What do you think?
Rate this book
Christ or Hitler?: Stories from My Life and Times by Pastor Wilhelm Busch
The life of Wilhelm Busch progressed from a Christian home, through conversion amidst the horrors of the First World War, to student life against the background of the crushing inflation of the Weimar Republic period. Then followed the Nazi period, times of suffering lived out against the background of falling bombs. This is Wilhelm Busch's story in his own words, but more that that it is a dramatic record of the power and faithful love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
329 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2013
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 25, 2018
"Christ or Hitler?" is an interesting read about the challenges for the church in Nazi Germany. It prompts the searching question of how faithful would we have withstood pressure to conform to the Nazi religious plan. The book is not a biography of Wilhelm Busch; he requested that none would be written. Rather it is made up of portions of autobiographical material that he published elsewhere. There are, therefore, gaps in the narrative and it doesn't flow particularly well. However, many of the stories are so interesting that it makes up for that weakness.
March 18, 2014
I may never have a bad day in the ministry again. At least, God willing that we have Constitution honoring governance in this country, I won’t have one. Not after reading Christ or Hitler? About Pastor Wilhelm Busch of Germany.
Pastor Busch was in the ministry in Germany from after the First World War until well after the Second World War. He was imprisoned by the Nazis, fought in the trenches, and lived to regret some of the silences and the words of his life. He tells his story in Christ or Hitler?
The subtitle, “Stories from my Life and Times, by Pastor Wilhelm Busch (1897-1966),” is accurate and informative. The compiler of Pastor Busch’s story, Christian Puritz, also translated it from the German. At first read, Christ or Hitler? felt like a knock-off book, as if the story was not well-told or the book less entrancing than the more polished biographies of others. After all, the stories of Niemoller and Bonhoeffer are well-known and well-presented, so Busch’s story should be the same.
Yet on a second read of this book, I realized something. Christ or Hitler? is properly not the biography (or autobiography) of a famous name. Instead, it is the story of an ordinary pastor and how the times of his life wrapped around him. He does not tell it in smooth English—in fact, he told it in German, and translation is never as perfect as we’d like to think it can be.
This is the story of a man who went through his life, found a personal relationship of surrender to Jesus as Lord, and spent his life in pursuit of that relationship. Pastor Busch wrestled with changing times and the temptation to compromise. He wrestled with the impacts on his family and friends.
He suffered, cried, and rejoiced through it all. He faced a government that insisted his house burn down so that he could meet with the Gestapo—losing his precious library and home in the process. Through it all, he ends his life as a man committed to walk with Jesus.
This book, though not as polished a publication, is more valuable than a leather-bound reference book. It is the story of a real pastor. Read it and learn from it.
I have this to say about Christ or Hitler? It is now on the list of “Required Books” that I will require when I start a seminary (probably never, but better to be ready). It should be given to every pastor living at ease here in America. The stories of the faithful Confessors of Christ should be known as well as the stories of Martyrs.
And you might find that you don’t have as many bad days again, either.
(EP Books provided a copy of this book, but I have purchased one to use as a gift to someone--so I both got one free and bought one. Do what you will with that, FTC!)
Pastor Busch was in the ministry in Germany from after the First World War until well after the Second World War. He was imprisoned by the Nazis, fought in the trenches, and lived to regret some of the silences and the words of his life. He tells his story in Christ or Hitler?
The subtitle, “Stories from my Life and Times, by Pastor Wilhelm Busch (1897-1966),” is accurate and informative. The compiler of Pastor Busch’s story, Christian Puritz, also translated it from the German. At first read, Christ or Hitler? felt like a knock-off book, as if the story was not well-told or the book less entrancing than the more polished biographies of others. After all, the stories of Niemoller and Bonhoeffer are well-known and well-presented, so Busch’s story should be the same.
Yet on a second read of this book, I realized something. Christ or Hitler? is properly not the biography (or autobiography) of a famous name. Instead, it is the story of an ordinary pastor and how the times of his life wrapped around him. He does not tell it in smooth English—in fact, he told it in German, and translation is never as perfect as we’d like to think it can be.
This is the story of a man who went through his life, found a personal relationship of surrender to Jesus as Lord, and spent his life in pursuit of that relationship. Pastor Busch wrestled with changing times and the temptation to compromise. He wrestled with the impacts on his family and friends.
He suffered, cried, and rejoiced through it all. He faced a government that insisted his house burn down so that he could meet with the Gestapo—losing his precious library and home in the process. Through it all, he ends his life as a man committed to walk with Jesus.
This book, though not as polished a publication, is more valuable than a leather-bound reference book. It is the story of a real pastor. Read it and learn from it.
I have this to say about Christ or Hitler? It is now on the list of “Required Books” that I will require when I start a seminary (probably never, but better to be ready). It should be given to every pastor living at ease here in America. The stories of the faithful Confessors of Christ should be known as well as the stories of Martyrs.
And you might find that you don’t have as many bad days again, either.
(EP Books provided a copy of this book, but I have purchased one to use as a gift to someone--so I both got one free and bought one. Do what you will with that, FTC!)
March 19, 2014
Recently I have been reading several books about Hitler’s Germany concentrating on the church and philosophy during that dark era. Reading this book gave me a new appreciation of what the German Confessional (non-Nazi) church must have went through. This book is an autobiography of a German Confessional church pastor name Wilhelm Busch who lived from 1897 to 1966. Most people might know about Bonhoeffer a prominent leader of the Confessional Church but I wonder about what the average pastor resisting the Nazis infiltration of the church were like. This book is a wonderful window into one such pastor whose ministry to youths clashed with the Nazis vision for young people to be under the control of the Hitler Youth with their ideology. Technically, Wilhelm Busch never published an autobiography but the translator, Christian Puritz was able to compile enough autobiographical information from Busch’s writings and teaching to make this into a book. The stories of what Pastor Busch has to endure as a faithful witness to the Gospel is encouraging and will no doubt inspire courage for Christians today to stand for what is true. There were times when I was reading the book that made me imagined what seems unimaginable today: spying from the Gestapo, harassment from the Hitler Youth, police looking the other way when Christians are harassed, imprisonments, shut downs, etc. It was a reminder for myself that there is no guarantee that Christian ministry will enjoy the relative calm and rights granted in the United States currently. With the way the title of the book is phrased, I was surprised that it took over half the book before one finally start seeing any mention of the Nazis. However, I did appreciate the autobiographical account of Busch before Hitler’s rise to power; as a Pastor I got to gain a little insight of what the Lord was doing and how He used a young pastor working with the coal miners and eventually the youth. Those involved with ministry will find his stories to be encouraging. Also the account of World War One and his conversion was somewhat gut wrenching to a Marine veteran such as myself. Throughout the book one also sees the loss Busch has experienced around him, with the death of his sons in World War two in the Eastern Front and also the suffering of the poor or true Christians under the Nazi regime. I recommend this autobiography for the encouragement of Christian souls.
NOTE: I received this book for free from the publisher Evangelical Press Books in exchange for my honest opinion. The thoughts and words are my own and I was under no obligation to provide a favorable review.
NOTE: I received this book for free from the publisher Evangelical Press Books in exchange for my honest opinion. The thoughts and words are my own and I was under no obligation to provide a favorable review.
March 21, 2014
Christ or Hitler? is a collection of stories – in loose chronological order - about the life of Wilhelm Busch, who was an evangelist and pastor during the Nazi regime in Germany. It has been compiled and translated by Christian Puritz.
The book opens fairly dramatically with Busch’s house burning down during an air raid at the same time as him having an altercation with the secret police, which is a good hook to draw the reader in. We are then introduced to his parents, for whom he evidently had great respect and who, in his eyes, could do no wrong. Busch seemed to have a happy childhood and a fulfilling ministry. No matter what situation he found himself in, he took the opportunity to share His love and passion for Christ.
Busch’s ministry was filled with adventures, since he rubbed shoulders with all kinds of people, but he handled the different situations in which he found himself with a great deal of boldness, humility and grace. His encounters with the gestapo and imprisonments are not the main thrust of the book; it is more about what everyday life looked like during the time Hitler rose to power and ruled Germany.
I thought the translation was excellent, although it does not paint quite such a clear picture as if written and read in the mother tongue. It would provide some insights into life in Nazi Germany for anyone with an interest in this area.
The book opens fairly dramatically with Busch’s house burning down during an air raid at the same time as him having an altercation with the secret police, which is a good hook to draw the reader in. We are then introduced to his parents, for whom he evidently had great respect and who, in his eyes, could do no wrong. Busch seemed to have a happy childhood and a fulfilling ministry. No matter what situation he found himself in, he took the opportunity to share His love and passion for Christ.
Busch’s ministry was filled with adventures, since he rubbed shoulders with all kinds of people, but he handled the different situations in which he found himself with a great deal of boldness, humility and grace. His encounters with the gestapo and imprisonments are not the main thrust of the book; it is more about what everyday life looked like during the time Hitler rose to power and ruled Germany.
I thought the translation was excellent, although it does not paint quite such a clear picture as if written and read in the mother tongue. It would provide some insights into life in Nazi Germany for anyone with an interest in this area.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews