Demonizing the Jews: Luther and the Protestant Church in Nazi Germany

By: Christopher J. Probst

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Synopsis: &“An insightful analysis of the ways in which Protestant reformer Martin Luther&’s anti-Jewish writings were used by German Protestants during the Third Reich.&” —Contemporary Church History Quarterly The acquiescence of the German Protestant churches in Nazi oppression and murder of Jews is well documented. In this book, Christopher J. Probst demonstrates that a significant number of German theologians and clergy made use of the 16th-century writings by Martin Luther on Jews and Judaism to reinforce the racial antisemitism and religious anti-Judaism already present among Protestants. Focusing on key figures, Probst&’s study makes clear that a significant number of pastors, bishops, and theologians of varying theological and political persuasions employed Luther&’s texts with considerable effectiveness in campaigning for the creation of a &“de-Judaized&” form of Christianity. Probst shows that even the church most critical of Luther&’s anti-Jewish writings reaffirmed the antisemitic stereotyping that helped justify early Nazi measures against the Jews. &“A valuable contribution to our understanding of the churches under Nazism.&” —Lutheran Quarterly &“An insightful account of the convoluted echoes and reverberations of this deeply problematic aspect of Luther&’s legacy within German Protestantism over the longue durée.&” —German Studies Review