Page:CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110024-7.pdf/34

 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110024-7

about the formation of the BEK, several high-ranking church leaders, including the powerful bishop Schoenherr, then administrator of Brandenburg, and the proregime Bishop Moritz Mitzenheim of Thuringia, expressed support for the idea. The only remaining link with the West German churches is the statement in the BEK's constitution which stresses the all-German aspect of the Evangelical church. Even this slender threat between the two parts of the church is irritating to the regime, and it probably will provide no tangible benefits for the Protestant faithful in East Germany.

The Roman Catholic Church in Germany has maintained its prewar de jure structure despite the political division of Germany and portions of dioceses east of the Oder-Neisse line with Polish capitular vicars subordinate to the Polish episcopate. It is uncertain whether the Papal recognition of full Polish control of the areas east of the Oder-Neisse will lead to reorganization of the German-controlled dioceses. East and West Germany are divided into 23 dioceses and archdioceses, and eight of these have jurisdiction over areas of East Germany. Of these eight, only one—Meissen—is wholly within East Germany; the Diocese of Berlin lies mainly in East Germany but includes both East and West Berlin; and the other six are portions of dioceses whose sees are located in West Germany or Poland. The East Germany portions of the five West German dioceses (Osnabruck, Hildesheim, Paderborn, Fulda, and Wurzburg) are organized into commissariats or vicariates-general with seats in Schwerin, Magdeburg, Erfurt, and Meiningen and are led by episcopal commissioners with the rank of auxiliary bishop. The one diocesan fragment formally responsible to a Polish see (Wroclaw) is organized under the Archepiscopal Office of Goerlitz. All of these major jurisdictions are divided into deaneries, which in turn are subdivided into 930 parishes. Led by Cardinal Bengsch of Berlin (resident in East Berlin), the prelates meed periodically in the Berlin Conference of Ordinaries to deal with East German church problems. Except for three small areas, the Roman Catholics are dispersed throughout East Germany. Like the Protestants, the Catholics maintain their own charitable institutions, newspapers, and publishing houses. Over 1,400 priests and 2,700 nuns serve the church in East Germany.

In addition to the Lutheran, the United Evangelical, and the Roman Catholic Churches, there are 27 other religious denominations, including Methodists, Baptists, Mennonites, Quakers, Old Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Evangelical churches not represented in the BEK. There are also small, militant sects such as the Jehovah's Witnesses who have been persecuted and outlawed because of their refusal to take the oath of allegiance to the state. The situation of the Jews is good when compared to the tormented communities of Poland and Czechoslovakia. Even so there are only about 1,500 Jews left in East Germany, down from the postwar high of 46,000 in 1946, reflecting losses resulting from emigration and intermarriage; this is of course only a minuscule fraction of the 175,000 living there in 1933. Although the regime does not encourage the practice of the Jewish religion any more than others, there is no evidence of systematic economic or political harassment of Jews. The plight of the dwindling Jewish community in attempting to preserve its identity was revealed in 1965 when the last remaining rabbi in East Berlin died, and there was no qualified successor. A rabbi from Hungary was eventually called to Berlin to lead the small congregation, but he returned home in 1969. The Jews are now forced to rely on lay leadership, with occasional visits by clergy from Hungary, West Berlin, and Czechoslovakia. There are seven congregations struggling to exist besides the one in East Berlin; they are all members of the Federation of Jewish Congregations in the German Democratic Republic, currently headquartered in Dresden.

Although both the old and the new East German constitutions guarantee freedom of religion, the regime has from time to time imposed restrictions on the churches. The basic aim of the government has been to sever ties between the churches in East Germany and those in the Federal Republic and to force the East German churches to support the political, social, and economic policies of the regime (Figure 23).

In its drive to weaken the influence of the churches, the government has sought to supplant various traditional religious ceremonies with secular rites glorifying the state. In addition to the antireligious Jugendweihe ceremony—a kind of secular confirmation—the state has also established rituals to take the place of Christian baptisms, weddings, and funerals. The ceremony comparable to baptism, called Namenweihe, is very simple and consists of declaring the child's name and a pledge by the parents to rear the child in a "socialist tradition." The state wedding ceremony is showy and elaborate, however, and often includes officials and members of state-sanctioned organizations to which the couple is affiliated, such as the FDJ, FDGB, or the SED, if the bride or groom belongs to the party. In the case of funerals, cremation is offered by the state at a price lower than the price for a coffin and grave together.

Perhaps the regime's greatest effort has been directed toward alienating youth from religion. The

29

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110024-7