On January 12, 1960, the Executive of the United Evangelical Church of
Germany issued the following Declaration:
"The Executive of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany most sharply condemns the expressions of anti-Semitism which have stirred the public in the last weeks. Moral condemnation of the crimes committed by Germans against the Jews cannot be evaded, though it is difficult to explain the motives of this wave (of anti-Semitism) which encompasses many lands. The reaction of the public must not be limited to declarations of sympathy towards Jewish fellow citizens but must aim at uncovering their own failures. It is especially important, to break the silence which frequently is maintained here between the older and younger generation, and to help our young people to come to their own clear judgment of the history of the Third Reich and what led up to it." [621] <292>
On February 26, 1960, the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany, meeting at Berlin-Spandau, published the following Resolution, after the synagogue of Cologne was daubed with swastikas:
"The fact that the honour of our Jewish neighbours has been offended, fills us with horror and shame. We express our solidarity with those who have been offended and insulted… We are guilty towards youth, to whom we have failed to teach and to bear the witness we owe them. It is not surprising, therefore, that the evil spirit increases its influence, again and again, among our youth. However, anew we must realize and attest: the hatred of the Jews which breaks out, again and again, is public godlessness… Therefore, let parents and educators break the widely-spread, painful silence, in our country about co-responsibility for the fate of the Jews. Let them resist everything that seduces the young generation into hatred of the Jews… Therefore, stand up for the payment of reparations. Keep in mind, however, that true repentance is more essential than financial compensation, which only can mean little to people who lost most of their relatives by acts of violence… Therefore, pray for God's peace upon Israel. Pray for the peace of Israel amongst the nations, on the borders of its State and amongst us." [622]
During the trial of Eichmann, the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany stated (Berlin-Spandau, Febr. 17, 1961):
"…All surviving Germans who at the age of discrimination witnessed the atrocities of the annihilation of the Jews, and even those who helped their Jewish compatriots under oppression, must confess before God, to have become accessories to the deeds by lack of alert and self-denying love…" [623]
After several years of discussion on the subject of the relationship of the Church to the Jewish people, the 10th German Evangelical Kirchentag, 1961, set aside one work-group to deal specifically with this subject. Work-group VI of the Kirchentag produced the statement which follows, and it was adopted as the official Report of the Assembly: <293>
"Jews and Christians are insolubly linked with each other. The denial of
this link brought forth the hostility to Jews within Christendom. It became
one of the main causes of the persecution of Jewry. Jesus of Nazareth is
betrayed wherever members of the Jewish people among whom he was born are
despised as Jews. Every hostility towards Jews is godlessness and leads to
self-destruction.
The present trial in Jerusalem concerns us all. We Evangelical Christians
in Germany recognise that we are involved in it by reason of our guilt.
Because of the need for fresh thought and conversion, we call upon the German
public to make the following points their own:
1. Parents and educators should break their silence when meeting the young
generation. They should confess their own failure and bring to light the
origins of the crimes so that we all may learn how to face the present
together. In the present world political situation, throwing off our own
failure onto others must threaten not only one section of mankind but all
life.
2. The inhumanity of compulsory systems of command where men can argue that
criminal orders must be obeyed, is calculated to warn us against the
inhuman potentialities of the modern organisation of State and society.
We must be ready to take upon us political responsibility even in spite of
risks. Those who were concerned in the preparation and implementation of
persecution should resign from high office.
3. Where Jews live amongst us, it is our duty to promote their well-being as
best as we can. Likewise everything must be done by us Germans which serves
the reconstruction and peace of the State of Israel and its Arab neighbours.
Compensation claims by victims of racial persecution should be settled with
special urgency and generosity. The material compensation must be matched by
a rebirth of the spirit. In Germany, the so-called Jewish question is today
above all a question concerning the future of the Germans.
4. As against the wrong doctrine preached for centuries that God has cast away
the Jewish people, we once again affirm the word of the Apostle: 'God hath
not cast away His people, which He foreknew' (Romans 11, 2)…" [624]
On March 13, 1964, the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany issued the following Declaration on the trials of Nazi criminals:
"…Only ignorance can speak of 'soiling one's own nest' when in fact the cleaning of a badly soiled nest is at stake. Nor is it in any way profitable to try to hide behind the wrongs committed by other nations against members of our people during the war. The mass murder of Jews and other ethnic groups, with which the German name is connected, is not thereby erased… <294> Even the citizen who had no direct share in the crimes, nay, even he who did not know of them, has a share in the guilt because he was indifferent towards the perversion of all moral standards and all notions of right and wrong among our people. Nor can we exempt ourselves and our congregations from this guilt. For where all Christians were called upon to uphold the Gospel entrusted to us, to make public affirmation of the everlasting dominion of God in all spheres of our lives, and, thus armed, to protect the victims of the regime, especially the Jews living amongst us, only few had the insight and the courage to resist. Forced into this humiliating position, we cannot pretend to be unconcerned with the trials now pending, nor can we turn our gaze away from the crimes now being revealed. It was the folly of our entire nation, and the omissions of us Christians, that enabled those crimes to be perpetrated. There is nothing here that can be condoned, and we must resist all temptations to indulge in self-justification. Rather is it our duty to follow the defendants now as they stand before God and His judgment." [626]