ABSTRACT
The Holocaust launched a decades-long reflection on what it means to be human. To nurture this type of reflection has demanded that scholars engage in nuanced studies of Nazism, resistance, and theology. How are we, for example, to understand the terror practiced by the Nazis as well as the roles of the bystanders and those who resisted? 1 An historical assessment of the event, locating it accurately in the context of its culture, has been in the process of construction since 1945. 2 Scholars engaged in reconstructing the history of everyday life in the Third Reich have become more interested recently in analyzing specific dimensions of resistance. Noncompliance was not always perceived by the Nazis as ideological opposition, but rather, frequently, as “single issue dissent.” Although the Nazis may have considered everyone a potential enemy, general complicity with the regime for the sake of personal survival seems to have been the order of the day. 3 While in the view of Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, virtually every German was a virulent eliminationist antisemite, other scholars have pointed to examples of the banality of evil as well as to the activity of ordinary men. 4 Still others have worked to uncover the many layers and types of resistance. As a prelude to analyzing the Catholic experience, the nature of the Holocaust, and of Nazi terror has to be briefly examined along with the general spectrum of resistance. Relating resistance to Nazi terror has helped support the post-1945 paradigm shift that can make possible a more explicit discussion of human rights issues. 5
