Jews and Christians: The Unfolding Interfaith Relationship

From The United States Memorial Holocaust Museum

The Holocaust confronted Christian leaders at the time and after 1945 with grave ethical and theological questions:

• How it was possible for 6 million Jews to be murdered by the citizens of a nation that was predominantly Christian?
• How did the Christian churches elsewhere in Europe and in the United States respond to the persecution and genocide of the Jews at the time?
• How have they dealt with the legacy of this history since the end of the war?
• How has the Holocaust affected Christian teachings?
• How have these questions been addressed within the interfaith Jewish-Christian relationship?

1933–1945

The Nazi rise to power in Germany was greeted by most Christians in Germany with optimism. They welcomed the new regime and particularly embraced its nationalism, and both the Catholic and Protestant churches there pursued a course of compromise and accommodation with the regime, particularly when conflicts arose over Nazi state interference with church programs. Among European ecumenical leaders, there were worries about the possible anti-Christian repercussions of a fascist ideology and fears of renewed German militarism under Nazism. In 1933 most European and US Christian leaders, however, took a "wait and see" attitude.

Throughout the Christian world, there was little condemnation of the most striking and ominous element of Nazi ideology: its virulent antisemitism and its threat to remove Jews from all aspects of German society. Indeed, many Christian leaders before and throughout the Nazi era cited Christian teachings as a justification for anti-Jewish rhetoric and policies.

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