And the Witnesses Were Silent: The Confessing Church and the Persecution of the Jews

Glossary

287 glossary Aryan paragraph The legal clause that stipulated that all civil servants had to be ‘‘pure Aryans.’’ central council (Landeskirchenrat) The administration, or governing body, of some regional churches. church federation (Kirchenbund) The church federation uniting the Evangelical regional churches. Confessing Church The movement within the German Evangelical Church that most strongly opposed the Aryan paragraph and the German Christians ; it never broke away completely from the German Evangelical Church, and many of its leaders retained their official positions in the gec. Confidential Clerical Council (Geistliche Vertrauensrat) An advisory board of three church leaders, appointed by Dr. Friedrich Werner, the German Christian director of the gec Chancellery in Berlin. Because of the political tendencies of its members, the council was not trusted by Confessing leaders. consistory A national or regional church governing council. Council of Brethren (Bruderrat) The advisory councils of the Confessing Church, on both the regional and national level, consisting of clergy and lay representatives. Ecclesiastical Ministry (Geistlichen Ministerium) Advisory Committee appointed by Reich Bishop Ludwig Müller in September 1933. Evangelical Central Council (Evangelischer Oberkirchenrat, or eok) One of the administrative bodies of the Old Prussian Union Church. Other governing bodies were the chancellery (Kanzlei) and the consistory (Konsistorium: which included the lay and clergy representatives and had some supervisory powers). Evangelical Church of Germany (after1945)SeeGermanEvangelicalChurch. executive committee or church board (Landeskirchenausschuss) Advisory committee of a regional church. executive committee of the Reich Church (Reichskirchenausschuss). Gauleiter The leader of a district (Gau) in the organization of the National Socialist Party. German Christians (Deutsche Christen) A movement that sought to merge Christianity and the ‘‘Aryan’’ principles of Nazism. German Evangelical Church (before 1945) The Protestant church of Germany , incorporating the Reformed, Lutheran, and United theological and Glossary 288 church traditions. Smaller Protestant denominations in Germany (e.g., Methodists) are ‘‘free churches.’’ When Protestant is used in this book, it refers to the German Evangelical Church and its members. German Evangelical Church Chancellery (Deutsche Evangelische KirchenKanzlei ) One of the two highest Protestant governing boards (the other was the German Evangelical Church Consistory in Berlin). Gleichschaltung The legal process of ‘‘synchronization,’’ placing all aspects of German life under Nazi control and direction. Gutachten Professional opinion usually requested by the church leadership and written by prominent theologians and professors. ‘‘illegal’’ pastors and theologians Clergy and theological students who had studied and taken their theological exams from boards of the Confessing Church, not the German Evangelical Church (whose examination boards were often controlled by German Christians). After Himmler banned Confessing Church seminaries in 1937, these pastors and theology students were ‘‘illegal.’’ ‘‘intact’’ churches The three largest regional churches, Bavaria, Württemberg , and Hannover, led by Lutheran bishops (sometimes called ‘‘neutral’’ churches). Jewish Christian Christians defined by Nazi racial laws as Jews or ‘‘nonAryans ’’ (also called ‘‘non-Aryan’’ Christians). Kirchenkampf The ‘‘church struggle’’ between the German Evangelical Church and Nazi authorities and, more specifically, with the German Christian Faith Movement. Kirchliche Hochschule In this work, it refers to the illegal Confessing seminary in Berlin. Ministry of Church Affairs Established in February 1935 to oversee the Old Prussian Union Church, directed by Hanns Kerrl. Old Prussian Union Church (Kirche der Altpreussischen Union) The Evangelical Church in Prussia, which included eight regional churches (East Prussia , Brandenburg, Pomerania, Mark Posen-West Prussia, Silesia, Saxony, Westphalia, Rhineland). Pastors’ Emergency League (pel) Organization founded in late 1933, intended to show solidarity with non-Aryan clergy. Provisional Church Administration of the Confessing Church (Vorläufige Kirchenleitung, or vkl) Confessing Church government established at the Dahlem confessional synod in October 1934) as a counterpart to the Church Consistory and Chancellery in Berlin, which were headed by German Christians or ‘‘neutral’’ leaders. Glossary 289 regional church (Landeskirche) The Evangelical church in one of the German ‘‘lands,’’ or regions (comparable to an American state). Regional Council of Brethren (Landesbruderrat) Advisory council for the Confessing Church on the regional level. Reich Church Committee (Reichskirchenausschuss) Convened by Reich Minister of Church Affairs Hanns Kerrl in October 1935. Reich Central Security Department (Reichssicherheitshauptamt; rsha) Formed in 1939; it oversaw the Security Police (including the Gestapo) and other Nazi police forces. SA (Sturmabteilung) ‘‘Storm troopers’’; the first Nazi paramilitary force. SS (Schutzstaffel) The elite guard of the sa. Synod A church assembly of laity and clergy on the local, regional, or national level, convened to discuss and sometimes decide church affairs. Volk A word not to be confused...