ABSTRACT
At the end of September 1938, prompted by the Sudeten crisis, the leadership of the Evangelical Church published a prayer for peace. This was instantly denounced in the ‘Schwarze Korps’, the official newspaper of the SS, as treason. The Bishops promptly distanced themselves from this prayer, which had been prepared by the Provisional Church Leadership (VKL). Divisions within the Lutheran Church became even more pronounced with the publication of the text of a letter by the great Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, to the Czech theologian, Professor Hromadka. Barth said that Czech soldiers who fought against Nazi Germany would also be fighting for the church of Jesus Christ. He added that under Hitler and Mussolini the church would either become ridiculous or it would be destroyed. The Lutheran bishops were quick to denounce Barth for these bellicose and anti-German sentiments and warned that theologians should not meddle with politics. Even the Confessing Church, of which Karl Barth was the spiritual rector, distanced itself from this statement and remained silent as Germany prepared for war.
