Rosenberg actively participated in the program for elimination of church influence. Bormann frequently wrote Rosenberg in this regard, furnishing him information as to proposed action to be instituted against the churches and, where necessary, requesting that action be taken by Rosenberg’s department. See 070-PS dealing with the abolition of religious services in the schools; 072-PS dealing with the confiscation of religious property; 064-PS dealing with the inadequacy of anti-religious material circulated to the soldiers; 089-PS dealing with the curtailment of the publication of Protestant periodicals; and 122-PS dealing with the closing of theological faculties.
(4) Persecution of the Jews. Rosenberg was particularly zealous in his pursuit of the “Jewish Question”. On 28 March 1941, on the occasion of the opening of the Institute for the Exploration of the Jewish Question, he set the keynote for its activities and indicated the direction which the exploration was to take. He spoke in part as follows:
“For Germany the Jewish Question is only then solved when the Last Jew has left the Greater German space.
“Since Germany with its blood and its nationalism has now broken for always this Jewish dictatorship for all Europe and has seen to it that Europe as a whole will become free from the Jewish parasitism once more, we may, I believe, also say for all Europeans: For Europe the Jewish question is only then solved when the last Jew has left the European continent.” (2889-PS)
Rosenberg had called an Anti-Jewish Congress in June 1944, but the Congress was cancelled due to military events. (1752-PS)
Rosenberg did not overlook any opportunity to put these anti-Semitic beliefs into practice. He recommended for instance that instead of executing 100 Frenchmen as retaliation for attempts on lives of members of the Wehrmacht, there be executed 100 Jewish bankers, lawyers, etc. (001-PS). The recommendation was made with the avowed purpose of awakening the anti-Jewish sentiment.
(5) Abolition of Versailles Treaty. In the realm of foreign policy, in addition to demanding “Lebensraum,” Rosenberg called for elimination of the Treaty of Versailles, and cast aside any thought of revision of that treaty. In his book, “Nature, Principles and Aims of the NSDAP”, Rosenberg wrote:
“The National Socialists reject the popular phrase of the ‘Revision of the Peace of Versailles’ as such a revision might perhaps bring a few numerical reductions in the so-called ‘obligations,’ but the entire German people would still be, just as before, the slave of other nations.”
* * * * * *
“ ‘We demand equality for the German people with other nations, the cancellation of the peace treaties of Versailles and St. Germain.’ ” (2433-PS)