Letter from the Editors: March 2012
ACCH Quarterly Vol. 18, No. 1, March 2012
Letter from the Editors: March 2012
Dear Friends,
This issue of our quarterly journal marks the beginning of its third year in its new format. As an independent venture, not funded by anybody, our aim is to provide you, our readers, with evaluations of new publications in the field of contemporary church history, i.e. from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. Our aim is to do this as soon after publication as possible in order to assist your teaching and research. Our team of a dozen editors is drawn from both Europe and North America. Our mandate is to be both ecumenical and international. Because most of us began with an interest in Germany, the affairs of the German churches are frequently examined. But, at least in some sense, this is not fortuitous. For the German churches, Catholic, Protestant and Free Churches, provided striking examples of the perils and dangers for Christian witness during Germany’s subjection to two rival totalitarian systems in the past century. That is why we welcome our Berlin colleague, Manfred Gailus’ review of Martin Greschat’s survey of Protestantism in the Cold War, and Mark Ruff’s comment on the recent article by Olaf Blaschke on the Roman Catholic Kommission für Zeitgeschichte (Commission for Contemporary History). At the same time we ask you to note the positive steps taken to improve Catholic-Jewish relations, as recorded in the collected speeches of Pope John Paul II. We also bring you notice of some other aspects of Vatican diplomacy.
To be sure, looking back over the past century must give us pause for reflection. Vigorous debates, often reflected in the books here reviewed, still rage about how far the obvious and disturbing decline in Christianity’s support and credibility in Europe is the result of the churches’ failures to live up to their professed moral standards, or to the repressive features of many political regimes. It is our hope that this journal will continue to keep you posted about these and other controversies in the field of contemporary church history.
We offer you our best wishes for this Lenten season.
On behalf of all of the ACCH Quarterly editors,
John S. Conway, University of British Columbia
Mark Edward Ruff, St. Louis University
Robert P. Ericksen, Pacific Lutheran University
Table of Contents
From the Editors
Letter from the Editors – John S. Conway
Reviews
Review of Manfred Gailus and Armin Nolzen, eds., Zerstrittene Volksgemeinschaft: Glaube, Konfession und Religion im Nationalsozialismus – Robert P. Ericksen
Review of Martin Greschat, Protestantismus im Kalten Krieg. Kirche, Politik und Gesellschaft im geteilten Deutschland 1945-1963 – Manfred Gailus
Review of Friedrich Winter, Friedrich Schauer (1891-1958): Seelsorger – Bekenner – Christ im Widerstand – John S. Conway
Review of S. J. D. Green, The Passing of Protestant England: Secularisation and Social Change, c.1920-1960 – Andrew Chandler
Review of Eugene J. Fisher and Leon Kleinicki, eds., The Saint for Shalom: How Pope John Paul II Transformed Catholic-Jewish Relations: The Complete Texts 1979-2005 – John S. Conway
News and Notices
Article Note: New Research on Cold War Catholicism – William Doino
Book Note: A. D. McVay and L. Y. Luciuk, eds., The Holy See and the Holodomor. Documents from the Vatican Secret Archives on the Great Famine of 1932-33 in Soviet Ukraine – John S. Conway
Article Note: Olaf Blaschke, “Geschichtsdeutung und Vergangenheitspolitik. Die Kommission für Zeitgeschichte und das Netzwerk kirchenloyaler Katholizismusforscher, 1945-2000,” in Thomas Pittrof and Walter Schmitz, eds., Freie Anerkennung übergeschichtlicher Bindungen. Katholische Geschichtswahrnehmung im deutschsprachigen Raum des 20. Jahrhunderts – Mark Edward Ruff
Journal Issue Note: Crisis and Credibility in the Jewish-Christian World: Remembering Franklin Littel. The Fortieth Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches. Special issue of Journal of Ecumenical Studies 46, no. 4 (Fall 2011) – John S. Conway
