Aunt Edith: The Jewish Heritage of a Catholic Saint

by Susanne M. Batzdorff

Book by Batzdorff, Susanne

238 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 1998

Reviews

[Don Heiman]

Susanne Batzdorff’s book “Aunt Edith: The Jewish Heritage of a Catholic Saint” was published by Templegate in 1998. Susanne is the niece of Edith Stein who was born the youngest child of a large Jewish family in Breslau, Germany in 1891. At the age of 51 years Edith Stein was incarcerated at Auschwitz, and within a few weeks of the incarceration she and her older sister Rosa were killed by gas poisoning at a Nazi concentration facility in 1942. Edith grew up in a women’s rights family that champion male and female equality. Her family embraced the Jewish faith, had a deep regard for education, and believed deeply in the importance of community service. She attended exceptional universities, wrote many books and manuscripts, and earned many degrees including a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Freiburg in 1916. After receiving her Doctorate she served as a German Red Cross nurse during World War 1. Edith became a Catholic convert in 1922, and In 1923 she taught 8 years at a Dominican girls' school in Speyer, Germany. When she left the Speyer girls school she took a teaching position at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy in Münster, Germany. She taught at the Munster institute for two years and in 1933 she left the institute and joined Catholic Carmelite sister order. In 1938 she took her final vows as a Carmelite Catholic nun.

After finishing her novitiate she went to the Carmelite monastery in Cologne where she became a postulant, and served as a teacher of Philosophy and Latin. Her older sister Rosa also converted to Christianity, became a Carmelite nun, and later in her ministry she moved to the Carmelite monastery where Edith lived. On August 2, 1942 Edith and Rosa were arrested by the Nazi Gestapo. The sisters were taken by force from the Carmelite Monastery in Echt, Holland. On August 9, 1942 they were killed by the Gestapo in a gas chamber at Birkenau, Germany. Edith was a prolific writer, religious teacher, and very caring person. At a ceremony in Cologne on May 1, 1987 Edith Stein was beatified by Pope John Paul II and on October 11, 1998 she was canonized a Catholic Saint. Susanne Batzdorff’s book is exceptionally well written, has many important historic references, and for me it was a wonderful reading experience. (P)