Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis book, based on extensive archival research in Germany and the Russian Federation, is a solid contribution to the growing historiography on the Soviet occupation period in postwar eastern Germany. * Slavic Review *
[This book] provides a wealth of information on its narrow topic. * Lutheran Quarterly *
Brennan uses major archival collections of state and church provenance in Moscow, Berlin/Bonn, and Washington to provide multiple angles in documenting this crucial period of change. This book offers rich descriptive detail of the policy debates regarding the key issues in the church-state relationship. The Politics of Religion in Soviet-Occupied Germany makes a major contribution to the literature on church-state relations in eastern Europe and in Germany. -- Robert Goeckel, State University of New York, Geneseo
Based on extensive research in both German and Russian archives, Sean Brennan's book provides a unique perspective on relations between the churches and Communist authorities in the Soviet Occupied Zone of Germany. His detailed overview of the cat-and-mouse game that allowed the Communists to subdue their religious opponents deepens our understanding of those complex initial post-war years in Germany. -- Gary Bruce, University of Waterloo
Brennan blends the history of parties with diplomatic, education, and cultural history to reveal how both Catholic and Protestant organizations cooperated with, then questioned, then openly criticized, and finally resisted Soviet authorities and their German counterparts in the postwar period. A cleanly written history of a gray area, this book demonstrates more than just the details of religious policy or attitudes, but offers details about inter-group relations, watersheds in German history, and the phenomenon and influence of the Soviet Occupation. -- Elizabeth Morrow Clark, West Texas A&M University
Table of Contents1 Preface 2 Abbreviations 3 Introduction 4 1. The Brown Dictatorship before the Red: The German Churches under National Socialism 5 2. The Question of the CDU and the Churches during the period of the "Antifascist Transformation"1945-1947 6 3. The Volkscongress Movement and the end of the CDU's political independence, December 1946 -October1949 7 4. 'Unity Schools are Secular Schools': The Struggle over religious education in the secondary schools of Berlin Brandenburg 8 5. The Competition between socialist and religious youth and women's organizations in Berlin-Brandenburg 9 6. The Conflict over charitable activity by the Evangelical and Catholic Churches in Berlin-Brandenburg 10 7. 'Christianity and Marxism are not in Opposition': The Propaganda Offensive in East Germany concerning "Religious Freedom" under Communism 11 8. The Allied Religious Affairs Committee and the impossibility of a united religious policy for Germany 12 Conclusion 13 Bibliography
