THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND NAZI GERMANY

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Following in the wake of Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy, this volume is destined to cause comment and consternation if only because it lacks even the thin veil of fiction or dramatic convention of the play. Dr. Lewy's work adheres, as he claims in his preface, ""to the canons of scholarship and intellectual honesty."" He has scrupulously avoided questionable interpretations and sensibly refrained from tackling more material than can be handled thoroughly in a single volume. Thus he confines himself to the relationships among the Nazis, the German episcopal hierarchy, and the Papacy, and resists the temptation to stray into connected areas, such as a comparison with the behavior of German Protestant churches. Still, it would be an understatement to term his subject controversial, since it entails investigation of such fundamental Catholic policies as the placing of the survival of the Church as an institution ""before the demands of its own gospel,"" and also, with copious quotes from the clergy themselves, displays many controversial attitudes toward issues ranging from conscription to euthanasia. Scholarship and honesty are here in abundance, but not impartiality, because ""this could have been achieved only as a concomitant of moral indifference."" Certain to receive attention.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION