German Protestant Responses to Nazi Persecution of the Jews

Abstract

In Nazi Germany no issue revealed more about the moral climate and sensitivity of traditionally humane institutions in German society than Christian churches’ attitudes toward Jews and toward systematic governmental persecution of the Jews, first within Germany and then throughout Nazi-occupied Europe. In exploring the responses of Protestant leaders to the various stages of Nazi tormenting, transporting, and terminating of Jewish life in the Third Reich, we gain perspective on the degree of commitment of Protestants, both as individuals and as leaders of church institutions, to opposing injustices, inequities, and abuses of power in their society. In times of crisis church leaders face the dilemma of choosing between a focus on conserving traditional customs, doctrines, and organizational structures or the priority of working actively to alter glaring evils, particularly symptoms of group pathology and massive societal trauma. In this continual challenge of choosing between continuity and change, continuity has usually triumphed among contemporary Christian leaders and thinkers, unless cataclysmic events have called for rethinking and major changes.