When I was growing up, I heard lots of talk about Hitler. "How could anyone have listened to that madman rant and have believed what he said?" people would ask, shaking their heads sadly.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to 66gardeners last edited by
@66gardeners I very much agree.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Angelika Wienert last edited by
@haiku_shelf @DP0 @CatDragon I'm aware of stories of courage by many Catholics during the Nazi period. I'm also aware that many, many Catholics were complicit in what the Nazis did, either openly or silently. Johann Baptist Metz wrote incisively about this, speaking of how his all-Catholic village in Bavaria refused to acknowledge that not far outside the village was an extermination camp — silence about this as the villagers went to church and prayed and sang.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Matthew Loxton last edited by
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Angelika Wienertreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
Johann Baptist Metz' academic teacher was Karl Rahner. I remember that he was mentioned on the Katholikentag in Freiburg in 1978 (topic: Christians and Jews after Auschwitz). He is well remembered for his work.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Angelika Wienert last edited by
@haiku_shelf @DP0 @CatDragon Yes. And the important point is that Metz grew up Catholic in a very Catholic corner of Germany, in Bavaria. and his testimony is that Catholic witness against antisemitism and mass-murder during the Nazi period was very feeble, on the whole. It takes great rewriting of the history of that period to turn the Catholic church into a heroic presence in the struggle against the Nazis, though some individual Catholics gave courageous witness to the point of being martyred
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Angelika Wienertreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
During this mentioned time (Metz in Freiburg 1978) I studied history, theology etc. in Duisburg. Later (much later) I worked at a Jewish museum in North Rhine Westphalia. But that's another topic.
It was interesting to read about your thoughts. About Metz, about the Catholic church in times of dictatorship, about wrong and well doing in this time. Thank you for your posts.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Angelika Wienert last edited by
@haiku_shelf @DP0 @CatDragon Thanks for what you've shared, too.
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66gardenersreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy @CatDragon
When Harris wins I plan to go back and hold my head high. Four years out, and I bet that guy remembers what I said. -
Arqtecreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Arqtec last edited by
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to 66gardeners last edited by
@66gardeners @CatDragon Good for you!