When Silence Gives Consent

THE book Betrayal​—German Churches and the Holocaust candidly discusses the role of religion in Nazism. “Support of the regime was common among Christians,” the book asserts, “and the vast majority failed to raise any objection to Jewish persecution. Silence, in this case, speaks loudly.”

What attracted professed Christians to Nazism? Many, the book explains, were seduced by Hitler’s “law-and-order approach to German society.” It says: “He opposed pornography, prostitution, abortion, homosexuality, and the ‘obscenity’ of modern art, and he awarded bronze, silver, and gold medals to women who produced four, six, and eight children, thus encouraging them to remain in their traditional role in the home. This appeal to traditional values, coupled with the militaristic nationalism that Hitler offered in response to the national humiliation of the Versailles Treaty, made National Socialism an attractive option to many, even most, Christians in Germany.”

One group stood out in stark contrast. “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” Betrayal notes, “refused to participate in violence or the use of military force.” Inevitably, this led to a vicious attack on this small group, and many of its members were thrown into concentration camps. Yet, others who claimed to be followers of Christ remained unmoved. The book further states: “Catholics and Protestants in general showed more hostility than sympathy for Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they shared Hitler’s harsh values more than the Witnesses’ pacifist ones.” Their silence undoubtedly added to the ill-treatment of the Witnesses under the Nazi regime.

While the churches’ involvement in Nazi politics continues to be a source of heated controversy, Betrayal calls Jehovah’s Witnesses “a religious group that refused to endorse or collaborate with the regime.”