Churches and Religion in the Second World War by Jan Bank with Lieve Gevers (review)

Jan Bank is Emeritus Professor of Dutch History at the University of Leiden, and Lieve Gevers is Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church and Theology at the Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. Their book is a comprehensive review of the relations between the churches and the political developments in Europe from the end of World War I through 1945. Its central question is, "How did the Churches in Europe fare during the Second World War and what were their thoughts and, perhaps more importantly, their deeds?" (xiv). As the authors indicate, the book "is based exclusively on the study of related literature. Archives were not directly consulted and original sources were only read when they were available in source publications" (xv). Thus, the value of the book lies not in its discovery of new data but in its assembling of information from a wide variety of historical studies.

It begins by considering the situation faced by the churches in various European countries during the period between the wars, including the ideological struggles with Nazism and communism. It then examines the effects of the Nazi occupation and describes what resistance did or did not come from the churches. Eastern Europe receives as much attention as Western Europe, and the Orthodox churches as much attention as the Protestants and Roman Catholics. Rather than offering broad generalizations, the book considers countries individually and returns to consider them at each step in its overall story. While developments in a given country are thus described in pieces, this procedure allows the authors to locate an individual church's response to new policies within the historical context of that country's experiences between the wars, and it highlights the differences and similarities among the circumstances faced by each church and among their responses.

From time to time, the general descriptions are followed by the story of an individual or group of individuals who exemplified the themes under discussion. Some who are given such consideration are Kaj Munk (Denmark), Maximilian Kolbe (Poland), Edith Stein (Germany), Saul Friedländer (Czechoslovakia), Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Germany), Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac (Croatia), Serbian Orthodox Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović, worker-priest Victor Dillard (France), and Eugenio Pacelli (Pius XII). The book ends with a discussion of the role played by Pius XII, Stalin's new support for the Patriarch of Moscow, and the formation of the World Council of Churches.

One noteworthy impression that emerges is the complexity of the story. Often competing groups existed within a given country. Each was shaped by the complex interaction of nationalism, fascism, communism, fear of communism, and Christianity. In addition, while Hitler and his associates established the general policies for the occupied territories, there was a good deal of diversity in how the various countries were governed. It made a difference whether they were under military control, political control, or SS control. Experiences in Eastern Europe differed from those in Western Europe. And, over time, new developments altered the possibilities for resistance.

Another noteworthy impression is the tendency for church leaders to remain silent regarding the treatment of the Jews or to intercede only on behalf of baptized Jews, while at the same time some individual Christians were behaving more courageously.

Generally speaking, the authors do not seem to be pushing any particular agenda, but they clearly are impressed with the position exemplified by Eivind Berggrav and the church leaders in Norway, who, building on the Lutheran understanding of the two kingdoms, decided that the church had a role in discerning whether the state was operating within its God-given mandate. Because the government under Nazi control was not, they resigned from their civil duties while still continuing to lead the community of faith.

The book contains a number of grammatical or typographical glitches that do not interfere with its meaning, but one very puzzling error can easily mislead anyone unfamiliar with the distinction between "Aryan" and "Arian." From...