LEADER 03794cam a2200397Ia 4500001 43789 005 20240621144720.0 008 000523s1998 xx r 000 0 eng d 035 (OCoLC)ocm45046228 035 43789 049 LHMA 040 LHM |beng |erda |cLHM 090 BR856 |b.H63 1998 100 1 Hockenos, Matthew D., |d1966- 245 10 Coming to terms with the past : |bthe Protestant Church in Germany, 1933-1948 / |cby Matthew D. Hockenos. 264 1 [Place of publication not identified] : |b[publisher not identified], |c1998. 300 v, 330 pages 336 text |btxt |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |bn |2rdamedia 338 volume |bnc |2rdacarrier 502 Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, 1998. 504 Includes bibliographical references (pages 306-330). 520 This is a study of the conflicting ways prominent Protestant theologians and church leaders in Germany, such as Hans Asmussen, Karl Barth, Otto Dibelius, Hermann Diem, Hans Iwand, Hans Meiser, Martin Niemoller, Helmut Thielicke, and Theophil Wurm, sought to come to terms with the Nazi past and the church's role in that past. The various and contradictory ways churchmen interpreted their actions and inaction during the Third Reich often reflected the long-standing divisions within Protestantism over the relationship between church and state. For the conservative Lutheran majority in the church, Vergangenheitsbewaltigung (coming to terms with the past) meant minimizing or excusing the church's complacency toward and/or complicity in Nazi rule while simultaneously seeking recognition of German suffering or hardship during the Second World War and the Allied occupation. A radical minority, on the other hand, harshly criticized these attitudes as wholly inconsistent with Christian values and sought to redress past wrongs by acknowledging the church's share of responsibility for what had happened during the Third Reich and by changing the church's traditionally supportive relationship with the state. This study examines what, at the theological and experiential levels, motivated churchmen to make the public statements they did about the Nazi past and to take the type of political action they did in the years immediately following the Second World War. Five chapters analyze the Barmen declaration of 1934, the Kirchenkampf (church struggle) from 1933 to 1945, the statements issued by churchmen at the Treysa Conference in August 1945, the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt of October 1945, and the Darmstadt Statement of August 1947. They explore the ways Lutheran, Reformed, and United Protestant clergymen grappled with the church's centuries-old theological divisions and its ambiguous relationship to Nazi policies. The conflicting approaches taken by churchmen on how to confront the Nazi past are explained by differences in their theological beliefs, their varied experiences during the Nazi period, their political convictions, and the historical context of Germany under Allied occupation. 530 Electronic version(s) |bavailable internally at USHMM. 533 Photocopy. |bAnn Arbor, Mich. : |cUMI Dissertation Services, |d2000. |e23 cm. 590 Dissertations and Theses 591 Record updated by Marcive processing 21 June 2024 650 0 Church and state |zGermany |xHistory |y1933-1945. 650 0 Protestant churches |zGermany. 651 0 Germany |xChurch history |y1945- 856 41 |uhttp://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=732864891&sid=2&Fmt=6&clientId=54617&RQT=309&VName=PQD |zElectronic version from ProQuest 956 41 |u http://dc.ushmm.org/library/bib43789/9907154.pdf |z Hosted by USHMM. 994 E0 |bLHM 852 0 |bstacks |hBR856 |i.H63 1998 852 |bwww 852 |bebook