Hitler Came for Niemoeller: The Nazi War Against Religion

by Leo Stein, Norman Vincent Peale (Foreword)

First published in 1942, Leo Stein's account of the imprisonment of Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoeller recounts face-to-face discussions with Hitler. Martin Niemoeller was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1924. He was a hero during World War I, a German naval lieutenant and U-boat commander. He was also one of the earliest and most vocal critics of Nazism. As the Third Reich moved toward the obliteration of the Christian Church, Niemoeller, along with other pastors, formed the Pastoris Emergency League to protect the church and its ministers from imprisonment and destruction. Pastor Niemoelleris was one of the early, stentorian calls for overseas aid, with a major manifesto appearing in an issue of Time magazine just prior to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Niemoeller was protected until 1937, when he was found guilty of treason. He was sent for "re-education" and spent the remainder of World War II at Sachsenhausen, Mobait, and Dachau. He lived a life of distinction, serving as president of the World Council of Churches and actively speaking out against nuclear armament and military alliances until his death at age ninety-two in 1984. Leo Stein served as a doctor of jurisprudence and church law and was teaching at the University of Berlin when he was arrested and summarily imprisoned for crimes of treason, his book on the Russian Revolution held as the sole "evidence" against him. This book was written following his emigration to the United States.

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2003

Reviews

[Inknscroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book review for "When Hitler Came for Niemoeller: the Nazi War Against Religion" captured my attention on Scanningwwii.com. At the end, it states: "If any man can read it and not be stirred to his depths, it is because he has no depths" by, Norman Vincent Peale (from the foreword). (http://www.scanningwwii.com/v/hitler-...)