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Kirchengeschichte

Cardinal Adolf Bertram and the Fate of the Jews During World War II Based on Selected Correspondence

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52097/wpt.9799  [Google Scholar]
Veröffentlicht: 2025-12-31

Abstract

The text, based on previously unpublished archival documents, analyzes the position of German Cardinal Adolf Bertram, president of the Bishops’ Conference in Fulda from 1920 to 1945, in relation to the Holocaust. The authors present and analyze letters that Cardinal Bertram received, detailing the fate of Jews during World War II. Most of these letters end with a plea directed at the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Germany to intervene with the Nazi authorities to halt the extermination of the Jewish people. The article reveals the correspondence Cardinal Bertram had with Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking officials in the Third Reich, as well as with other bishops and private individuals. The researchers’ goal is to find an answer to the question: In the context of his policy towards the Third Reich, was Cardinal Bertram a clever politician who defended the position of the Catholic Church in the face of an expanding regime, carefully choosing actions that were considered feasible at the time or demonstrating unquestionable loyalty to the state authorities? In conclusion, they refrain from making an unambiguous judgment on Cardinal Bertram’s attitude towards the extermination of Jews. The authors’ aim to bring to light the final words of the mentioned correspondence, which – according to the authors – should be included in every place commemorating the Holocaust: “A nation capable of such crimes has no right to live under the sun. Every German, including you [Cardinal Bertram – editor’s note], is guilty of these mass crimes. May Almighty God not leave this nation unpunished. I firmly believe that punishment will come. The Jewish people, who brought Revelation to the world, will live on after this crime. The German nation, which gave birth to the devil, will perish through him.”

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