There was a thin window of opportunity in 1930s Germany to oppose the Nazi regime before it acquired absolute power—and opposition became a death sentence. If Christian pastors had stood as a body united in the Gospel, and countered the Nazi propaganda in time, how many millions of lives might have been preserved?
We have the same narrow window today, before the sash hits the sill. We have already seen pastors and pro-lifers jailed for their resistance to the regime, so we know that the day is far advanced. How much more time do we have?
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Based on a 2022 book by Eric Metaxas, the one-hour movie Letter to the American Church is a ringing call to Christian pastors and bishops to speak up before it’s too late. The movie is already being boosted by influencers like Bishop Strickland and Jack Posobiec (who have a combined following of over 2.5 million on Twitter/X alone).
In the early 1930s, German clergy still had a choice; they were not yet at the point that dissent would end in transport to a concentration camp or outright execution. There was a window of opportunity to speak up strongly and stuff the genie back into the bottle before it marched iron-boot-shod over all.
The window closed extremely quickly. Just days after Hitler was installed as Chancellor of Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer broadcasted an argument against Christians regarding the Führer as messiah, a movement strongly afoot in 1933. The radio signal was cut in midstream.
A month after Bonhoeffer was switched off, a fire was set in the Reichstag, blamed on dissidents and used to suspend civil liberties. It was conveniently timed to rid Hitler of pesky opponents. The parallel with our own country is obvious. When those who lust after power need a reason to throw their opponents under the steamroller, they are not above instigating one.
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A month after that, the Enabling Act was passed, consolidating power in one man: Adolf Hitler.
That same month, Dachau, the infamous concentration camp north of Munich, was built. It was already filled with 27,000 dissidents before the year 1933 ended. As soon as Hitler had absolute power, he also had the means to silence critics. That’s how fast the window closed in Germany; it was a matter of months.
Even so, the Barmen Declaration was circulated in 1934, attempting to assert the independence of the church from the state. Around one-third of German Protestant pastors had signed the document, then about half deserted the cause under persecution. So, 80 percent of the entire Protestant leadership in Germany remained silent in the face of one of the most egregious evils in world history.
