Letter from the Editors (March 2021)

Contemporary Church History Quarterly

Volume 27, Number 1 (March 2021)

Letter from the Editors (March 2021)

By Kyle Jantzen, Ambrose University

Dear Friends,

After a hiatus in December 2020, the editorial team of Contemporary Church History Quarterly is pleased to offer a new set of articles, reviews, and notes about German and European church history in the twentieth century. Our issue features a public lecture by Suzanne Brown-Fleming on the implications of opening the Vatican Archives relating to the pontificate of Pius XII, as well as a short article by Manfred Gailus on the devout-but-antisemitic Protestant theologian Gerhard Kittel.

Two pairs of reviews follow. Kevin Spicer and Samuel Koehne review books on the belief in the Third Reich: a multi-author volume on “what Germans believed between 1933 and 1945,” and a study on Nazi political religion. Then Beth A. Griech-Polelle and Lauren Faulkner Rossi review two popular works on Catholic clergy under Nazi persecution.

A research report by Kyle Jantzen surveys a series of recent blog posts on Mennonites, Nazis, and the Holocaust, written by Ben Goossen. There’s also an upcoming webinar (on which we will report in June), and–importantly–a call for editors. If you work in the field and would like to get involved in the CCHQ, please contact us with your interest, as outlined there.

Finally, we have both welcomes and good-byes to tell you about. We are pleased to welcome the Australian scholar Samuel Koehne to our editorial team. His expertise on political religion will be welcome. And sadly for us (though we’re happy for her), we say good-bye to Victoria J. Barnett, retired now from her long career at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and now stepping down from her role on the CCHQ editorial team as well. I know I speak for the whole editorial team when I express my deep appreciation for all the wisdom, support, and work you have given to the journal, Vicki. You have been one of our most faithful contributors, and your expertise in so many aspects of the history of the German churches in the Nazi era and in the Holocaust has been invaluable. Thank you ever so much for your service, and best wishes for your retirement!

On behalf of the editorial team,

Kyle Jantzen, Ambrose University