GERMAN CATHOLICS AND HITLER'S WARS

Heated controversy will be ignited by the appearance of this honest effort to learn what happened to Catholic loyalties in Hitler's Germany. Theologians and German nationalities will be on the defensive but will be hard put to refute the author's contention that prevailing ethical formulations which allow for rationalizing bad actions and serious misjustgments need to be reevaluated. A respected sociologist, Dr. Gordon Zahn, here presents the results of his careful researching under difficult circumstances (Records destroyed by Allied bombings or by the Nazi regime). He puts down what he learned from interviews with priests, Bishops and laity, he tells what happened to the German peace movement. His analysis of the rationalizations possible in Christian ethic for loyalty to the government which was at the base of actions of Church leaders is most revealing. Dr. Zaha sees war as a failure in the first place of Christians to convert the world to their gospel of peace. The support given by German Catholics to Hitler's wars, he cites as a glaring example of that failure. It is his hope that this indictment of Christianity will present a challenge to the Church to discover the weakness which made such a failure possible. This is truly a daring book on a delicate subject which will heat up Church and academic circles in the coming months.