In January 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of the Reich; in April, Edith Stein sent a letter to Pope Pius XI about the situation in Germany (and in October she entered the Carmel and took the religious name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross). In her "Memoirs" she writes:
“From my inquiries in Rome, it turned out that I had no prospects of a private audience. […] Therefore, I gave up the journey and submitted in writing what lay on my heart. I know that my letter was handed to the Holy Father sealed. After some time, I also received his blessing for myself and my loved ones. Nothing else followed. However, I often wondered later whether this letter came to his mind at all. In the following years, step by step, what I then predicted about the future of Catholics in Germany was being fulfilled.”
Holy Father!
As a child of the Jewish nation, who by the grace of God has been a child of the Catholic Church for eleven years, I dare to express to you, the Father of Christianity, what burdens millions of Germans.
For weeks, we have seen how acts are occurring in Germany that mock every justice and humanity – not to mention love for one's neighbor. For years, National Socialist leaders have preached hatred towards the Jews. After they took power and armed many of their supporters – among them demonstrably criminal elements – this sowing of hatred emerged. The government recently acknowledged that violence has occurred. We cannot form any picture of the extent, because public opinion is silenced. I can assess based on what I have learned through personal relationships: it is by no means a unique exceptional event. Under pressure from voices abroad, the government has resorted to “milder” methods. They issued the slogan that “no Jew should have a hair on his head harmed.” But in declaring a boycott – in taking away people's economic existence, civic honor, and their homeland, they are driving many to despair. In the last week, I have learned from private sources of five cases of suicide that were the result of this hostility. I am convinced that this is a general phenomenon that will claim many more victims. Can we perhaps lament that these unfortunate people did not have more inner strength to bear their fate? However, the responsibility largely falls on those who drove them to such a point. And it also falls on those who remain silent about it.
Everything that has happened and what happens daily comes from a government that calls itself “Christian.” For weeks, not only Jews but also thousands of faithful Catholics in Germany – and I believe worldwide – have been waiting and hoping that the Church of Christ will raise its voice to stop this abuse of Christ’s name. Is not this deification of race and state violence, which is implanted daily into the minds of the masses by radio, an open heresy? Is not the extermination struggle against Jewish blood a disgrace to the most sacred humanity of our Redeemer, the Blessed Virgin, and the apostles? Is all this not in stark contradiction to the actions of our Lord and Savior, who even prayed for His persecutors on the cross? And is it not a black stain in the chronicle of this Holy Year, which was supposed to become a year of peace and reconciliation?
All of us who are faithful children of the Church and observe with open eyes the conditions in Germany fear the worst for the dignity of the Church if this silence continues. We are also convinced that this silence will not redeem permanent peace with the current German government. The struggle against Catholicism is currently being waged quietly and less brutally than against Judaism, but it is no less systematic. It will not be long before no Catholic will hold any office in Germany unless he unconditionally subscribes to the new course.
At the feet of His Holiness, with a request for apostolic blessing
Dr. Edith Stein
Associate Professor at the German Institute of Scientific Pedagogy
Münster/W. Collegium Marianum
(Edith Stein /1891–1942/, letter to Pope Pius XI, April 1933)
