Razing the Church: The Enduring Effect of Nazi Repression in Poland

Abstract

Repression against religious elites has not been widely studied. We present a novel argument on the divergent effects of such repression on religiosity and nationalism. We theorize that targeting the clergy may lower the supply of religion, changing behavioral practices such as church attendance. At the same time, victimized clergy may become martyrs for their faith and nation, strengthening religious nationalism. We provide support for this argument using original data on repression against the Catholic Church in Nazi-occupied Poland. Using a regression discontinuity design, we first establish that religious persecution was most severe in the incorporated Warthegau. Consistent with the supply channel, repressed localities provided less religious schooling (1950s) and had lower church attendance (1990s). However, in line with the martyrdom channel, these areas also erected more monuments to victimized priests and showed more support for nationalist parties when WWII was salient.

Keywords: Repression, historical persistence, religion, nationalism, foreign rule, Poland, Nazi Germany, martyrdom

JEL Classification: D72, D74, N34, N44, P00