Read complete books and articles on: The Church and the Holocaust

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13 of the Best Books and Articles on: The Church and the Holocaust

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, 1933-45 » Read Now
by J. S. Conway. 474 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library
2.

Twisted Cross: The German Christian Movement in the Third Reich » Read Now
by Doris L. Bergen. 344 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library
3.

Cross and Swastika: The Nazi Party and the German Churches To What Extent Did Christians Support Hitler, and for What Reasons?, in History Review » Read Now
by Will Saunders. 5 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
4.

Prisoner for God: Letters and Papers from Prison » Read Now
by Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Reginald H. Fuller. 190 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
5.

For the Soul of the People: Protestant Protest against Hitler » Read Now
by Victoria Barnett. 358 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

The Confessing Church was one of the rare German organizations that opposed Nazism from the very beginning, and in For the Soul of the People, Victoria Barnett delves into the story of the Church's resistance to Hitler. For this remarkable story, Barnett interviewed more than sixty Germans who were...
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The Confessing Church was one of the rare German organizations that opposed Nazism from the very beginning, and in For the Soul of the People, Victoria Barnett delves into the story of the Church's resistance to Hitler. For this remarkable story, Barnett interviewed more than sixty Germans who were active in the Confessing Church, asking them to reflect on their personal experiences under Hitler and how they see themselves, morally and politically, today. She provides a haunting glimpse of the German experience under Hitler, but also gives a provocative look into what it has meant to be a German in the twentieth century.
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6.

And the Witnesses Were Silent: The Confessing Church and the Persecution of the Jews » Read Now
by Victoria J. Barnett, Wolfgang Gerlach. 304 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

An endlessly perplexing question of the twentieth century is how "decent" people came to allow, and sometimes even participate in, the Final Solution. Fear obviously had its place, as did apathy. But how does one explain the silence of those people who were committed, active, and often fearless...
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An endlessly perplexing question of the twentieth century is how "decent" people came to allow, and sometimes even participate in, the Final Solution. Fear obviously had its place, as did apathy. But how does one explain the silence of those people who were committed, active, and often fearless opponents of the Nazi regime on other grounds -- those who spoke out against Nazi activities in many areas yet whose response to genocide ranged from tepid disquiet to avoidance? One such group was the Confessing Church, Protestants who often risked their own safety to aid Christian victims of Nazi oppression but whose response to pogroms against Jews was ambivalent.
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7.

Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich (Chap. 3 "The Churches") » Read Now
by Martyn Housden. 202 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This is a thematically arranged text illustrating popular resisitance to Nazism in Germany from 1930-1945, and the affect of Nazism on everyday life. The book combines a lucid, synthesized analysis together with a wide selection of integrated source material taken from pamphlets, diaries, recent...
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This is a thematically arranged text illustrating popular resisitance to Nazism in Germany from 1930-1945, and the affect of Nazism on everyday life. The book combines a lucid, synthesized analysis together with a wide selection of integrated source material taken from pamphlets, diaries, recent oral testimonies, correspondence and more. Different chapters focus on social groups and activities, such as youth movements, religion, Jewish Germans, and the working classes.
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8.

Women against Hitler: Christian Resistance in the Third Reich » Read Now
by Theodore N. Thomas. 170 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

Adolf Hitler declared war on Christianity when he silenced the Catholic Church with a diplomatic treaty and arranged for a Nazi Army chaplain to become supreme bishop over the Protestants of Germany. The "Confessing Church" resisted. Pastors were muzzled, put under house arrest, jailed, and held for...
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Adolf Hitler declared war on Christianity when he silenced the Catholic Church with a diplomatic treaty and arranged for a Nazi Army chaplain to become supreme bishop over the Protestants of Germany. The "Confessing Church" resisted. Pastors were muzzled, put under house arrest, jailed, and held for years in concentration camps. Thousands were drafted and sent to the war to die, while others were murdered outright. The result was a lack of "man"-power. Women stepped in. Pastors' wives replaced their absent husbands in the pulpits, and Theologinnen--theologically trained women--preached and assumed administration of the orphaned parishes. Women fought to save their civil rights, and freedoms of speech, assembly, press, and religion. Some went to jail. Some died. A social and theological revolution thus erupted when women stood by the side of men in leadership positions in the church.
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9.

The Church's Confession under Hitler » Read Now
by Arthur C. Cochrane. 322 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library
10.

The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, in First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life » Read Now
by Richard John Neuhaus. 4 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
11.

Religionless Christianity and Vulnerable Discipleship: The Interfaith Promise of Bonhoeffer's Theology, in Journal of Ecumenical Studies » Read Now
by David H. Jensen. 17 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
12.

Holocaust Scholars Write to the Vatican » Read Now
by Harry James Cargas, Carol Rittner, John K. Roth. 160 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

If you had a chance to speak to the Pope, what would you say? This is the question that 13 noted Holocaust scholars--Christians of various denominations and Jews (including some Holocaust survivors)--address in this volume. The Holocaust was a Christian as well as a Jewish tragedy; nonetheless, the...
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If you had a chance to speak to the Pope, what would you say? This is the question that 13 noted Holocaust scholars--Christians of various denominations and Jews (including some Holocaust survivors)--address in this volume. The Holocaust was a Christian as well as a Jewish tragedy; nonetheless, the Roman Catholic hierarchy has offered very little official discourse on the Church's role in it. These essays provide solid constructive criticism and make a major contribution to both Holocaust and Christian studies.
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13.

Christianity, Tragedy and Holocaust Literature » Read Now
by Carol Rittner, John Roth, Michael R. Steele. 198 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Literature, Entire Library

Identifying elements of the Christian worldview that have influenced our theories of tragedy, Steele demonstrates how these theories fail when applied to Holocaust literature. The challenge of interpreting Holocaust literature is highlighted by a close investigation of the extent to which Christian...
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Identifying elements of the Christian worldview that have influenced our theories of tragedy, Steele demonstrates how these theories fail when applied to Holocaust literature. The challenge of interpreting Holocaust literature is highlighted by a close investigation of the extent to which Christian thought, especially the view of transcendence, has permeated theories of interpretation. The author appeals for a new theory of tragedy which would allow an understanding of Holocaust literature without Christian interpretive biases. This book will be of interest to scholars of Holocaust literature, religion, and literary criticism.
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