How was Freemasonry persecuted under the Third Reich?

by panonarian

Lots of stories go around Masonic lodges about Nazi oppression, but what historical evidence do we have to learn from?

cryptoengineer

I hesitate to post in this sub - its moderated with an iron fist within an iron glove....

However...

There's no doubt whatsoever that Hitler and Nazi ideology regarded Masons as willing assistants of the Jewish conspiracy, taking their cue from "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion".

Hitler: “The general pacifistic paralysis of the national instinct of self-preservation begun by Freemasonry is then transmitted to the masses of society by the Jewish Press”[1]

There's a well researched (and properly referenced) article on the subject at http://www.thelaudablepursuit.com/articles/2015/2/6/freemasonry-and-the-holocaust

Its generally estimated that at least 80,000, and possibly as many as 200,000 Masons were sent to the extermination camps by the Nazis [2].

[1] Adolph Hitler (1925) Mein Kampf pages 315-320

[2] Christopher Hodapp (2005). Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 85., sec. "Hitler and the Nazis"