by the youth movement of the 1920s. This often league-based youth celebrated solstices and lit large fires at highly visible locations. In the context of the progressive sacralization of Nazi ideology, Christmas, with a Christian imprint, was to be celebrated as the winter solstice and a “declaration ceremony for the people and the leader.”
The Nazi regime was generally critical and dismissive of religious beliefs. However, only Alfred Rosenberg, the only high-ranking Nazi politician, left the church on November 15, 1933, after the seizure of power. The power of the church could not be ignored because the Christian faith was firmly rooted in large parts of the population. The proportion of members of Christian churches during the time of National Socialism, i.e., the membership of the two Christian denominations, was almost 95 percent at the beginning as well as at the end. In the 1939 census, of the remaining 5 percent, about 3.5 percent identified as “believers in God,” and approximately 1.5 percent claimed to be without faith. The remaining group of around 0.1 percent (86,423 people) included individuals who were “members of a church, religious society, or religious-ideological community.” The “Germanic faith movement” was also included in this. With the introduction of the term “believer in God” in 1936, an attempt was made to create a religious identification formula for National Socialists beyond churches and other religious communities.
In particular, Adolf Hitler had a conflicted relationship with the church, without clear ideas about a future German religion. He believed it was best to let Christianity fade away slowly. At the same time, he was aware that if he forcibly eliminated the church, the people would clamor for a replacement. According to the rulers, the place of the churches should be taken in the future by the “Germanic national community.” However, Hitler’s loyalists, including Rosenberg, Heinrich Himmler, Joseph Goebbels, Bernhard Rust, Baldur von Schirach, and other party members who claimed a role in ideological participation and wanted to shape the “Germanic religion,” argued without a “brotherly basic tone.”
Exaltation of Hitler
As early as 1930, after gaining government participation in Thuringia, the Nazis sought to reshape the school system. With a law on April 16, 1930, prayers were to be regularly held at schools in their favor. Later, in the media and in children’s and youth work, the image of Adolf Hitler as a “God-sent” and “God-willed” Messiah was increasingly built, who, with “God’s help,” had risen to be the leader of the German nation. The population now explicitly included Hitler in their prayers and intercessions. Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, stated in 1934: “We can give no other conclusion to this hour of the community of the Germans in the world than that we turn our thoughts to the man whom fate has destined to be the creator of a new German people – a people of honor. The gift that we Germans bring to the world for Christmas again to Adolf Hitler is: trust. We once again place our destiny in his hands as thanks and a vow at the same time.”
The Christmas festival played a significant role in the glorification of Adolf Hitler. Governmental authorities were involved in this effort. For example, during Christmas 1937, the Reichspost issued stamps with the inscription: “Our Leader, the Savior, is here,” inspired by the verse “Christ the Savior is born!” from “Silent Night, Holy Night.”
The German Christmas from 1933 to 1945
To establish holiday traditions like the Nazi Christmas, the “Office of the Delegate of the Führer for the Supervision of the Entire Intellectual and Ideological Education of the NSDAP,” led by Alfred Rosenberg from January 1934, played a crucial role. The “Center for Festival and Celebration Design” coordinated propaganda from various organizations and offices. The “Nazi celebration designers” aimed to gradually diminish the Christian influence on Christmas and replace it with the “Festival of the People’s Community under the Christmas Tree” – the German Christmas – as a celebration of the “national rebirth.” Until 1942, there were disputes between Rosenberg and Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels over the ideological goals of transforming Christmas. Rosenberg sought to create a new myth, namely that of “Germanic-German religious renewal,” as a replacement for Christian beliefs.
The Christmas Collections of the Winter Relief Organization (WHW)
Facing the global economic crisis in the early 1930s, the government under Chancellor Heinrich Brüning felt compelled in the winter of 1931 to conduct a nationwide fundraising campaign to alleviate the hardships in the population. The Nazi leadership recognized early on the propaganda potential of this fundraising effort. In 1933, the Winter Relief Organization was placed under the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, led by Joseph Goebbels. Later, it was organized by the National Socialist People’s Welfare. The campaigns, with their house and street collections, appealed to “solidarity with the suffering fellow citizens.” The organizers invoked Christian values, urging the population to donate out of charity. The constantly changing motifs on door plaques and badges, worn on clothing or displayed on apartment doors, exerted psychological pressure on those trying to evade the fundraising. They provided information about the willingness of each person to donate. At the same time, the badge series also appealed to the enthusiasm for collecting. The WHW engaged children in the fundraising activities. Additionally, postage stamps related to the Winter Relief Organization were issued by the Reichspost, targeting philatelists. Alongside this, there were various other sources of income through specially organized sports competitions, “sacrificial shooting” events, theater performances, concerts, and collection boxes in stores. The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls organized these activities, encouraging young people to participate in street collections shortly before Christmas.
Particularly distressed regions in Germany produced Christmas badges for the Winter Relief Organization. For example, wooden figures for Christmas trees were crafted in the Erzgebirge. Glassblowers in Gablonz an der Neiße and Lauscha in Thuringia produced glass decorations, glass badges, and glass figures for the festival. Initially, most badge motifs were inspired by nature, homeland, and tradition, and later, motifs with runes, standards, and weapon types were added.
The Winter Relief Organization’s fundraising campaigns took place from October to March each year. The media participated through extensive coverage, and prominent artists often publicly supported the collections. The Winter Relief Organization also held significance during wartime, with the “Wool Collection” donating warm clothing to soldiers.
The German Christmas from 1933 until the outbreak of World War II
Immediately after taking power, over 30,000 celebrations for the Nazi People’s Christmas with gift-giving and meals for needy citizens were held annually. From 1934, these events were moved to large halls. Public Christmas celebrations for “needy fellow citizens” were organized by the Reich Labor Service, the Wehrmacht, the NS Women’s League, and the Winter Relief Organization. The goal was to establish the German People’s Christmas and promote a positive attitude toward Nazi mass organizations. The National Socialist People’s Welfare distributed wish lists to the needy during Christmas. Almost exclusively private donors supported several million needy individuals and large families during Christmas. The German Women’s Work and other Nazi women’s and youth organizations held meetings in the pre-Christmas period until 1938. Participants “crafted” and sent Christmas gifts to fellow citizens in the eastern territories and the Saarland.
In the first years of Nazi rule, attempts were made to limit the use of Christian symbols in public. Through regulations and official guidelines, such as those in 1936 regarding shop window displays, displacement was sought. However, due to public dissatisfaction, the authorities relativized or revised such measures after only a few weeks. After the failure to banish Christian symbolism, there was an increased effort to derive Christian traditions and symbols from Germanic customs. Propaganda openly accused the Church of manipulating Christmas for its own purposes. Brochures such as “German Christmas,” “German War Christmas,” or in the calendar “Pre-Christmas,” address the degeneration of the originally Germanic Festival of Lights, as claimed, “degeneration through Christianity.”
After the first years of National Socialism, a Nazi Christmas cult emerged from elements of the patriotic and bund youth movement and mystical Christmas traditions. The outbreak of the Second World War marked a turning point in the propagandistic use of the Christmas festival.
War Christmas
During the war Christmases from 1939 to 1944, the “Nazi celebration organizers” endeavored to emphasize the connection between soldiers from various fronts and their homeland. With the fear that the population would increasingly seek solace in religious belief during wartime, the Nazi leadership attempted to influence family Christmas celebrations. Due to the prolonged separation of many families’ members and the losses of family members, there was often a somber mood. New rituals were introduced, such as “remembrance of the dead” within the family Christmas celebration. Some previously established Christmas rites were adapted to the wartime situation. Others, such as the winter solstice celebration, were entirely omitted. During the last years of the war, propaganda stylized the Christmas festival as a cultic celebration of reverence for the dead. This is illustrated in the text of the book “German War Christmas,” printed millions of times in 1943. Simultaneously, propaganda used the Christmas festival to demonstrate the alleged superiority of German culture.
Christmas in the Homeland
Due to the shortage of labor caused by the conscription of men into military service, women often bore the entire responsibility. Especially in the last years of the war, the procurement of food was disastrous. Therefore, families improvised to still be able to spend a “successful” Christmas. In the early war years, despite the introduction of food cards, Reich clothing cards, and ration vouchers, the supply situation for the German population was more or less satisfactory. This was attributed to the systematic plundering of occupied territories. From 1941, the supply situation in the Reich territory became increasingly critical. Exploiting the emotional atmosphere of the Christmas season, a few days before Christmas, a call for donations of wool, fur, and winter clothing was launched by the Reich Ministry of Propaganda. In the last years of the war, food stamps were saved for weeks to exchange them for special Christmas food allocations. Everyday items often used for Christmas, such as candles, were made by youths and women in joint crafting sessions from wax remnants.
Due to numerous air raids, the destruction of residential buildings, evacuations, and war-related deaths, it became increasingly difficult to celebrate a peaceful Christmas. Resignation and sarcasm overcame the population. In the last years of the war, families spent much time in air raid shelters due to almost daily flyovers by Allied bomber squadrons. The population increasingly spent Christmas Eve in bunkers.
The Nazi propaganda portrayed the “German Mother” as the counterpart to the “German War Hero.”
Christmas at the Front
The staging of Christmas at the front received special attention from the propaganda units of the individual troop units. Elaborately designed photo and film reports in the German Weekly Review, the Front Show, and the monthly image reports of the NSDAP aimed to convey a perfectly staged, harmonious image of Christmas celebrations at the front. In all reports, the Christmas tree was effectively set as the German symbol of Christmas, whether on the Africa Front or in submarines.
At the same time, romanticized and idealized notions of life at the front were sent to the homeland through the media. Countless reports of – in reality, rarely occurring – “crafting evenings” for Christmas gifts, allegedly held in bunkers, shelters, and at the front, were spread in films and magazines.
During the war, the Propaganda Companies issued special Christmas commemorative publications for individual troop units as well as SS formations (e.g., “Christmas Celebrations of Comrades”). In the early years of the war, media-savvy efforts were made, involving high technical complexity, to allow wounded soldiers the opportunity to send “talking field post letters.” Similar to the First World War, there were instances of fraternization between opposing forces at the front during Christmas. For instance, despite the ongoing conflict, fighters on opposing sides came together for an improvised Christmas service on Christmas Eve in the winter of 1940/41.
A significant portion of the reporting focused on retrospective accounts of “Christmas in the Field 1914–17.” Numerous texts, field post letters, and poems created during this period were republished in the Christmas publications of the Main Cultural Office of the Reich Propaganda Directorate of the NSDAP. The poem “Soldiers’ Christmas in the World War” by the writer Walter Flex, who fell in 1917 and was particularly revered by the National Socialists, is one of the most prominent examples of reviving the myth of the soldiers’ Christmas from the First World War. In almost all Christmas books, the address of a cavalry commander, Binding, from 1915 titled “German custom is to celebrate Christmas” was prominently featured.
As the military situation changed, especially evident on the Eastern Front, doubts about the war increased. To maintain the morale of the troops, propaganda shifted focus from acquiring “living space in the East” to defending the homeland and protecting the family, starting around 1942. The Christmas writings of the Wehrmacht passionately conveyed this agenda. Even Christmas itself was declared a protectable asset that needed defending. In 1942, the Luftwaffe leadership took unusual measures to boost the morale of the units besieged in Stalingrad: dropping artificial Christmas trees adorned with tinsel, stars, and bells.
The link between the home and the front
The government placed special emphasis on maintaining a functional field post to demonstrate the unity of the national community and the close connection between the front and the homeland. Children were encouraged to write letters to their fathers “in the field” as part of their school activities. Especially during Christmas, the dispatch of Christmas packages by various mass organizations was organized during “home evenings” and, to some extent, monitored. The dimensions of field post packages were typically standardized and could not exceed one kilogram in weight; at times, the permissible weight was reduced to 100 grams, posing a particular challenge for families.
The preparation and dispatching of field post packages, supported by prominent artists, were showcased in the German Weekly Review and numerous photo reports, creating a media spectacle. The gifting of soldiers in hospitals by children or young girls was a favored theme in Christmas reporting.
However, numerous preserved field post letters and eyewitness accounts paint a different picture of the “Christmas celebrations at the front.” Particularly after 1942, when the military situation had significantly changed, reports increased that soldiers at the front were cut off from communication with home and families. Letters and field post packages arrived late or not at all, and the supply situation was often catastrophic, leading to increasing demoralization among the fighting troops, especially during these holidays.
Christmas Speeches by Joseph Goebbels
Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels introduced the radio address as an annual Christmas ritual. The speeches on the German People’s Christmas always reflected the current situation. Over the course of the war, the Christmas address evolved with the character of Christmas; initially, it was the contemplative festival within the family, later becoming the “festival of national hero remembrance.” The Christmas address in 1939 focused mainly on the “evacuees from the Saar region” and the “Baltic Germans resettled in the Reich” as the “bearers of the most magnificent and modern mass migration in recent history.” In 1940, Goebbels called on the German people to sacrifice and spoke of: “Therefore, at this wartime Christmas festival, let us hold our heads high and feel ourselves as German people and members of a great national family who deserve future national happiness all the more willingly, the more willingly they bear the hardships of the present. The deeper meaning of the Christmas festival has always been not so much to feel peace as happiness but rather to work and fight for peace.” In 1941, the Christmas address was dominated by an ever-escalating, exaggerated cult of the leader. Goebbels urged the people to follow Hitler as the guarantor of victory.
One day before Christmas Eve in 1942, the German troops’ breakout from the encirclement of Stalingrad failed. The demise of the 6th Army was inevitable from that day onward. The morale and supply situation of the besieged troops on Christmas 1942 were catastrophic. Out of the estimated 195,000 trapped German soldiers, over 165,000 would not survive the battle or the subsequent captivity. In the face of the dramatically changing military situation, Goebbels delivered a poignant address on Christmas Eve. In the following years, the Propaganda Ministry repeatedly published its contents in numerous Christmas releases. In this speech, Goebbels invoked German virtues as prerequisites for ultimate victory. He stylized Christmas as a festival of hero remembrance and the day of a fateful decision battle for the race.
“Our dead are indeed the only ones who have demands today, and that from all of us, both on the front and at home. They are the eternal admonishers, the voices of our national conscience that constantly drive us to fulfill our duty. Mothers, bearing grief for their lost sons, may find solace. They did not bring their children into the world in pain and raise them with care in vain. They led lives as men and heroes, the proudest and bravest existence a son of the homeland can have, and crowned it with the most heroic conclusion one can achieve. They sacrificed themselves so that we may stand in the light […] Embraced by the high night of clear stars, we look with faith and full confidence into the future. The free century to come shines upon us, as the poet says, in royal distance. It demands struggle and sacrifice from us. But one day, it will bow to us. That is only a matter of time and patience, of courage and diligence, of faith and trust, of the strength of our souls and the bravery of our hearts.”
The Security Service of the SS reflected in confidential situation reports, “Reports from the Reich,” on the public sentiment triggered by Goebbels’ Christmas speeches. On December 29, 1942, a report described that the speech, with its “factual dignity and solemnity,” was particularly well-received by women. Simultaneously, the report noted that the feeling of the “security of the homeland” did not arise due to air raids in the west on Christmas Eve.
On December 24, 1943, ten months after the Sportpalast speech in which Goebbels rhetorically fought against the Germans’ war weariness due to the increasing military defeats, he framed his Christmas address on the radio under the motto: “Rebirth of the Political World.” The last Christmas address on December 27, 1944, was no longer broadcast throughout the entire German Reich on the radio, as since October 1944, some major German cities were no longer under the control of the National Socialists. Punctuated by slogans encouraging perseverance and the invocation of belief in the ultimate victory, Goebbels placed this Christmas speech under the core theme “Battle of Tough Hearts.”
Christmas Ring Broadcasts
To strengthen the sense of unity between the homeland and all front sections, the so-called Christmas Ring Broadcast was aired on the radio on Christmas Eve from 1940 to 1943. The logistically complex radio program of the Greater German Radio had to be coordinated months in advance between the Reich Broadcasting Corporation, various military offices, propaganda companies, and the Reichspost. Rehearsals took place weeks in advance, and parts of the program were recorded.
In the first war year of 1939, the radio broadcast a specially designed program on Christmas Eve. There were connections to, among other places, Weimar and Munich. Rudolf Hess and Joseph Goebbels delivered Christmas speeches. During the broadcast, Christmas greetings were sent to the front lines. Between the fixed contributions, organizers broadcasted Christmas and folk music.
The Christmas Ring Broadcasts from 1940 had a kind of “live character.” However, doubts exist regarding their authenticity and live broadcasts. In 1942, the program had a special dialogue character between the studio announcer and numerous remote stations. The radio suggested a live connection between all front sections. Soldiers at the front exchanged greetings with the homeland. Listeners requested “spontaneous” Christmas songs, which were then sung collectively from all fronts. The last Christmas Ring Broadcast was produced in 1943. On Christmas Eve 1944, connections to the front lines were discontinued due to the military situation. The destruction of many radio transmission facilities resulted in a lack of technical capabilities for such a complex broadcast, especially since parts of the front were already on German territory.
Only a few audio recordings of the Christmas Ring Broadcasts have been preserved (complete broadcast from 1940 and parts from 1942 and 1943). Numerous contemporary reports, though subject to source criticism, indicate that these broadcasts did not miss their intended impact. The mood reports, “Reports from the Reich,” compiled by the Security Service of the SS, recorded— with historical caution—an undoubtedly positive response among the German population. The strategy of the Christmas Ring Broadcasts was propagandistic but does not align with the “categories of a rhetorically manipulative propaganda concept” in the classical sense. Current media scientific literature views the four broadcasts as a blend of wartime propaganda, Nazi ideology, and Christmas traditions.
Nazi Christmas Customs
Winter Solstice Celebrations
Solstice celebrations, organized by the German bourgeois youth movement such as the Wandervogel and later the Bündische Jugend, were considered significant community-building elements and emotionally charged rituals since the early 20th century. Solstice celebrations held a central position in the Nazi festive calendar. Similar to other rituals and festivals, Nazi ideologists incorporated sacred elements. The celebrated sun cult was purportedly derived from Germanic mythology. In the initial years, mainly local groups of the NSDAP, the Schutzstaffel, the Hitler Youth, and the League of German Girls organized solstice celebrations. From 1935, the events were centralized, and after 1937, they gained mass character, such as in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. According to the organizers, the Winter Solstice celebration aimed to reinterpret Christmas as a festival of the “rising light.” The proceedings were also organized with guidelines. With the onset of the war, the directive of 1939 included the addition “Not feasible during the war due to blackout regulations.”
Proceedings of Solstice Celebrations
The following excerpt from such a directive describes the proceedings (evident are the sacred parallels to church processions and services):
- Silent march to the fire site. Formation in a square, open on the smoke side. Torchbearers light the torches and step towards the woodpile.
- Fanfares
- Group song (“And when we march” – “Holy Fatherland” or others)
- Ignition of the woodpile by the torchbearers. Beforehand, a fire incantation can be spoken, or torch swinging and a torch dance can be performed.
- Group song (“Flame rising”)
- Brief address by the dignitary or unit leader
- Hymn (“We gather to pray,” “Germany holy word,” possibly drum roll)
- Wreath toss with sayings
- Short period of contemplation
- Closing words
- Honoring the leader – German anthems
The departure takes place as a torchlight procession. A fire guard remains at the fire site.” The lighting of torches and fires was intended to evoke emotions. The climax was the igniting of straw-wrapped sunwheels, which were usually rolled downhill afterward. The content of the speech was also predetermined. The options included “Winter Solstice in Faith, Custom, and Tradition” or “Winter Solstice and Yule Festival.” Often, the stirring song “Behold, it shines on the threshold” by Baldur von Schirach was included. Youth organizations distributed badges as a reminder of the celebration, which were worn on the uniforms. The elaborate productions aimed to establish identity. This effect was particularly successful, especially among the youth.
“Homecoming of the Fire”
In line with the “National Socialist celebrators,” the organization of solstice celebrations aimed to create a contrast to the more contemplative and traditional family celebrations. To indoctrinate even the domestic Christmas celebrations and symbolically bring the solstice fire into families, a new ritual was initiated from 1939 onwards: “The Homecoming of the Fire.” Torches were used to light the candles on the central Christmas tree of the locality, the “People’s Christmas Tree.” On Christmas Eve, children were supposed to fetch the fire for the home Christmas tree. Symbolically, the light of renewal was meant to be brought into every family from a central fire. However, this custom did not gain much popularity among the population, partly due to blackout measures during the war.
Christmas as the Festival of Universal Motherhood
Jesus Christ, the symbol of the long-awaited Savior for many believers, did not align with the ideology of the National Socialists, for whom there was only Adolf Hitler, the savior and liberator on the “Day of Liberation.” The Gospel was displaced in Nazi Christmas literature by tales such as that of the child in the golden cradle and Frau Holle as the guardian of unborn life and life-giving mother.
After several years of Nazi rule, there was overt and open polemics against the Christian Christmas story, replacing it with a depiction that, alongside rooted biblical elements like the nativity scene, also incorporated elements from German fairy tales. From 1938 onwards, Frau Holle in these Christmas stories was increasingly stylized as the “Life Mother” and traced back to the Germanic goddess of love and marriage, Freya.
In the early years of National Socialism, Christmas became the “Festival of Universal Motherhood,” the “Mother Night,” where the German mother was stylized as a substitute for the Virgin Mary. To this end, the Nazi Party established the Cross of Honor of the German Mother (Mother’s Cross) in 1938, awarded exclusively to mothers with proof of Aryan ancestry.
Motherhood as the “seed” for the pure Aryan race, consisting of mothers and soldiers, was glorified and idealized in countless poems and writings, such as in “Becoming a Farmer Mother” or the widely circulated poem “Mother’s Christmas”:
“So in the holy night on Earth we see Mothers standing bright in the glow of stars and candles, silently through night and hardship and pain they went, so that for the people of tomorrow, mothers and soldiers shall be.”
During the war, women during Christmas became the most important target audience for Nazi propaganda, as they bore a significant psychological burden due to the war.
Pre-Christmas, the Nazi Christmas Calendar
With the suppression of Christian Christmas traditions from official language use and due to the paper shortage caused by the war, the traditional Advent calendar largely fell victim to censorship, with Christian motifs being replaced by fairy tale and animal figures. Due to its popularity, the children’s Advent calendar was replaced by a Pre-Christmas calendar, published by the Main Cultural Office in the Reich Propaganda Directorate of the Nazi Party.
In addition to a selection of fairy tales and Nazi Christmas songs, instructions for wooden Christmas tree decorations in the form of runes and sunwheels, so-called Christmas gardens, and Klausen trees made of potatoes, baking instructions for symbolic pastries, the calendar also had a clear focus on military content, such as the sheet “Building Snow Bunkers and Snowmen” or “Children Draw” (suggested motif in 1942: burning Russian tanks and destroyed English ships). The interpretation of so-called ancestral and genealogical research and the derivation of the meaning of runes and symbols played a significant role in the calendar’s content.
The Pre-Christmas calendar appeared in 1942 and 1943 with almost identical content. However, the design of the calendar sheets was adapted to the respective military situation on the front. While in 1942, the calendar sheet “1 Day Until Christmas” was adorned with a decorative garland listing all front sections from the Atlantic to Africa, the East to Norway, in 1943, this element was retouched due to the changed front line. The accompanying text was also adjusted to the military and political situation: The removal of the term Greater German Reich in the 1943 calendar documented the changed military situation on the fronts.
Nazi Christmas Decorations
In numerous family and women’s magazines, crafting instructions for Christmas and table decorations were traditionally disseminated during the pre-Christmas period. In the widely circulated publications from the Main Cultural Office of the Propaganda Directorate of the Nazi Party, such as the Pre-Christmas calendars and the Almanacs of War Christmas, which were issued at the beginning of the war, preference was now given to promoting a naturalistic Christmas decoration supposedly borrowed from a Germanic origin.
Candle holders were crafted from fir and boxwood branches, apples, nuts, wooden disks, and potatoes, often adorned with Germanic or Nordic symbols. Preferred decorative items included the so-called “Klausenbaum,” consisting of potatoes and fir branches, and the “Julleuchter,” decorated with Germanic symbols. Additionally, the classic Advent wreath made from fir green was “modified” into a green wreath in the form of a swastika with a central candle.
In the SS, some leadership figures were inclined towards occultist ideas and the Germanic cult, despite the official classification of occultist associations as hostile sects in 1933. From 1938, Heinrich Himmler presented members of the SS with a so-called “Julleuchter” and a “Julteller” as Christmas gifts. These candle holders, made of fired clay and adorned with runes and Old Germanic symbols, were largely manufactured in large quantities for the SS’s own porcelain factory, Allach, in the concentration camps Dachau and Neuengamme. Besides ceramic Julleuchters, numerous wooden models, often featuring a central sun disk or other motifs from Germanic mythology, were widely distributed.
Solstice Wreath and Fairy Tale Garden
The traditional Advent wreath, originating from a 19th-century evangelical tradition, was intended to be replaced by the “Solstice Wreath” – often featuring sunwheel or Viking motifs – or the “Light Wreath,” according to the vision of the celebration organizers. The candles on the wreath no longer symbolized the four Advent Sundays but, as “Wishing Lights,” represented the four seasons. Appropriate to the lighting of the “Wishing Lights,” lighting verses were now recited, suggested in corresponding Christmas booklets. The Christmas crib, passed down through many families for generations, was now considered outdated and should yield to a woodland landscape with wooden or cardboard animal motifs, marketed under the names “Weihnachtsgärtlein” or “Märchengarten.” Simultaneously, numerous publications appeared in which the Christmas story was denigrated: the adoring shepherds were depicted as a folksy group “blowing through the fields at the winter solstice.” Instead of the traditional Christmas story, fairy tales were now mostly narrated. The story of Frau Holle took a central position, and new romanticized tales like “Christmas in the Forest” by Hildegard Rennert were extensively disseminated to increase the acceptance of the “Fairy Tale Garden” as a substitute for the Christmas crib.
Lighting Verses
In addition to the “Homecoming of the Fire,” the National Socialists attempted to introduce another new custom into the design of the family celebrations of German Christmas with the introduction of “Lichtersprüche” (lighting verses), aiming to counteract the danger of war weariness during the war. When lighting the “Wishing Lights” on the Solstice Wreath, verses were recited, provided as examples in the “Vorweihnachten” calendars, always intended to establish a connection between home and the front.
“The children can also say more verses that the mother made herself before Christmas and taught the children. They can refer to loved ones, home, or the perhaps absent father.”
Jul Tree
The adorned Christmas tree was long considered the symbol of German Christmas. The usually inherited Christmas tree decorations with angels, glittering balls, tinsel, angel hair, and tree toppers were now referred to as old-fashioned kitsch. During National Socialism, without scientific basis, the Christmas tree was seen as a branch of the Germanic World Tree and stylized as the “Symbol of German Christmas.” Simultaneously, suggestions were made for how to design the “species-appropriate German” lighted tree, the “Jultanne.” Apples, nuts, and homemade symbolic pastries were supplemented with scroll saw motifs of animals and Germanic symbols, runes, or purchased Yule decorations. The Yule or Christmas decorations resembled traditional Christmas tree ornaments – but with embossed runes, swastikas, and numerous Germanic symbols. As of 1934, the swastika was officially approved as Christmas decoration. During the pre-Christmas period, the “Decorations for the Christmas Tree” collection campaign was carried out, selling collectible figures from the Winter Relief Fund for the lighted tree. The glass Christmas tree topper was replaced by self-made “sunwheels,” and wooden frames in the form of wheel crosses were often used as Christmas tree stands.
In some households, the Yule bow, decorated with boxwood, apples, nuts, and Germanic symbols, was also set up. The bow can be traced back to the still-traditional “Jöölboom” (also called Friesenbaum) in North Frisia in the northwest of Schleswig-Holstein. The National Socialist-promoted Yule bow was often decorated with self-baked or wooden Germanic symbols, Norns, and four candles. The shape of the bow is meant to symbolize the course of the sun and unite the symbols of fertility, light, and new life. Instructions for the production and decoration of such Yule bows were spread in many women’s magazines, such as the NS-Frauenwarte.
Meaningful Pastries
National Socialist influence extended to the production of NS holiday pastries. The universally beloved and traditional Christstollen and Christmas cookies in the shapes of hearts, stars, and fir trees were increasingly replaced by pastries with new motifs, such as runes, symbols, annual and sunwheels, as well as Germanic animal symbols from mythology, like the Yule boar or the Yule deer. In numerous publications, such as the NS-Frauen-Warte, recipe sheets from the “Zeitgemäßer Haushalt” (“Contemporary Household”), in Christmas books and “Vorweihnachtskalender” (“Pre-Christmas calendars”), but also from well-known baking ingredient manufacturers, corresponding recipes for such pastries were spread, and the Germanic symbols were explained. Particularly promoted – among other places in the Deutsche Wochenschau – was the meaningful pastries in the form of victory and Odal runes and sunwheels, primarily intended not for consumption but as decoration for the Yule bow and the appropriate Christmas or lighted tree. Even the craftsmanship involved in making baked goods was glorified as a spiritual act:
During the pre-Christmas period in wartime, constantly new “contemporary” recipes were spread in women’s and family magazines. In addition to long-lasting and nutritious Christmas pastry recipes for care packages sent to the front, suggestions were made for producing pastries with little or no use of fat and sugar, such as war crumb cake, pearl croquant, or fat-free honey cake.
During the war, the production of Christmas pastries was given high importance by National Socialist ideologues concerning the morale of the fighting troops. Therefore, the Reich Committee for Economic Enlightenment published numerous makeshift recipes and substitutes as the supply situation worsened. Manufacturers of baking ingredients also frequently published their modified recipes with an ideological preface, equating the value of women’s domestic activities with men’s wartime efforts. Special food allocations just before Christmas were intended to ensure that domestic Christmas baking could be carried out even in times of strained supplies.
The Solsticeman
One of the central symbolic figures of the Christian Christmas festival is St. Nicholas in his role as the bringer of gifts. The Saint, particularly revered by children as a benefactor and bearer of gifts, was reduced by the National Socialists to a Christian interpretation of the Germanic god Wodan, who rides a white horse over the earth and heralds the winter solstice. The figure of St. Nicholas was consequently displaced from common usage by a somewhat ominous character referred to as the Schimmelreiter, the Rauhe Percht, the German Knecht Ruppricht, or the Weihnachtsmann or Solsticeman. In many regions, these rather intimidating figures had appeared as companions of St. Nicholas in customs and took on a much more central role under the new ideological guidelines.
National Socialist folklorists relied especially on Jacob Grimm’s depiction of Knecht Ruprecht in his work “Deutsche Mythologie” (German Mythology). They linked folkish NS symbolism with Germanic-heathen mythology, folk traditions, and a pseudo-religious approach to increase acceptance of the newly created figure of the gift-giver. The Nikolaustag, December 6th, was officially renamed “Ruprechtstag” in 1940. In numerous Christmas books, the figure of St. Nicholas was downright ridiculed, and the Weihnachtsmann was portrayed as the “real benefactor.”
Christmas Songs
Many German Christmas songs have a very ancient tradition and can be traced back to chants sung during festive church services. Originally in Latin, many were partially or entirely translated into vernacular languages during medieval times, such as “In dulci Jubilo” – “Now sing and be joyful.” Another root of Christmas songs, such as “Joseph, lieber Joseph mein,” lies in the Christmas custom of symbolically “rocking the cradle” of the baby Jesus in the crib, a practice mainly observed in medieval women’s monasteries. Traditional Christian Christmas songs were deeply embedded in people’s thoughts and were sung at all Christmas celebrations.
National Socialist ideologues systematically attempted to “de-Christianize” and “Germanize” Christmas songs through rephrasing and eliminate biblical or religious references; at most, “God” was mentioned as a religious cipher. Some of them, like “Tochter Zion, freue dich,” “Du lieber heiliger frommer Christ,” or “Zu Bethlehem geboren,” were directly banned by censorship at official events. Others, such as “O Tannenbaum” and “Morgen, Kinder, wird’s was geben,” appeared “unobjectionable” to the authorities. However, despite the intensive spread of the new song lyrics through mass media and at large events, they could not prevail against traditional Christmas songs, especially within the family circle.
New Christmas Songs
New Christmas songs deeply rooted in National Socialist ideology were massively disseminated on the radio, in schools, and at Christmas celebrations of mass organizations. Among the frequently played new Christmas songs were “In dieser klaren Sternennacht,” “Tal und Hügel sind verschneit,” “Der Schnee ist leis gesunken,” and “Weihnacht der Soldaten.” Most of the National Socialist Christmas songs were characterized by florid lyrics with exaggerated pathos.
The most well-known among them, “Hohe Nacht der klaren Sterne” (1936), was composed by Hans Baumann, who had already gained recognition with the National Socialists in 1932 with the song for the German Labor Front, “Es zittern die morschen Knochen.” Rarely acknowledged after 1945, Heino re-released it on a Christmas album in 2003.
Other Christmas songs created during the National Socialist era continued to circulate after World War II. This includes the Christmas song “Bald nun ist Weihnachtszeit,” which first appeared in the HJ-Liederblatt 65 in 1936.
Manipulated Christmas Songs
For some traditional songs, such as “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen,” there were multiple reworkings sung at official celebrations but had little circulation within the family circle. Even the most famous German Christmas song, “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,” was rephrased in 1942: the “beloved, highly holy couple” became the “radiant Christmas tree,” and “Christ, in deiner Geburt” was rewritten as “Werdet Lichtsucher all!” One of the rephrased Christmas songs, originally known as the Aargauer Sterndrehermarsch, has persisted in a slightly modified version of Paul Hermann’s reworking (1939) in the repertoire to the present day. The following comparison illustrates some of these rephrasings.
Catholic Hymn (1599)
A rose has sprung forth
from a tender root,
as the ancients sang to us,
from Jesse came the kind,
and brought a little flower
in the midst of the cold winter,
well into the midnight hour.
The little rose that I mean,
of which Isaiah speaks,
is Mary, the pure,
who brought us the little flower.
By God’s eternal counsel,
she bore a child,
and remained a pure maiden.
Adaptation in 1942
A light has arisen for us
in a dark winter night.
So in German lands,
faith is newly kindled.
The sunshine is coming!
After many hard days,
there must be victory and peace.
To the mothers at the cradle,
may the little ones be blessed,
through our strength in war,
a life burdened with happiness!
May God widen the heart,
to preserve this light,
through every dark time.
Adaptation in 1943
Now it shines in the hearts,
and every mother’s dream
blooms softly in bright candles,
youngly the tree of life greens.
The beloved Christmas time
speaks of the ever-renewing,
and God’s eternity.
Even if one year lays down,
the next extends its hand,
Many hundred buds stir,
soon in the vast land.
Many thousand little children
are our people’s tomorrow,
Let us be joyful for that!
Excursus: Christmas Gifts 1933 to 1945
Christmas gifts reflect to a great extent the economic situation of society. In the early years of National Socialism, adults often wished for everyday items such as kitchen appliances, clothing, home decor, books, and frequently sweets or wine and spirits. In the mid-1930s, radios, especially Volksempfängers, became increasingly popular Christmas gifts. Among the needy and war-disabled, these were sometimes financed through the Dr. Goebbels Radio Fund (until 1942: 150,000 devices).
In addition to the traditionally popular Christmas gifts for children, such as board games, musical instruments, books, clothing, dolls, and doll accessories for girls, and technical toys and sports equipment for boys, a trend emerged in the mid-1930s towards an increasing presence of war toys in Christmas catalogs of department stores and toy shops and newspaper advertisements. Alongside fortresses, tanks, tin soldiers, and Elastolin figures in Jungvolk, Hitler Youth (HJ), SA, and SS uniforms, toy catalogs also promoted the “Führer’s Car” by the Tippco company. In addition to fighting and military figures, a wide range of props and equipment was provided to convey an image of soldiering not only characterized by combat but also by camaraderie and care.
As early as 1933, the “Reich Association of German Toy, Basket, and Pram Dealers” was founded, offering not only traditional toys but increasingly toys with a National Socialist character. Advertisements for subscriptions to the Reich newspaper Die HJ – the combat paper of the Hitler Youth or Das Deutsche Mädel as a Christmas gift were placed in newspapers alongside traditional Christmas ads from the mid-1930s. During this time, the wish list of young people also included equipment or parts for a Hitler Youth or League of German Girls uniform.
The National Socialist educational goal, the dissemination of National Socialist ideology in all public and private life, is also evident in the selection of toys that were preferentially advertised. While girls were traditionally prepared for their future maternal role with dolls, National Socialist and folk-decorated dollhouses, and corresponding accessories, boys were playfully introduced to military service by the mid-1930s.
Current political events were incorporated into board and card games and propagandistically processed, such as the board game “Reichsautobahnen im Bau” (Reich Motorways Under Construction). In 1938, with the “Return of the Ostmark” and Sudetenland to the Reich, the board game “Reise durch Großdeutschland” (Journey through Greater Germany) was introduced to the market.
During the war, military themes were particularly emphasized in the design of toys, especially by toy companies that were “Aryanized,” such as the Nuremberg companies J.W. Spear & Sons and Tipp & Co. This included campaigns of the Wehrmacht, such as the naval warfare against England in the board games “Wir fahren gegen Engeland” (We’re Sailing Against England, 1940), “Bomben auf England” (Bombs on England, 1940), “Wehrschach” (1938), or the “Adler Luftverteidigungsspiel” (Eagle Air Defense Game).
The aim of the increasing militarization of toys was targeted indoctrination of children and teenagers, as well as preparation for future military service. Even Nazi racial policies were to be conveyed to children aged eight to twelve through games, as exemplified by the board game “Juden raus” (Jews Out) or the anti-Semitic children’s books from the Stürmer-Verlag “Der Giftpilz” (The Poisonous Mushroom) and “Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud bei seinem Eid” (Trust No Fox in a Green Meadow or Jew on his Oath) – a picture book for young and old.
During the war, the Christmas gifts of the population also underwent changes. Many businesses were converted to wartime production, and consumer goods and toys were scarcely produced. In 1943, a ban on the production of toys was imposed. Numerous magazines now featured sections with instructions for crafting Christmas gifts from “remnants” and materials from nature. Clothing was repurposed, with fabric scraps, for example, sewn into doll clothes. To compensate for the lack of commercially available toys, Christmas decorations, and candles, crafting sessions were organized at so-called “home evenings” of the Hitler Youth, the League of German Girls, or the NS Women’s Organization, where Christmas gifts were made, and swap meets for clothing and everyday items were established.
The transformation of unusual materials, such as shell casings and broken everyday items, into gifts was characteristic of the last Christmases of the war. In magazines, advertisements were printed during the pre-Christmas season, promising customers a specific product for the time after the war.
The official stance of the National Socialist event organizers emphasized that the Nazi Christmas celebrations did not aim to displace the influence of the churches. However, the congruence of the proceedings and the design of the events with religious celebrations and the overlapping dates indicate an intention to secularize Christmas and reduce the influence of religion in public and private life. In large parts of the German population, religion and Christian traditions were deeply rooted.
The extent of the influence of Nazi propaganda on family Christmas celebrations is difficult to determine. Many surveys are based on the analysis of eyewitness reports. While public gatherings and Christmas celebrations, at least in the first years of Nazi rule, could foster a sense of unity among broader segments of the population, especially among the youth, other rituals initiated by the event organizers failed to have the desired effect. In particular, the altered Christmas songs did not gain significant popularity in private circles outside mass events. An exception is the song “Hohe Nacht der klaren Sterne” (High Night of Clear Stars), which, although widely spread at mass events and on the radio, could not replace the well-known Christmas carol “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night). This was evident in the design of the Christmas editions of the Deutsche Wochenschau (German Weekly Review) and the Christmas ring broadcasts, where the popular Christmas carol “Stille Nacht” – in its original text – was usually used for musical accompaniment or as the conclusion of the broadcast to create a sense of connection.
Many suggestions initiated by the Reich Propaganda Directorate for the design of the German Christmas were only marginally used, even in Nazi mass media. Instead, traditional Christmas symbols were employed. In particular, the traditional Christmas tree with candles and tinsel could not be replaced by the Nazi “light tree” with wooden ornaments in the form of runes. Even in almanacs like “Deutsche Kriegsweihnacht” (German War Christmas), published by the Reich Ministry of Propaganda, promoting Nazi Christmas decorations, a photograph by Heinrich Hoffmann was printed, showing Adolf Hitler in front of a tinsel-decorated Christmas tree.
Replacement rituals, such as the “Homecoming of the Fire” and the “Christmas cult of the dead,” also failed to gain traction among the population. One reason for this is considered to be that during the war, many Germans sought refuge in faith, and many public events (Winter Solstice celebrations, community gift-givings, etc.) could not be held due to war-related disruptions. Particularly during the war, the German population increasingly adhered to the Christian message of peace, seeking solace and guidance in religion.
The impact of ideologically influenced toys and children’s books on Nazi education is challenging to assess. Military toys had traditionally been among the preferred Christmas wishes for boys even before 1933. Particularly at the beginning and during the early years of the war, the proportion of war-related and ideologically influenced toys increased until toy production came to a halt in 1943 due to the war. Many eyewitnesses can recall the presence of such games and books in households.
Despite the intense efforts of Nazi ideologists to secularize the Christian Christmas festival, they failed to introduce Christmas as the “celebration of awakening nature” to large parts of the population. Only a small portion of the population embraced the newly created Christmas rituals. The cult of the Führer, which played an important role in the festive arrangements during Christmas, was the most successful instrument of Nazi propaganda in terms of mass impact.
Response in the German Population
The official stance of the National Socialist event organizers emphasized that the Nazi Christmas celebrations did not aim to displace the influence of the churches. However, the congruence of the proceedings and the design of the events with religious celebrations and the overlapping dates indicate an intention to secularize Christmas and reduce the influence of religion in public and private life. In large parts of the German population, religion and Christian traditions were deeply rooted.
The extent of the influence of Nazi propaganda on family Christmas celebrations is difficult to determine. Many surveys are based on the analysis of eyewitness reports. While public gatherings and Christmas celebrations, at least in the first years of Nazi rule, could foster a sense of unity among broader segments of the population, especially among the youth, other rituals initiated by the event organizers failed to have the desired effect. In particular, the altered Christmas songs did not gain significant popularity in private circles outside mass events. An exception is the song “Hohe Nacht der klaren Sterne” (High Night of Clear Stars), which, although widely spread at mass events and on the radio, could not replace the well-known Christmas carol “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night). This was evident in the design of the Christmas editions of the Deutsche Wochenschau (German Weekly Review) and the Christmas ring broadcasts, where the popular Christmas carol “Stille Nacht” – in its original text – was usually used for musical accompaniment or as the conclusion of the broadcast to create a sense of connection.
Many suggestions initiated by the Reich Propaganda Directorate for the design of the German Christmas were only marginally used, even in Nazi mass media. Instead, traditional Christmas symbols were employed. In particular, the traditional Christmas tree with candles and tinsel could not be replaced by the Nazi “light tree” with wooden ornaments in the form of runes. Even in almanacs like “Deutsche Kriegsweihnacht” (German War Christmas), published by the Reich Ministry of Propaganda, promoting Nazi Christmas decorations, a photograph by Heinrich Hoffmann was printed, showing Adolf Hitler in front of a tinsel-decorated Christmas tree.
Replacement rituals, such as the “Homecoming of the Fire” and the “Christmas cult of the dead,” also failed to gain traction among the population. One reason for this is considered to be that during the war, many Germans sought refuge in faith, and many public events (Winter Solstice celebrations, community gift-givings, etc.) could not be held due to war-related disruptions. Particularly during the war, the German population increasingly adhered to the Christian message of peace, seeking solace and guidance in religion.
The impact of ideologically influenced toys and children’s books on Nazi education is challenging to assess. Military toys had traditionally been among the preferred Christmas wishes for boys even before 1933. Particularly at the beginning and during the early years of the war, the proportion of war-related and ideologically influenced toys increased until toy production came to a halt in 1943 due to the war. Many eyewitnesses can recall the presence of such games and books in households.
Despite the intense efforts of Nazi ideologists to secularize the Christian Christmas festival, they failed to introduce Christmas as the “celebration of awakening nature” to large parts of the population. Only a small portion of the population embraced the newly created Christmas rituals. The cult of the Führer, which played an important role in the festive arrangements during Christmas, was the most successful instrument of Nazi propaganda in terms of mass impact.