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Quakers and Nazis: Inner Light in Outer Darkness First Edition
by Hans A. Schmitt (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
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Subjects
National socialism and religion
Quakers -- Germany -- History -- 20th century
c1997
Description
Introduction: Quakers Seeking God, Peace, and an End to Human Suffering --
1. Quakers and Germans, 1919-1932 --
2. The Trials of Revolution --
3. Quakers and Nazis beyond Germany's Borders --
4. From Nuremberg to Danzig --
5. British Friends and the Appeasement of Nazi Germany --
6. Quaker Work in Time of War --
7. The Year 1945 and All That.
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Publisher
Columbia : University of Missouri Press
Format
xiii, 296 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
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Editorial Reviews
Hans Schmitt knows well the humanitarian work performed by German Quakers during World War II--he was a recipient of their kindness and faith. In a world torn by hate and war, the Society of Friends ministered to all people in pain--Jews and Nazis alike--while risking their lives during meetings in open opposition to Hitler's Reich. In this excellent historical account of both German Quakers and Germany itself, Schmitt details the lives of the Quakers, their fearless work of peace, and the criticism they received for not choosing sides.
From Library Journal
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Schmitt (history, Univ. of Virginia), a recipient of Quaker benevolence, presents a comprehensive study of the response of the American, British, and German Quakers to Nazism. He appears to be the first to have so thoroughly researched the subject. The Quakers' beliefs in nonviolence and in the equality of all people led them to great efforts to alleviate the suffering caused by the Nazis. The effects of their efforts outweighed their small number and often came at great personal expense. They first helped Jews emigrate from Nazi Germany, then hid them, risking their jobs, well-being, and even lives in the process. This important volume belongs in any collection on peace movements or World War II. It is scholarly but also accessible to the informed reader.?
John Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Libs., New York
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Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Product details
Publisher : University of Missouri; First edition (September 25, 1997)
Language: : English
Hardcover : 312 pages
Customer Reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
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Top reviews from the United States
Jedidiah Abdul Muhib Carosaari
4.0 out of 5 stars And
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2003
Schmitt repeatedly stresses in his book the title- Quakers *and* Nazis, not Quakers *verses* Nazis. And that is the beauty of this book. Schmitt writes of how the Quakers in WWII worked to protect people from the Nazis, to engage in feeding programs, clothing the hungry, serving those the Nazis were oppressing, working to release them from prison and concentration camps. All this they do before WWII, during the war, and afterward, throughout the world- Germany, Austria, Poland, Latvia, Holland, Denmark, and even Morocco.
But Schmitt also writes of how the Friends worked to free Nazis from prison, to feed the Nazis and German soldiers, and make sure they were clothed. They believed that no one should be imprisoned for the sake of their conscience, no one should be mistreated for what they believed- no matter how insiduous those beliefs.
There are times when the Quakers struggle with their missions, and times when they don't agree. Reflecting the standard Quaker doctrine that each individual should be guided by the internal Light of the Holy Spirit, some choose to fight for Germany, though most choose the ancient Quaker doctrine of pacifism. Some choose to work in England to try to appease Germany; others realize early on this will not happen. Some are willing to agree with Germany's Semitic separations in feeding the poor and oppressed, in order that they might at least help some; others refuse to be involved in anti-Semitism at all.
Schmitt writes with copious detail, which can lead to some boredom at times- there's a lot of research here, and sometimes you have to wade through it to get to the better parts. I was particularly impressed how, as one reads step by step in the history of the period, how easy it was to not realize the horrific nature of the Nazi regime, from the perspective of the time. Even the Quakers who disagree with the anti-Semitism, violence, and injustice of the Nazis, don't realize the full gamut of the evil of the Nazi regime until the stories come out at war's end. In the beginning, it is one's own country, which has taken a wrong turn, as every country does, in every age. And the wrong turn gets a little worse. And a little worse. And it is so easy to disagree with the actions of one's country, to fight them, but still not realize that that last turn was the one that went far, far too far.
The Friends respond to these wrong turns with love. They decided they would love the Jews, and their fellow Germans. And that they would love the Nazis, as brothers and friends. Just as they won slave-owners in the South to the cause of abolition by loving the slave-owners as brothers, they hoped to win over the Nazis. They succeeded in some small measure in gaining greater rights to care for the oppressed. But most of all, they remained a witness of love and peace, a light in a time of great darkness.
16 people found this helpful
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Coyner Thomas Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy read for both the historian and the faith seeker.
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 1998
Though not the only source of knowledge about the Quakers during the Nazi period, it is currently the best. It can also be a practical guide for those confronting how pacificism and apolitical compassion may be applied in the face of modern, often evil, totalitarianism. The books documents the mistakes, the triumphs, the ideals and tactics of the Friends during one of their most trying of times. It is not surprising that the Quakers were recognized via their Friends Service Committee the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize. Strongly recommended.
16 people found this helpful
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Rohit@roadrunner.com
5.0 out of 5 stars The incredible work of a group of selfless, unsung heroes
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 1998
Mr Schmidt extensively researched this book to not only reveal the work of the Quakers in Nazi Germany, but also to allow the reader inside the minds of so many of the participants. Though the book can become tedious because of its depth of detail, it also finds its power in those personal stories. Imagine a member of the Gestapo allowing the Quakers to feed the oppressed because he himself had been fed by the Quakers in post WWI relief efforts. This is a piece of history few if any know about, and Mr. Schmidt makes it all interesting.
13 people found this helpful
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https://www.ctevans.net/Historians/Schmitt.html
"Schmitt speaking." That is how Mr. Schmitt--at the University of Virginia professors were always addressed as "Mr." not "professor"--that was how Mr. Schmitt, professor of European history always answered his phone. It could scare you half to death if you weren't ready for it.
First, let me say that I am sure that if it had not been for "Hans," I would not have made it through the history graduate program, but getting to know him and being able to work with him was not without its trials and tribulations. Once you got to know him and what he demanded of you, then all was OK. Up until that point it could be brutal. In fact, a lot of students enrolled in his twentieth-century Europe seminar with pure fear in their hearts and minds, and never really got over that fear. I had a great time.
My first experience was with his colloquium on modern Europe (a reading and discussion course). I think that it was the spring semester of my first year. What an absolute disaster. I remember that we were assigned seemingly bizarre books to read from a long list, and then we had to report on them, etc. There never seemed to be any order or logic to the books or the presentations or the questions to which we had to respond. We would just look at each other helpless. I remember having to read something on the Balkans and then something on the Sykes-Picot agreement regarding the Middle East, but I am never sure if we ever even got around to discussing those specific books. For a friend of mine and myself, the class was pure terror; we never knew what was going to happen or what exactly we were supposed to be doing.
Now, by my second year, I think that I had gotten things figured out about how to succeed in graduate school, and I finally realized the level of work that I would have to do to succeed in one of Mr. Schmitt's courses. I was in his seminar, a research paper class in the fall, and I had an absolutely great time. I was in command of my subject, knew my sources, worked my tail off and got an outstanding grade and a thumbs up from Mr. Schmitt. Both he and I had figured out that I could do this grad school thing. My work in that seminar, eventually turned into my M.A. thesis with Mr. Schmitt as one of my readers.
If you had to ask yourself if you had done enough work, then you hadn't done enough work. As he once told me about interviews for history positions at UVa, he knew a candidate was not cut out for UVa if the candidate asked how much publishing he/she was expected to do.
Now, to turn the corner, the next course that I had with Mr. Schmitt, was also a twentieth-century Europe class that was a lecture for the undergraduates and a Friday afternoon meeting for the graduate students in a classroom in the basement of New Cabell Hall. Now this time I could enjoy the class, because I knew what was coming, and I could watch all the other younger grad students squirm, squirm, squirm. It was so much fun, especially on a Friday afternoon. I was always easily prepared, having done loads of background preparation; the others now were the ones with no idea of what to do. At one point in the semester, Mr. Schmitt, even called me aside to basically tell me to let him work with the younger ones and that he was not counting on me having to participate.
I also enjoyed stopping by his office to talk things over with him at times. He helped, as I have said, a bit with my M.A. He had that office on the top floor of Randall Hall, western end of the hall, on the right, near the steps, and he would sometimes sit in there smoking his pipe or a cigar. I can't even remember anymore but am pretty sure that it was a pipe.
He did give me all of his copies of Revue moderne et contemporaine when he moved out of his office, and he commented to me that he thought that I would find it useful. I thought that it was great that he would respect me by giving me his copies of this leading European history journal (in French) to a Russian history major. He had clearly come to have some degree of respect for me as a European historian. That was something about him. He always considered himself a student of history and not just a historian of Germany.
A couple of other random thoughts in no particular order.
I always found it interesting that the the UVa profs expected to be called at home to transact business--guess since they did not have much in the way of office hours, a bad habit. I never really got used to having to call them at home.
In my years in grad school, I ended up taking a bunch of Mr. Schmitt's courses and I always thought that he was better with his graduate students than in the larger undergraduate lecture courses where Sablinsky really shined.
He also signed a copy of his autobiography, A Lucky Man, for me when I bought a copy years ago. I know that he had a very interesting life, to say the least, but I've got to say that I've never gotten around to reading the book!
I would always run into him on one of the floors in Alderman Library doing research on one topic or another, even years after he had retired from the department. He would always start our conversations, in his German accent, something along the lines, of "Well, you know, Mr. Evans..."
Finally, when we had lunch together with Meg and Jim Trott in the spring of 2006, I recalled for Mr. Schmitt the gum-chewing incident which still was fresh in my memory after all of these years. In one of my classes with Mr. Schmitt, I remember that we used to sit around a large circular table. It was at some point that I was trying to quit smoking, and I had hit upon gum-chewing as the answer. (Well, that did not work.) Anyway, one day, I must have been happily chomping away in class, and afterwards, Mr. Schmitt, expressed to me in that kind of German-accented voice that he had, something to the extent, "Well, Mr. Evans, now what is it with the gum?" I explained that I was trying to quit smoking, and he replied that while he found the goal praise-worthy, he would ask that I keep the gum a bit under wraps during class. I still find this humorous to recall.
OK, last but certainly not the least, Mr. Schmitt was always ready to help me out with any of my grad school requirements. He read my MA thesis and then later read my PhD dissertation and served on my defense, and he understood my desire to have him do these things instead of some others in the department. He really did help with my dissertation, offering numerous comments and suggestions that did make it a better work.
Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt
Some books:
- The Path to European Union: From the Marshall Plan to the Common Market, Louisiana State University Press, 1962.
- Charles Peguy: The Decline of an Idealist, Louisiana State University Press, 1967.
- European Union: From Hitler to De Gaulle, Van Nostrand, 1969.
- (Editor and author of introduction) Historians of Modern Europe, Louisiana State University Press, 1971.
- (With John L. Snell) The Democratic Movement in Germany, 1789-1914, University of North Carolina Press, 1976.
- U.S. Occupation in Europe after World War II, Regents Press of Kansas, 1978.
- The First Year of the Nazi Era: A Schoolboy's Perspective, East Carolina University, 1985.
- (Editor) Neutral Europe Between War and Revolution, 1917-23, University Press of Virginia, 1988.
- Lucky Victim: An Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times, 1933-1946, Louisiana State University Press, 1989.
- Quakers and Nazis: Inner Light in Outer Darkness, University of Missouri Press, 1997.
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