Between God and Hitler - Military Chaplains in Nazi Germany

"During World War II, approximately 1,000 Christian chaplains accompanied Wehrmacht forces wherever they went, from Poland to France, Greece, North Africa, and the Soviet Union. Chaplains were witnesses to atrocity and by their presence helped normalize extreme violence and legitimate its perpetrators. Military chaplains played a key role in propagating a narrative of righteousness that erased Germany's victims and transformed the aggressors into noble figures who suffered but triumphed over their foes"--

List of contents

Introduction: an incongruous institution; 1. 'We will not let our swords get rusty!: On the cusp of 1933; 2. 1In times of peace the church arms herself for war1: 1933-1939; 3. 1Gott mit uns1: Blitzkrieg, 1939-1941; 4. Saving Christianity, killing Jews: June-December 1941; 5. 1The power of Christian truth and Christian faith1: genocidal culture, 1942-1943; 6. 1What should we preach now?1: 1944-1945; 7. From Nazi past to Christian future: 1945 and beyond; Conclusion: 1With what face should I remember this?.

About the author

Doris L. Bergen is the Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on issues of religion, gender, and ethnicity in the Holocaust and World War II and comparatively in other cases of extreme violence.  Her publications include War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust, now going into its fourth edition, with translations into Polish and Ukrainian. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has taught in Canada, the USA, Germany, Poland, Bosnia, and Kosovo.

Product details

• Authors: Bergen Doris L.
• Publisher: Cambridge Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 05.06.2025
• EAN: 9781108720823
• ISBN: 978-1-108-72082-3
• Illustrations: Worked examples or Exercises
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; HISTORY / Europe / Germany, European History, Germany, RELIGION / History, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, History of Religion, Second World War, The Holocaust, 1933–1945 (National Socialist period), c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Holocaust, History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / European Theater