I ordered my copy of James Edwards' new Between the Swastika and the Sickle: The Life, Disappearance, and Execution of Ernst Lohmeyer. Lohmeyer was one of those figures from the Confessing Church for whom I had a great admiration, but knew so very little. I was surprised to find him omitted from Preaching in Hitler's Shadow (which I read about this time last year). Aside from a few of his works on New Testament subjects (most of which, sadly, have never been translated into good English works), I hadn't ever seen much about him or been too familiar with his work. As a doctoral student, I heard his name in hushed tones and wondered why.
Over the years I've had a close interest in the history of Christianity in Germany over the past two centuries. From the Enlightenment onward some of the most impressive and durable progress in several areas of intellectual scholarship was made in German universities. In areas of philosophy, theology and biblical studies, Germany led the field in critical scholarship, giving us some of the greatest names within these disciplines.
The first half of the 20th century has a star studded cast of names such as Harnack, Bultmann, Dibelius, Bonhoeffer -- names now pervasively present in theological and biblical scholarship a century and more later. One name almost entirely obscured by history is Ernst Lohmeyer.
Here's what I knew as a student: Along with other brave souls, Lohmeyer risked his life as a vocal and persistent critic of Nazi ideology, in particular the attempts to validate anti-semitism from the Bible. Removed from his post, banned from teaching, called up to the German army in 1943, and following the fall of Germany, taken as a prisoner of war by Russia, Lohmeyer virtually disappears. For long years no one knew if he was alive or dead. Until 1995. We now know he was executed by the Russians, but the full story has never been researched and told, until Edwards' new book.
Once I've read the book I'll most likely post some thoughts here, but for now there's a decent article over at Christianity Today that you can read here.
Thing is, I think that article is a little misleading and does justice neither to Lohmeyer or Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer was a scholarly pastor whose story is now firmly embedded in post-war theology and German consciousness. Bonhoeffer's role in underground theological education, aiding the resistance, and his martyrdom in April 1945 has created an entire industry of scholarship, produced an ongoing theological ferment, and has left a legacy of division between those who see him as martyr, as theological revolutionary, and as one whose actions and supposed (though factually incorrect) involvement in an assassination attempt on Hitler goes against the very core of his own teaching in his seminal books, Discipleship and Ethics.
Lohmeyer, on the other hand, was a major voice in the academy as an already-established scholar of international stature, whose silencing and subsequent murder have remained obscure and politically awkward, and therefore his name, let alone his writings, have gone largely unpublished. I look forward to having many of my own questions answered, and discovering much more of the truth about a man whose courage and integrity should not be forgotten. Lohmeyer was a German citizen, academic and soldier whose story, "like many who resisted Nazi and Communist repression, points toward Christ".
Over the years I've had a close interest in the history of Christianity in Germany over the past two centuries. From the Enlightenment onward some of the most impressive and durable progress in several areas of intellectual scholarship was made in German universities. In areas of philosophy, theology and biblical studies, Germany led the field in critical scholarship, giving us some of the greatest names within these disciplines.
The first half of the 20th century has a star studded cast of names such as Harnack, Bultmann, Dibelius, Bonhoeffer -- names now pervasively present in theological and biblical scholarship a century and more later. One name almost entirely obscured by history is Ernst Lohmeyer.
Here's what I knew as a student: Along with other brave souls, Lohmeyer risked his life as a vocal and persistent critic of Nazi ideology, in particular the attempts to validate anti-semitism from the Bible. Removed from his post, banned from teaching, called up to the German army in 1943, and following the fall of Germany, taken as a prisoner of war by Russia, Lohmeyer virtually disappears. For long years no one knew if he was alive or dead. Until 1995. We now know he was executed by the Russians, but the full story has never been researched and told, until Edwards' new book.
Once I've read the book I'll most likely post some thoughts here, but for now there's a decent article over at Christianity Today that you can read here.
Thing is, I think that article is a little misleading and does justice neither to Lohmeyer or Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer was a scholarly pastor whose story is now firmly embedded in post-war theology and German consciousness. Bonhoeffer's role in underground theological education, aiding the resistance, and his martyrdom in April 1945 has created an entire industry of scholarship, produced an ongoing theological ferment, and has left a legacy of division between those who see him as martyr, as theological revolutionary, and as one whose actions and supposed (though factually incorrect) involvement in an assassination attempt on Hitler goes against the very core of his own teaching in his seminal books, Discipleship and Ethics.
Lohmeyer, on the other hand, was a major voice in the academy as an already-established scholar of international stature, whose silencing and subsequent murder have remained obscure and politically awkward, and therefore his name, let alone his writings, have gone largely unpublished. I look forward to having many of my own questions answered, and discovering much more of the truth about a man whose courage and integrity should not be forgotten. Lohmeyer was a German citizen, academic and soldier whose story, "like many who resisted Nazi and Communist repression, points toward Christ".