When you habitually read books on preaching, some can begin to run together in your memory, but others stand out. One that will remain distinctive in the memory through time is Preaching in Hitler's Shadow: Sermons of Resistance in the Third Reich. Dean Stroud edited a volume of sermons from Nazi Germany, providing a solid introduction and helpful footnotes. This is a book about preaching like no other.
When reading about World War II, sometimes the persecution of Jews is mentioned exclusively, as if no other groups were targeted by the Nazis. Do not misunderstand: I have no wish to minimize the horrors of the Holocaust for the Jewish people. The problem with some writing and discussion of the era is that the horrors for other groups often are omitted. For example, the Nazis carried on a campaign of systematic extermination against the Roma people, Communists, homosexuals, and some Christians. Their main target may have been the Jewish people, but many groups suffered under them. The story of every group needs to be told.
Preaching in Hitler's Shadow is distinctive because each sermon in it was a part of the Christian response to Nazi doctrine. Before reading the book, I had some ideas about Christian resistance to the Nazis, but they were vague conceptions of Bonhoeffer and my memories of hearing Eta Linnemann speak once. Now, I have had an opportunity to read and reflect on the words of resistance. The simple act of selecting an Old Testament passage for a sermon had profound implications, because it was Jewish. Barth preaching that Jesus was a Jew was radical at the time. Before reading Bultmann's "A Sermon about the Parable of the Great Banquet," I had never before seen him as courageous. A couple of funeral sermons for victims of the Nazi's purge of Germany's mentally challenged and mentally ill people gave rise to serious reflection about how society values (and devalues) human life. One of the sermons in the book is the last one preached by Paul Schneider, the first evangelical pastor to die in a concentration camp. When you read the sermon, there is no wonder why the Gestapo wanted to silence him. At the same time, the sermon prompts you to wonder at his courage and commitment.
This little paperback volume is not light reading, but it is well worth reading. Hard times can reveal our true character, and great character is revealed in this book. Christians in our era can be inspired by thoughtful Christian resistance to tyranny, and people who are not Christians can see how Christ empowered people to counter the lies of the Nazis.
