Preaching to Nazi Germany

William Skiles is associate professor of history and chair of General Education at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

By sifting through and analyzing all the sermons of Confessing Church pastors during the Nazi regime that he could find—about 900 in all—William Skiles has provided us an interesting and nuanced understanding of the Confessing Church. He brilliantly explains the position the Confessing Church took vis-à-vis both the Nazi regime and the Jews. Anyone wanting to understand the response of the churches to Nazism needs to read this book.

• IntroductionChapter 1 The Church Divided: The Rise of National Socialism and the Question of Divine RevelationChapter 2 A Fettered GospelChapter 3 The Confessing Church and the “New School” of HomileticsChapter 4 Challenging Nazi IdeologyChapter 5 Against the Nazi Persecution of the ChurchesChapter 6 “The Bearers of Unholy Potential”Chapter 7 In the Defense of Jews and JudaismChapter 8 Spying in God’s HouseConclusion