ADVENTIST HISTORY
occasion of the 1936 General Conference (GC) Quadrennial Session in San Francisco. Tis tour was carefully planned and orchestrated by German Adventist leaders in conjunction with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, and the German Foreign Office. Personal ties to Nazi officials, which were expanded during these collaborative efforts with the state, proved invaluable when the church in Germany came under pressure.
Offensive Literature Seeking to remove anything that might meet with Nazi disapproval, Adventist leaders there purged offensive literature such as Te Great Controversy from the shelves of church libraries. Gone were the days when the church in Germany used press and pulpit to proclaim prophetic issues, the signs of the times, the second coming, and the Sabbath. Tis policy affected even American publications, since the
General Conference adopted and enforced a policy preventing publication of any commentaries about Nazism or even fascism in American church journals. Te church in Germany also cracked down on “fanatics”
and speculators by counseling them and refusing them the opportunity to preach. Only those who were “politically reliable” were allowed to hold office in the church. Tose with liberal or leſtist political views were considered a definite liability. “Incorrigible fanatics” who refused to heed the counsel of the leaders had to be reported to church administrators. Adventists of Jewish ethnicity were shunned, and in some
instances, members were forbidden to visit them. While individual Adventists did assist Jews, sheltering them at the risk of their own lives, typical church policy is better illustrated by the case of a member in the Berlin Conference who wanted to assist a Jewish family: the conference warned him not to expect any support if he should get into trouble. Aſter Reformed Adventists were outlawed and persecuted in 1936, the church exercised great caution to prevent those individuals from joining the Adventist fold. Political loyalty had to be established prior to baptism. Membership in Nazi organizations was required for Adventists in
certain professions, such as denominational teachers or editors, but it also offered considerable benefits to ministers and book evangelists. Membership was evidence of loyalty to the Nazi regime, and lapel pins proved a visible sign of support. In dealing with government authorities, it could open doors that might otherwise stay closed. Consequently, several Adventist leaders joined the Nazi Party, as well as a number of its subsidiaries, including supporting organizations of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Nazi secret police.
10 AD VENTIS T T OD A Y
Sabbath Compromise To Adventists, the issue of the Sabbath was most crucial, since it was at the very center of their identity. While the church in Germany made early adaptations to accommodate Nazi sensitivities—Sabbath was changed to Ruhetag (Rest Day) to sound less Jewish, and Sabbath School became Bibelschule (Bible School) and then “study of the Word”—on the whole, Adventists were successful in keeping Sabbath privileges during the first years of Nazi rule. While children in other European countries were required to attend school on Sabbath, in Germany they could attend church instead. Tis changed in 1936, when the German delegation to the GC
Session returned from a goodwill tour of the United States, and it was becoming increasingly clear that a second world war was approaching. In 1939 Adolf Minck, by this time president of the German
Adventist church, was called to Gestapo headquarters and told that he would be held personally responsible for the conduct of Adventists in Germany. Te official told him to order church members to work on Saturday. Minck refused, and for the time being, the Gestapo did not press the issue. In 1940, with Germany at war, Minck was told in unmistakable terms that absence from duty on Sabbath would not be tolerated and that the leaders of Adventist churches, conferences, and unions would be held accountable. As a result, church leaders instructed all ministers to admonish
church members, “so that our members will not cause more trouble for themselves and the church.” One union president wrote, “We know that in total war there can only be total investment and sacrifice.” A circular from the Central Eastern Division quoted from 2 Peter: “Submit yourselves, for the Lord’s sake, to every authority.” Te more Adventists performed their “duty” during the war, the more they could expect respect for conscience aſter the war. By 1943, aſter the disaster of Stalingrad led to Nazi propagandist
Joseph Goebbel’s proclamation of total war, pressures increased once more. Minck issued a circular to the presidents of the East German Union and its local conferences, asking them to educate members on the need to adapt to the times and urging them not to imperil the church by refusing service on Sabbath. Performing one’s duty on the Sabbath was not disobedience, he said, but a virtue, for “Christian faith must be proven by Christian deed.” And so, most German Adventists conformed to the demands of the times and, more specifically, to the Nazi regime. To accommodate the state as much as possible had become
Adventist policy. Te theology behind this course of action is perhaps most clearly expressed in a 1943 paper titled “Our Way
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