This article was originally published on FromtheDesk.org.
The government of Adolf Hitler spied on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during World War II. Recently uncovered documents offer an unprecedented glimpse into how the Third Reich monitored the Church and subjected its membership to systematic surveillance, censorship, and intimidation. A 1937 report even details notes made about President Heber J. Grant during a series of sermons. This interview with Stephen O. Smoot explores key insights into Church-state tensions, missionary activity, and the persecution of individual members, including resistance figures like Helmuth Hübener.
What new documents about Nazis and Latter-day Saints did you examine with the B. H. Roberts Foundation?
In my work for the B. H. Roberts Foundation, I examined a 500-page dossier from the Nazi Party’s intelligence agency, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), preserved in the Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) in Berlin. This collection includes surveillance reports on Church meetings, internal Nazi correspondence about the Church, and files on individual Latter-day Saints and missionaries, offering unprecedented insight into how the Nazi regime viewed and monitored the Church.
How large was the Church in Germany during the 1930s?
When Adolf Hitler took power in 1933, there were roughly 8,000 Latter-day Saints in Germany and Austria. By 1939, when war broke out, that number had grown to about 13,000 members. Although small relative to Germany’s overall population and other Christian denominations, it represented one of the strongest Latter-day Saint communities outside North America.
What was the extent of surveillance on Latter-day Saints in Nazi Germany?
The Nazis monitored the Church nationwide through informants, interrogations of missionaries, and observation of meetings. Local leaders and members were scrutinized, and senior Nazi officials received regular reports on Church activities and publications. The surveillance was systematic and coordinated throughout the Reich, not limited to isolated incidents.
Why were the Nazis suspicious of Latter-day Saints?
Suspicion stemmed largely from the Church’s foreign base in the United States. Its missionary efforts, teachings on political neutrality and pacifism, and financial ties to America also raised concerns. Nazi officials additionally objected to perceived “Jewish influences” in Church practices, such as Sabbath observance and tithing, and resented funds flowing from Germany to Church headquarters in the United States.
Latter-day Saint doctrines were deemed bizarre or deviant, and there were also (of course!) suspicions of secret polygamy still being practiced in the Church.
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