The Concordat and Catholic Church

Active learning strengthens comprehension of this topic by letting students wrestle with power dynamics and conflicting motives. The Concordat’s contradictions unfold clearly when students role-play negotiations or analyze violations side-by-side, making abstract political maneuvering tangible.

• Year 11
• History
• 4 activities
• 35 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the primary motivations behind Hitler's decision to sign the 1933 Concordat with the Catholic Church.
2. Analyze the methods used by the Nazi regime to systematically undermine the Concordat after its signing.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness and nature of Catholic resistance to Nazi persecution.
4. Compare the initial promises of the Concordat with the subsequent actions of the Nazi regime towards the Church.

Document Mystery

⏱ 45 min·Pairs

Role-Play: Concordat Negotiations

Assign pairs one as Nazi negotiators and one as Vatican representatives. Each prepares key demands and concessions using provided sources, then role-plays a 10-minute negotiation. Debrief as a class on compromises reached and real historical outcomes.

Prepare & details

Explain why Hitler signed the Concordat with the Catholic Church in 1933.

Facilitation Tip: In the Role-Play: Concordat Negotiations activity, assign students distinct roles with hidden agendas to force them to experience the bargaining pressures between the Vatican and Nazi regime.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Document Mystery

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Source Stations: Undermining the Concordat

Set up four stations with documents like clergy arrest reports, school closure notices, Mit brennender Sorge excerpts, and Nazi propaganda. Small groups spend 8 minutes per station analyzing violations and noting evidence. Groups share findings in a whole-class gallery walk.

Prepare & details

Analyze how the Nazis subsequently undermined the Concordat and persecuted Catholic clergy.

Facilitation Tip: During Source Stations: Undermining the Concordat, circulate with a clipboard to listen for students’ realizations about early violations, redirecting misinterpretations in real time.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Formal Debate

⏱ 40 min·Whole Class

Formal Debate: Catholic Resistance Levels

Divide class into teams to argue for high, moderate, or low resistance using evidence cards on events like von Galen's sermons and Centre Party dissolution. Each side presents for 5 minutes, followed by moderated rebuttals and vote.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the extent of Catholic resistance to the Nazi regime.

Facilitation Tip: For the Debate: Catholic Resistance Levels, require each side to use at least two primary sources as evidence, ensuring arguments stay grounded in historical detail.

Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest

Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Document Mystery

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Timeline Build: From Pact to Persecution

In small groups, students sequence 12 event cards from 1933 Concordat to 1945, adding causal links and evidence. Groups present timelines, comparing how Nazis escalated control.

Prepare & details

Explain why Hitler signed the Concordat with the Catholic Church in 1933.

Facilitation Tip: When building the Timeline, have students physically rearrange cards in small groups to reinforce how close in time violations followed the Concordat’s signing.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Teach this topic by emphasizing evidence over narrative, using primary sources to disrupt assumptions about Catholic resistance or Nazi sincerity. Avoid framing the Concordat as a straightforward deal; instead, highlight its fragility and the Nazis’ incremental undermining of terms. Research on historical empathy suggests students grasp power imbalances better when they role-play constrained choices rather than abstract ideas.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students recognizing how the Concordat functioned as a temporary truce rather than a lasting alliance, citing specific evidence from multiple perspectives. They should also explain why Catholic resistance varied and escalated over time.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Role-Play: Concordat Negotiations, students often assume the Vatican achieved its goals.

What to Teach Instead

Pause the role-play midway to have negotiators share their actual concessions, then ask observers to identify which Catholic rights were already weakened in the draft terms.

Common Misconception

During Source Stations: Undermining the Concordat, students may overlook how quickly violations began.

What to Teach Instead

Direct students to sort sources by date and note the 1933-1934 cluster of arrests, then ask them to explain why these early actions contradicted the Concordat’s spirit.

Common Misconception

During Debate: Catholic Resistance Levels, students claim all Catholics resisted in similar ways.

What to Teach Instead

Hand out evidence cards with different Catholic responses and require debaters to categorize actions as accommodation, passive resistance, or active opposition before arguing their validity.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Debate: Catholic Resistance Levels, pose the question: 'Was the 1933 Concordat a pragmatic political move by Hitler or a genuine attempt at peaceful coexistence?' Ask students to support their arguments with specific evidence from the period, considering both the Nazi and Vatican perspectives.

Quick Check

During Timeline Build: From Pact to Persecution, provide students with a timeline of key events related to the Concordat. Ask them to sequence these events and write one sentence for each explaining its significance in the relationship between the Nazis and the Catholic Church.

Exit Ticket

After Source Stations: Undermining the Concordat, ask students to identify one promise made in the Concordat and one specific action taken by the Nazis that violated it. They should also briefly state whether they believe Catholic resistance was effective and why.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to write a letter from a Catholic bishop to the Vatican in 1936 arguing whether the Concordat should be renewed or abandoned.
• Scaffolding for struggling learners: Provide a partially completed timeline with key dates filled in to help them focus on sequencing and significance.
• Deeper exploration: Ask students to compare the 1933 Concordat with the 1941 Reich Concordat with the Netherlands, analyzing how Nazi tactics evolved over time.

Key Vocabulary

Concordat	A formal agreement between the Holy See (the Vatican) and a sovereign state, defining the rights and privileges of the Catholic Church in that country.
Reichskonkordat	The specific treaty signed in 1933 between Nazi Germany and the Holy See, intended to regulate the relationship between the state and the Catholic Church.
Mit brennender Sorge	A 1937 papal encyclical written in German, publicly denouncing Nazi ideology and the violation of the Concordat by the regime.
Kirchenkampf	Literally 'church struggle,' this term refers to the conflict between the Nazi state and Christian churches in Germany, involving persecution and attempts at Nazification.