In this paper, I test the analytical value and pertinence of the concept of political religion with respect to National Socialism in three steps: (1) I point out the religious' elements in the area of organisation and cult, and I show that the Nazi festivals and ceremonies provided ritual forms for confessions of faith. (2) Following Eric Voegelin, I maintain that the 'articles of faith' that were presented in the Nazi cult can be understood as the manifestation of an existential core of religious character. (3) Finally I demonstrate that 'believing intellectuals' outlined a Nazi 'theology' and a Nazi 'history of salvation' and that Hitler himself and other leading Nazis cherished an apocalyptic world-view that must be seen as the most poignant manifestation of the National Socialist political religion and as the only plausible explanation of the holocaust.