This course will first briefly examine the roots of anti-Jewish teachings in Christianity and then will focus on the Roman Catholic Church and the role of Pope Pius XII in the Holocaust. We will then examine the anti-Jewish teachings of Martin Luther and their influence on the German Protestant Churches during the Holocaust. In contrast, we will then discuss the resistance of the Church against Nazi ideology, including the efforts of the Confessing Church movement in Germany and the Orthodox Church in Greece. Lastly, we will take a brief look at Nostra Aetate and other post-Holocaust Christian efforts to eradicate anti-Jewish teachings from Christian theology. Additional work will be required for doctoral students taking this course for Ph.D. credit.
HGS 562/762 - The Church and the Holocaust