Why the title "Quakers and Nazis, " not "Quakers against Nazis"?
Was not hostility part of the interaction between the two groups?
On the contrary, Hans A. Schmitt's compelling story describes
American, British, and German Quakers' attempts to mitigate the
suffering among not only victims of Nazism but Nazi sympathizers in
Austria and Lithuania as well.
With numerous poignant illustrations of the pressure and social
cost involved in being a Quaker from 1933 to 1945, "Quakers and
Nazis: Inner Light in Outer Darkness" reveals a facet of Nazi
Germany that is entirely unknown to most people. The book focuses
on the heroic acts foreign and German Quakers performed under the
Nazi regime, offering fully documented and original information
regarding the Quakers' commitment to nonviolence and the relief of
the victims.
Schmitt's narrative reveals the stress and tension of the
situation. How should a Quaker behave in a meeting for worship with
a policeman present? Spies did not stop Friends in worship services
from openly criticizing Hitler and Goring, but Nazis did inflict
torment on Friends. Yet Friends did not, could not, respond in like
manner. Olga Halle was one Friend who worked to get people, mostly
Jews, out of Germany until America entered the war. When emigration
was outlawed, twenty-eight were stranded. Years later her distress
was still so deep that even on her deathbed she recited their
names.
Schmitt reminds us that virtually all the Berlin Quakers
secreted Jews throughout the war. He shows how these brave Quakers
opposed the Nazis even after they lost their jobs and had been
harassed by the Gestapo. Risking their lives, the Friends persisted
in their efforts to alleviate suffering.
At a time when the scholarly world is divided as to whether all
Germans knew and approved of the Final Solution, this book makes a
valuable contribution to the discussion. Quakers--despite their
small numbers--played, and continue to play, an important role in
twentieth-century humanitarian relief. "Quakers and Nazis: Inner
Light in Outer Darkness, " a study of how Friends performed under
the extreme pressure of a totalitarian regime, will add
significantly to our general understanding of Quaker and German
history.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!