Part 5 (1/2)
from teaching, liturgy and preaching. In 1933, some 3000 pastors belonged to this group. Church elections took place on July 23, 1933. On the eve of the elections, Hitler made an unexpected radio appeal asking the electorate to vote ”GERMAN CHRISTIANS”. They won a decisive victory.
On September 21, 1933, Rev. Martin Niemoeller and others created the ”Pastors' Emergency League”, which opposed the ”GERMAN CHRISTIANS”. In the beginning, Niemoeller's group was definitely in the minority. By December, 1933, its members.h.i.+p had grown to 6,000. Between the two groups, a majority tried to remain neutral while more or less sympathizing with the group of Niemoeller, but in practice obeying Hitler's orders without open protest.
<36> After a protege of Hitler, Ludwig Mueller, had been elected as Reich Bishop under pressure of the Government, Niemoeller's opposition group const.i.tuted the ”CONFESSING CHURCH” which declared itself to be the legitimate Protestant Church of Germany and set up a provisional Church government. [110]
The ”GERMAN CHRISTIANS” had, in the meantime, gained control in several Landeskirchen, sometimes with the active help of the national-socialist party. In April, 1933, the Landeskirche of Thuringia required of its clergy a formal oath of allegiance to Hitler; the ”Thuringian Christians” wanted to give this symbol of unconditional obedience to Hitler as a birthday present.
There was a division in other Landeskirchen, as for instance in the largest: the Church of the Old-Prussian Union. In the summer of 1933, a law had been issued forbidding the appointment of pastors or Church officers of ”non-Aryan descent” and ordering the dismissal of such pastors and Church officers. [111]
In its session on Sept. 5, 1933, the Synod of the Old Prussian Union accepted this law; the opposition party protested and, when this was of no avail, left the meeting. Later on the opposition organized the ”CONFESSING Synod of the Evangelical Church of the Old-Prussian Union”. <37>
It is not, as has been stated in the Preface, my intention to record the contents of statements issued by Churches or Church leaders on behalf of Christians of Jewish origin. It is of importance, however, to know to what extent the ”GERMAN CHRISTIANS” supported discrimination against these members of the Church, and, also, to know that the CONFESSING CHURCH defended them. Thus I mention the more important statements, which were issued, without recording their full contents. [112]
There was sharp controversy and much discussion as to whether the anti-Jewish laws should be applied within the Church. The following persons and inst.i.tutions protested against such a measure: the Theological Faculty of the University of Marburg (Sept. 19, 1933); the Theological Faculty of the University of Erlangen (Sept. 25, 1933); Rev. Martin Niemoeller (Nov. 2, 1933), and Prof. Rudolf Bultmann (Dec., 1933).
On the other hand, the ”GERMAN CHRISTIANS” declared at the beginning of April, 1933, that only those who were ”of pure German blood” should be admitted to the ministry. On May 26, 1932, they had already decided to consider Missionary work amongst the Jews as a great danger ”as it is the entrance gate for foreign blood into our national body”. The example of the Synod of the Old-Prussian Union (see above) was followed by other Landeskirchen, as for instance in Saxony, Thuringia and Braunschweig: ministers of Jewish origin were to be dismissed. The Church in Saxony even voted, on Dec. 10, 1933, to accept the principles of blood and race, and that only those who according to the laws of the State were compatriots should be members of the national Church! <38>
The decision of the Church of Saxony was publicly rejected by the Theological Faculty of the University of Leipzig, and by the Pastors' Society of the Rhine.
The majority of the Theological Faculty of the University of Berlin, however, supported the racialism of the Saxonians. This all happened in the years 1933-1934. In those days, it certainly needed courage to stand up publicly for the rights of Christians of Jewish origin in the Church. It should be noted, however, that the publications mentioned above did not publicly oppose discrimination against the Jews in general, nor even discrimination against Christians of Jewish origin outside the Church.
In March, 1935, the CONFESSING Synod of the Evangelical Church of the Old-Prussian Union sent a ”Word to the Congregations”, which was read from the pulpits. We quote the following:
”We believe that our nation is threatened by a mortal danger. This danger lies in a new religion.... in it, racial and nationalistic ideology becomes supreme. Blood and race, nationality, honour and freedom become its idols.
... Whoever subst.i.tutes blood, race and nationality as the creator and source of authority instead of G.o.d, undermines the state.” [113]
The Government struck back with arrests. 500 pastors were imprisoned.
After the notorious Laws of Nuremberg had been promulgated, only individuals in the CONFESSING Church pleaded for the issue of a public declaration.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said : ”Only the man who loudly cries out on behalf of the Jews, is at liberty to sing the Gregorian chants”. [114]
The ”Council of Brethren” of the CONFESSING Church stated, in a declaration in defense of the right to baptize Jews, in September, 1935: ”We only say the necessary minimum (alas, perhaps even not the minimum) concerning things about which we are not allowed to keep silent...” [115] <39>
The Provisional Church Council of the CONFESSING Church sent a Memorandum to Hitler, in May, 1936. We quote the following from it:
”... When blood, race, nationality and honour are thus raised to the rank of qualities that guarantee eternity, the Evangelical Christian is bound by the first commandment to reject that a.s.sumption. When the Aryan human being is glorified, G.o.d's word bears witness to the sinfulness of all men.
When in the framework of the National-Socialist ideology, anti-Semitism is forced on the Christian obliging him to hate the Jews, he has nonetheless the divine command to love his neighbour...” [116]
The Memorandum, which was published in the foreign press without the consent of the CONFESSING Church, resulted in the arrest of Dr. Weissler who worked in the office of the Provisional Church Council. He perished in a concentration camp. [117]
On June 23, 1937, several members of the Reich Brethren Council were arrested, and on July 1, 1937, Rev. Martin Niemoeller also. He remained a prisoner until the end of the war. The office of the Provisional Church Council was closed by the authorities, and thus the CONFESSING Church was to a large extent forced into underground resistance.
No public protest was voiced after the Crystal Night pogroms. In September, 1938, an office for helping persecuted Jews, but mainly Christians of Jewish origin, was opened under the direction of Rev. Grueber.
Rev. Grueber also contacted the Jewish and Catholic relief-organizations.
Repeated journeys to Switzerland, the Netherlands and Great Britain were made to find places for Jewish refugees. <40>
At the end of 1940, Rev. Grueber was arrested and the office in Berlin was closed. The branches in Heidelberg, under Rev. Maas; in Breslau, under Vikarin Staritz; and in Ka.s.sel, continued to function, though under the pressure of fierce hostility.
On the initiative of Rev. Werner Sylten, Grueber's deputy, an attempt was made to continue the work of the Berlin office on a smaller scale.
Conversations with the Evangelical Church Council of Berlin took place; negotiations with the Gestapo were held. This eventually led to the arrest of Rev. Sylten, who perished in the concentration camp of Dachau, at the end of 1942. Only a few of the 35 members of Grueber's office, most of them of Jewish origin, lived to see the end of the war. Most of them died in the gas chambers. [118]
In Dec., 1938, the Kirchentag of the CONFESSING Church stated:
”... We again face the fact that many servants of the Church are being hampered in the execution of their ministry and are being expelled from their offices. In the hour of threatening war some fulfilled the duty of the Church, doing penance for the whole nation and beseeching forgiveness and deliverance from G.o.d's judgment. Thereupon, they were charged with high-treason. in view of what happened to the Jews others earnestly preached the Ten Commandments and were persecuted for it...” [119]