Posted by Anthony on July 28, 2009
It Happened in Italy: Untold Stories of How the People of Italy Defied the Horrors of the Holocaust by Elizabeth Bettina. Buy on Amazon
Readers of this blog know that I have an interest in the Holocaust and its causes and ramifications. For example,
I have already reviewed Joe Keysor’s
Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible. I consider myself a student of 20th century history with all of its death and destruction and ideological battles. Mrs. Bettina’s book was a breath of fresh air for me as it accomplished several things at once:
- It showed me a dimension of the Holocaust story I was previously unaware of (it seems everyone was unaware of it, including the Italians!)
- It revealed that not every Christian, and certainly not every Catholic, turned a blind eye to the plight of the Jews during Hitler’s reign.
- It corroborated my belief that world views and consequences are intricately linked.
As it happens, even before Italy capitulated to the Allies in World War 2, the Jews in Italy were fiercely protected and guarded by Italians. They did not go along with Hitler’s ‘final solution.’ Italy was a country that allowed Jews to freely come and go unlike other countries at the time that often made entry difficult. When Jews began noting the writing on the wall in Germany, they began fleeing to neighboring countries, with Italy being the easiest. Jews that then left Italy to France or Denmark, etc, thinking they would be safe… died. Jews that remained in Italy, on the whole, survived. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on March 2, 2009
- Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible: A Scriptural Analysis of Anti-Semitism, National Socialism, and the Churches in Nazi Germany
- Author: Joe Keysor
- Release Date: Hitler’s Birthday, April 20th, 2009.
- ISBN: 978-9822776-0-7
- Pages: 404
- Amazon Link: Buy on Amazon
- Order from Publisher: Click Here
- Webpage: http://hitlerandchristianity.com/
Full Disclosure: it is my ministry’s publishing company that is releasing this book.
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Due out on Hitler’s birthday (April 20th, 2009), Joe Keysor’s book, Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible: A Scriptural Analysis of Anti-Semitism, National Socialism, and the Churches in Nazi Germany is an important book counteracting the growing clamor that Christianity was the driving ideology behind Hitler, the Nazis, and the Holocaust. It is very important- for obvious reasons- for secular humanists and atheists to show that brutal tyrants were not operating on their principles but rather on Christian principles. In some cases such as Mao and Pol Pot the operation cannot even be attempted. In others, such as Lenin and Stalin, more headway is made. In Hitler, secularists consider the matter a slam dunk. |
The problem, of course, is that facts actually matter and the actual facts tell a different story. Beliefs have consequences and religion has often brought about some nasty ones but the historical realities are what they are. Unfortunately, one cannot count on people to know the facts, nor educators to provide them. For this reason among many, Mr. Keysor’s book is invaluable.
Mr. Keysor addresses the charges head on with some common sense tactics. For example, if the New Testament lays out a mindset and body of beliefs that utterly contradict what Hitler did, who is really fooled by Hitler’s words employing Christian words? Some people are fooled but it would appear that either they want to be fooled, are unaware of what the New Testament actually says, are unaware of what Hitler did, or unaware of Hitler’s true influences.
That is where Mr. Keysor’s work really shines. Extensively researched with an immense bibliography to boast, Mr. Keysor’s book exhaustively mines the writings that Hitler himself cited as influential (if anyone care’s about Hitler as an authoritative source on the matter, of course) and writings that perhaps were not expressly cited but clearly reflected in Hitler’s ideology.
Mr. Keysor astutely observes, “Odd, that for so many people the 16th century and the 1st century had so much to do with the Holocaust, and the 19th century had nothing to do with it.” (pg 70)
This completely jibes with my assessment of the situation, too. Secularists are quick to identify seeds of anti-semitism (alleged and actual) in the New Testament and in certain figures such as Martin Luther, though these preceded Hitler by more than 300 years. In the meantime, in the 18th and 19th centuries Germany was churning out anti-semite after anti-semite. Mr. Keysor documents this and traces the influence of men like Wagner, Chamberlain, Haeckel, and Nietzsche (to name a few) on the German people and, in time, Hitler himself.
Even if you disagree with some of the conclusions and statements in the book the most important ones are incontrovertible and are backed up with thorough citation and argumentation. In fact, if only for the extensive bibliography and the 11 page index, Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible will serve as a useful research tool. Christians encountering the charge that their Christian faith led to the Holocaust will have ample ammunition for countering the charge and plenty of research options for expanding on Keysor’s own work. It is a treasure trove of resources and information.
Naturally, atheists, secular humanists, and even the ‘New Atheists,’ if they are interested in truth, will find Keysor’s arguments difficult to overturn. If they wish to continue to argue that Hitler was a Christian they will have to react to a number of embarrassing facts.
Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible ought to be on every pastor’s shelf, included in college libraries (especially Christian institution of higher education), and every Christian apologist’s library.
Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible is available for pre-order and will be available on sites such as Amazon.com in short order. The website is www.hitlerandchristianity.com
