Download or read book Lutherans Against Hitler written by Lowell C. Green and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New historical sources shed a different light upon the teachings and actions of Lutherans under Adolf Hitler.
Download or read book Betrayal written by Robert P. Ericksen and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Important and insightful essays provide a penetrating assessment of Christian responses in the Nazi era.
Download or read book Complicity in the Holocaust written by Robert P. Ericksen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-02-05 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In one of the darker aspects of Nazi Germany, churches and universities - generally respected institutions - grew to accept and support Nazi ideology. Complicity in the Holocaust describes how the state's intellectual and spiritual leaders enthusiastically partnered with Hitler's regime, becoming active participants in the persecution of Jews, effectively giving Germans permission to participate in the Nazi regime. Ericksen also examines Germany's deeply flawed yet successful postwar policy of denazification in these institutions.
Download or read book Demonizing the Jews written by Christopher J. Probst and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acquiescence of the German Protestant churches in Nazi oppression and murder of Jews is well documented. In this book, Christopher J. Probst demonstrates that a significant number of German theologians and clergy made use of the 16th-century writings by Martin Luther on Jews and Judaism to reinforce the racial anti-semitism and religious anti-Judaism already present among Protestants. Focusing on key figures, Probst's study makes clear that a significant number of pastors, bishops, and theologians of varying theological and political persuasions employed Luther's texts with considerable effectiveness in campaigning for the creation of a "de-Judaized" form of Christianity. Probst shows that even the church most critical of Luther's anti-Jewish writings reaffirmed the anti-semitic stereotyping that helped justify early Nazi measures against the Jews.
Download or read book Hitler s Religion written by Richard Weikart and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-11-22 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a country!
Download or read book Martin Luther written by Peter F. Wiener and published by . This book was released on 1985-01-01 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book On the Jews and Their Lies written by Martin Luther and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-10 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Founder of modern-day Lutheranism, Martin Luther (1483-1546) confronted many opponents, most notably, the Jews. Their religion directly denied Jesus as Messiah, and their arrogance, lies, usury, and hatred of humanity meant that they posed a mortal threat to society. Hence, said Luther, the harshest of measures are warranted. A shocking book.
Download or read book Martin Luther s Anti Semitism written by Eric W. Gritsch and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-09 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book Eric W. Gritsch, a Lutheran and a distinguished Luther scholar, faces the glaring ugliness of Martin Luther's anti- Semitism head-on, describing Luther's journey from initial attempts to proselytize Jews to an appallingly racist position, which he apparently held until his death. Comprehensively laying out the textual evidence for Luther's virulent anti-Semitism, Gritsch traces the development of Luther's thinking in relation to his experiences, external influences, and theological convictions. Revealing greater impending danger with each step, Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism marches steadily onward until the full extent of Luther's racism becomes apparent. Gritsch's unflinching analysis also describes the impact of Luther's egregious words on subsequent generations and places Luther within Europe's long history of anti-Semitism. Throughout, however, Gritsch resists the temptation either to demonize or to exonerate Luther. Rather, readers will recognize Luther's mistakes as links in a chain that pulled him further and further away from an attitude of respect for Jews as the biblical people of God. Gritsch depicts Luther as a famous example of the intensive struggle with the enduring question of Christian-Jewish relations. It is a great historical tragedy that Luther, of all people, fell victim to anti-Semitism -- albeit against his better judgment.
Download or read book The Aryan Jesus written by Susannah Heschel and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-10-03 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was Jesus a Nazi? During the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center. Based on years of archival research, The Aryan Jesus examines the membership and activities of this controversial theological organization. With headquarters in Eisenach, the Institute sponsored propaganda conferences throughout the Nazi Reich and published books defaming Judaism, including a dejudaized version of the New Testament and a catechism proclaiming Jesus as the savior of the Aryans. Institute members--professors of theology, bishops, and pastors--viewed their efforts as a vital support for Hitler's war against the Jews. Heschel looks in particular at Walter Grundmann, the Institute's director and a professor of the New Testament at the University of Jena. Grundmann and his colleagues formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active and continued to support each other in Germany's postwar years. The Aryan Jesus raises vital questions about Christianity's recent past and the ambivalent place of Judaism in Christian thought.
Download or read book Then They Came for Me written by Matthew D Hockenos and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out-Because I was not a Communist . . . " Few today recognize the name Martin Niemör, though many know his famous confession. In Then They Came for Me, Matthew Hockenos traces Niemör's evolution from a Nazi supporter to a determined opponent of Hitler, revealing him to be a more complicated figure than previously understood. Born into a traditionalist Prussian family, Niemör welcomed Hitler's rise to power as an opportunity for national rebirth. Yet when the regime attempted to seize control of the Protestant Church, he helped lead the opposition and was soon arrested. After spending the war in concentration camps, Niemör emerged a controversial figure: to his supporters he was a modern Luther, while his critics, including President Harry Truman, saw him as an unrepentant nationalist. A nuanced portrait of courage in the face of evil, Then They Came for Me puts the question to us today: What would I have done?
Download or read book A Church Divided written by Matthew D. Hockenos and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2004-10-20 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book closely examines the turmoil in the German Protestant churches in the immediate postwar years as they attempted to come to terms with the recent past. Reeling from the impact of war, the churches addressed the consequences of cooperation with the regime and the treatment of Jews. In Germany, the Protestant Church consisted of 28 autonomous regional churches. During the Nazi years, these churches formed into various alliances. One group, the German Christian Church, openly aligned itself with the Nazis. The rest were cautiously opposed to the regime or tried to remain noncommittal. The internal debates, however, involved every group and centered on issues of belief that were important to all. Important theologians such as Karl Barth were instrumental in pressing these issues forward. While not an exhaustive study of Protestantism during the Nazi years, A Church Divided breaks new ground in the discussion of responsibility, guilt, and the Nazi past.
Download or read book Radical Lutherans Lutheran Radicals written by Jason A. Mahn and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-06-09 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can a Lutheran be sociopolitically radical? Can a radical be theologically and faithfully Lutheran? This book answers yes. Written by teacher-scholars from five ELCA colleges, Radical Lutherans/Lutheran Radicals follows Martin Luther, Soren Kierkegaard, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothee Soelle, and others as they sink deep roots in the Lutheran Christian tradition while simultaneously resisting the status quo with their words, their deeds, and sometimes their very lives. Each chapter shows how the Lutheran theologian returns to the roots of Luther's life and writing and puts them toward radical social and political ends, including critiques of cultured Christianity; resistance to state or market; preferential options for the poor and suffering; deep commitments to peace, justice, and ecological sustainability; and direct nonviolent resistance. The book highlights theological themes popularized by Luther (justification by grace, two-kingdoms thinking, theology of the cross, and vocation) and then shows how these theological staples--when deeply and creatively retrieved--can inform political protest, intentional living, and other countercultural movements. The compelling claim throughout is that Luther's theology at its root has resources for radical political participation and social transformation, as exemplified by the writings and lives of these radical Lutherans/Lutheran radicals.
Download or read book Principles of Lutheran Theology written by Carl E. Braaten and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1983, Principles of Lutheran Theology has guided students into theological reflection on the landmarks of Christian faith as understood in the Lutheran confessional heritage for a generation. The book sets forth the main principles of classical Lutheran theology but with an eschatological accent. Canon, confession, ecumenicity, Christ-centeredness, sacrament, law/ gospel, and two kingdoms are all examined not only in terms of their original meaning and historical development but also in light of current reflections. In this new edition, Braaten takes stock of the research and reflection of the last twenty-five years and also adds a chapter on the distinctive, Archimedean Lutheran insight into the hiddenness of God as a fount or ground of all theologizing. This new edition, cross-referenced to key readings in Luther's Works and The Book of Concord, will both equip and facilitate the search for a contemporary articulation of Christian identity in light of the church's historic commitments.
Download or read book Helmuth von Moltke A Leader Against Hitler written by Michael Balfour and published by Plunkett Lake Press. This book was released on 2021-08-08 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Helmut James von Moltke [1907-1945] pursued two related goals during the Second World War: to help victims of National Socialism and to prepare for post-National Socialist Germany and Europe. He worked toward the first goal as a specialist in international law in the army’s intelligence department. There he struggled to uphold principles of international law against Nazi policies of racism and aggression. To achieve the second goal, Moltke initiated what later became known as the Kreisau Circle, a group that discussed and drafted plans to rebuild and reorganize Germany after Hitler’s defeat. By birth and character Moltke was particularly well suited for his self-appointed tasks. He succeeded in his work for the army not only because of his exceptional abilities but also because of his name, which bestowed a degree of privilege and immunity. On his father’s side, he was a grandnephew of the famous Prussian field marshal, whose Silesian estate, Kreisau, he inherited. Through his mother, he was the grandson of Sir James Rose Innes, the liberal South African judge. Partly through him, Moltke developed a strong sense of social justice and a cosmopolitanism rare among the Junkers. As an aristocrat and a devout Christian, as an internationalist with socialist sympathies, Moltke won collaborators for the Kreisau Circle in the army, the bureaucracy, the Catholic and Protestant churches, and the trade unions... Moltke was arrested in January 1944 and sentenced to death a year later, while most of his associates were convicted in the trials following the attempt to kill Hitler in July 1944. This biography shows that Moltke not only distinguished between good and evil but, more important, felt a moral imperative to combat evil. His human greatness resulted from this combination of insight and action.” — Erich Hahn, The Journal of Modern History “This book owes much to the nature of [Helmuth and Freya von Moltke’s] relationship and the frequency of the letters, and to the fact that Michael Balfour and Julian Frisby, the English friends of Moltke’s, were able to use them to quote from them extensively. In these letters the man comes alive, though the book as a whole has the merit of putting them in their biographical and historical context.” — Beate Ruhm von Oppen, The New York Times “[An] excellent and moving book... an important contribution to our knowledge of the German resistance to Hitler... For the casual reader who wants to learn how a decent and able man reacted in a situation of brutality and horror, [Balfour and Frisby] have presented an engrossing story. For fellow historians they have made available a set of indispensable documents.” — Gordon R. Mork, History “The authors of this book have had access not only to the [Kreisau] Circle’s hopeful thoughts about the future shape of Germany, but also to Moltke’s revealing and voluminous letters to his wife, who survived him. This material has been admirably employed to construct a biography in the best historical tradition: that is, one which not only brings to life the central figure, but throws abundant light upon the times in which he lived... Moltke raised his own memorial. He has been fortunate in the two biographers who in this book have delineated and interpreted it.” — R. Cecil, International Affairs “This is an important addition to the growing literature on the German Resistance movement.” — Robert E. Neil, The American Historical Review “This new biography is written with real affection by two close personal friends of Moltke... provides a more personal angle, above all by the numerous quotations from Moltke’s letters to his wife which miraculously survived the war... gives us a fascinating picture of the problems any German opposition to Hitler had to face.” — F. L. Carsten, The Slavonic and East European Review “This is Helmuth von Moltke’s story, told by two of the many friends he made in England before the war years. The drama of the story sustains the narrative... Helmuth’s letter to his wife, written the day before his execution, is worth many times the price of the book.” — Worldview
Download or read book Day of No Return written by Kressmann Taylor and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2016-08-30 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the mid-1930s, a brave young theological student refused to preach Nazi doctrine and was denied ordination in the German Lutheran Church. He struggled to resist the Nazi takeover of the church but, with his life in danger, was ordered out of the country by his bishop. He fled to the United States, where, through the FBI, he contacted author Kressmann Taylor so she could tell his story. Day of No Return fictionalized to deceive the Nazis and protect Karl Hoffman and his family still in Germany. Now his subsequent life and true identity, which remained secret for the rest of her life, are at last revealed in this dramatic new edition. Stirring dramatic interest (New York Times). Thrilling! (Christian Science Monitor).
Download or read book Confronting the Nazi War on Christianity written by Richard Bonney and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2009 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporaries and historians have found it difficult to interpret the ambiguous relationship between National Socialism and Christianity. Both the Catholic and Protestant Churches tended to agree with National Socialists in their authoritarianism, their attacks on socialism and communism, and their campaign against the Versailles Treaty; but the doctrinal position of the Churches could not be reconciled with the principle of racism, a foreign policy of unlimited aggressive warfare, or a domestic agenda involving the complete subservience of Church to State. Important sections of the Nazi Party sought the complete extirpation of Christianity and its substitution by a purely racial religion, but considerations of expediency made it impossible for the National Socialist leadership to adopt this radical anti-Christian stance as official policy. The Kulturkampf Newsletters, which have not appeared in English since the 1930s, were produced by German Catholic exiles in France. They scrupulously document the tensions between various strands of Nazi policy, and the nature of the policy eventually adopted: this was to reduce the Churches' influence in all areas of public life through the use of every available means, yet without provoking the difficulties - diplomatic as well as domestic - which an openly declared war of extermination might have caused.
Download or read book Luther s Jews written by Thomas Kaufmann and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-12-22 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If there was one person who could be said to light the touch-paper for the epochal transformation of European religion and culture that we now call the Reformation, it was Martin Luther. And Luther and his followers were to play a central role in the Protestant world that was to emerge from the Reformation process, both in Germany and the wider world. In all senses of the term, this religious pioneer was a huge figure in European history. Yet there is also the very uncomfortable but at the same time undeniable fact that he was an anti-semite. Written by one of the world's leading authorities on the Reformation, this is the vexed and sometimes shocking story of Martin Luther's increasingly vitriolic attitude towards the Jews over the course of his lifetime, set against the backdrop of a world in religious turmoil. A final chapter then reflects on the extent to which the legacy of Luther's anti-semitism was to taint the Lutheran church over the following centuries. Scheduled for publication on the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation's birth, in light of the subsequent course of German history it is a tale both sobering and ominous in equal measure.
