No official state action was undertaken against the Mormons in the 1930s and 1940s. A reassessment of this time by Mormons and their apologists has proved to be an embarrassment. While representatives from several religious groups can lay claim that the organization and its members suffered official persecution from state authorities during the National Socialist period, the Mormons cannot.

. . .

The sanctions imposed against the groups were not based on religious grounds, as the religion clauses of the Weimar constitution were never abrogated. Rather, the sanctions against the sects were enacted on political grounds. Charges of Marxism, international conspiracy, and subversion were usually levelled against the sects, even though there was no substantial evidence to support the charges. Religious persecution appears to have been legitimized by making charges of political subversion, or conspiracy.

Although they had in common American origins, as well as similar beliefs to both the Adventists, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons were not subject to official state sanctions as were the Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. There was little difference between Mormon millenarian beliefs and those of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Both the Mormons and the Witnesses were structurally undemocratic, anti-liberal, and uncompromising religious bodies. Members of both groups were expected to give themselves completely, body and soul, to the movement and to obey without question their leaders. They both made claims to exclusive possession of the “truth.” As well, both groups tread on the ground that the National Socialists had carved for themselves as a political philosophy bent on creating a new man, a new society, and a new world. Then why was there such a difference in official attitudes towards the Mormons and the Witnesses?

The role of minority religions under the National Socialist regime has been addressed in several articles and books over the last several decades. The body of literature concerning Mormonism during the National Socialist period is small and often repetitive in the themes it seeks to address. Perhaps this is due to an almost complete lack of primary resource material that exists on the Mormons during the National Socialist period. I do not wish to convey the idea that no information exists, rather that very little material from government archives dealing with the Mormons during this period is to be found.

The Mormon membership appears to have been generally supportive of the National Socialist regime. . . . With the party being held in such esteem there does not appear to have been any sanctions against Mormons who held Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) memberships, or NSDAP members who were Mormons. While Mormon leadership was sympathetic to the Nazis, the Nazis were also sympathetic to the Mormons.

. . .

In the years since the fall of Nazi Germany no Mormons have come forward to relay their story of internment or subjection to government interference based solely on their adherence to Mormonism. It is only reasonable to infer then, that given the absence of sources on the topic that the LDS church and its membership were not targets under the National Socialists. . . . While other religious groups were facing state sanction why were the Mormons virtually exempt from any state action?

The answer may lie in the Mormons’ own history. The Mormons perhaps more than any other religious body in Germany knew the dangers in confronting state power. They had felt the strong arm of the Federal Government in the latter part of the nineteenth century and emerged from that battle with the knowledge that any confrontation with political power would be fruitless, and extremely damaging. More importantly they learned how to survive. With the end of the Mormon dream of a political kingdom they became apolitical. The millenarian vision of a kingdom of the here and now was translated to a future state. The church took an official stance of self-preservation at all costs often sacrificing long held and important religious principles, such as the decision to abrogate plural marriage. The movement towards self-preservation resulted in a quieting of active demonstration against official state policy and generally they became docile towards political power.

This shift from open agitation towards political power, to accommodation was only accomplished due to the Mormons’ church structure. The authoritarian and hierarchical nature of the organization does not allow for dissent from the church’s members towards official church policy. The Mormon relationship towards the state was a prime example of a theological principle that stresses the role of obedience and harmony. It is the principle of the Zion of Enoch carried out in the material world. Living the principle in the earthly realm would prepare the saints for life during the coming millennium and the eternal hereafter. In this ideal community, where communalism, plural marriage, would be practised, members were to live in harmony and to voice opinion with one accord. Dissent causes chaos and is counter productive to the perfect will of Heaven. With a leadership who act as God’s agents, whose very words, it is believed, originate in the heavens, dissent expressed towards them carries both immediate and eternal consequences.

. . .

For the Mormons, a group that faced little to no state opposition, the National Socialist period presented a difficult challenge. As they were the only Anglo-American sect allowed to operate publicly during the National Socialist period, this period is quickly becoming an embarrassment for many LDS who sought, and seek a more active social role for their organization.

In answer to the challenge presented by the history of Mormonism under the Nazis a half hearted attempt has been made to present the Mormons of the period as voices of liberty challenging the National Socialist regime. Sadly, however, the overwhelming voices from the Mormons were silent. The only Mormon voices heard were those of a group of teenagers, who happened to belong to the Mormon church. The teenage voices were transferred to the greater membership as representative of the general body of Mormons during the National Socialist period rather than the lone voices they were. It may have been different if the voices were representative of the beliefs of the church or its membership, but they were not. Official Mormon policy was to not oppose the government.