Betrayal: German Churches and the Holocaust

by Robert P. Ericksen (Editor), Susannah Heschel (Editor)

Important and insightful essays provide a penetrating assessment of Christian responses in the Nazi era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology, Holocaust

230 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 1999

Reviews

[Jerry Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who believes the fairy tale of how German Christians were persecuted by the Nazis need to read this essay collection. Christians have always, and continue to this day, played the persecution trump when faced with moral dilemmas. The German church in the Nazi era was no different. The history, though important and fascinating, leads us to the present, here in the United States. American Christianity is quickly sinking into the cowardly example of the German church during the Nazi years. The churches' one aim, then and now, is self-protection. Some is blatant-antisemitism, homophobia, nationalistic militarism, racism, misogyny (old white guys taking residence in women's vagina), agreeing to everything in order to protect all those tax exempt offering plate dollars. Or, perhaps worse, is the cowardly silence in the murderous face of injustice. Bonhoeffer said only the weak of faith need racial laws. I would add only the weak and cowardly want to ban books, humiliate and vilify the gender fluid, dictate "health" care for everyone else, protect the wealthy, whitewash "history,"- in other words, do and say whatever the church needs to protect, never the powerless, but its own ass. A reporter asked a U.S. senator why, after calling out the truth about Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican primary season, he then proceeded to take up residence in Trump's rectum, the senator replied,"To stay relevant." That is perhaps the most cowardly excuse for selling one's soul I've ever heard. Almost as bad as the Christian church (Pius XII capitulated to Hitler too) selling its soul not even to stay relevant; just to stay alive, prosperously.

[Geicodave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title says it all

The book seeks to answer the question of why the German Catholic and Protestant churches reacted to National Socialism and the persecution and murder of the Jews in the way that they did. The answers are complicated and require careful reading to understand, but in my view they are correct. I am not even an amateur theologian and while a fair portion of the details of the authors' analyses went over my head, I believe the authors' have hit the mark. The title says it all, and the overall picture the book paints is ugly and disheartening indeed.

[Jpavalock · Rating 5 out of 5]

On page 73 and so far I'm enthralled. I always wondered how the German people could ignore the Jews and allow such atrocities to happen. The Catholic Church was blamed with so much neglect, but really there is enough blame to go around, especially in the Lutheran Congregation. Hope to finish this book with a better understanding of human nature.

[Garhett Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simplistic understanding and overview. It has its place, but I was expecting more

[Donald Linnemeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much what you'd expect from a group of academic essays. Fascinating topic and information, but it's very hit and miss. A good amount of repetition, so it can seriously drag (chapter 3). The last few chapters are great, though, and it's well worth the read if you're interested in historic examples of empire, oppressive rulers, political propaganda, and how Christians respond. Pretty depressing in this instance, but interesting.