Film examines religious leaders’ support of Nazi Party

In 1933, when Adolf Hitler rose to power, many of Germany’s religious leaders viewed the Nazi Party as a vehicle for the country’s spiritual revival. Three men in particular ­— all prominent Protestant theologians — saw Hitler’s ascent to power as God’s blessing.

Paul Althaus, Gerhard Kittel and Emanuel Hirsch eventually joined the Nazi Party and to varying degrees rationalized Hitler’s killing of millions of European Jews. That confluence of church and state is one reason the Baptist General Convention of Missouri is bringing “Theologians Under Hitler,” a one-hour documentary that examines the relationship between the theologians and the Nazis, to Columbia on Tuesday.

“We feel like this is a critically important issue to deal with,” said Brian Kaylor, an MU student and the convention’s communication specialist. “The film talks about the dangers when religion and state mix.”

The movie is based on Robert P. Erikson’s book “Betrayal: German Churches and the Holocaust.” The book focuses on Hirsch, who was dean of theology at Goettingen University in Germany; Kittel, author of “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament;” and Althaus, an interpreter of Martin Luther, the founder of Protestant theology.

The Baptist Center for Ethics — a group that represents the “centrist Baptist” perspective — is co-sponsoring the event along with the Baptist General Convention, Kaylor said. The Baptist General Convention separated from the Missouri Baptist Convention in 2002, said Robert Parham, founder and executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics. Kaylor describes the convention as “uncomfortable with the direction Baptists, especially Southern Baptists, are taking lately.”

After the screening of “Theologians Under Hitler,” a panel of church leaders, including the Rev. Jim Bryan, senior pastor at Columbia’s Missouri United Methodist Church and Parham will host a discussion.

Parham said the Baptist Center for Ethics is sponsoring the film as a way of challenging today’s audience to make sure churches and their leaders maintain a distance from governmental politics. Although the documentary asks viewers if politicized theology could happen today, Kaylor said the Baptist General Convention is not showing the film for political reasons.

“It’s not a political message, first and foremost,” he said. “It’s about reminding the church that they need to be focused on building a spiritual community, not a political one. And people just have to talk about it after the film. This is one of those films where you just can’t walk out afterwards.”