An outstanding book about an outstanding pastor and man and how he handled the unprecedented task of ministering to some of the most hated murderers in history. Fascinating. ( )

I haven't been great about getting my posts finished on time to link up with other blogs. But, I have finished an interesting book!

Mission at Nuremberg by Tim Townsend is in part a biography of Chaplain Henry Gerecke and in part a history of World War II and Nuremberg; it even includes a mini-history of the chaplaincy.

Be prepared for conflicting emotions throughout the story. The story begins with the life of Henry Gerecke, a little known minister in the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. At the height of WWII and two months shy of his 50th birthday, Henry Gerecke volunteered to go into the Army as a Chaplain. He had heard of the need for ministers and priests for the wounded and dying Allied soldiers. His two sons were already fighting in the war.

Gerecke worked tirelessly as a chaplain with the Ninety-Eighth in a Hospital in England on behalf of wounded soldiers coming off the battlefield in France, then wounded POWs liberated from Germany. Eventually the whole company was moved to Munich, Germany to work in a bombed out hospital complex.

At the end of the war, as the soldiers were getting ready to go home, Gerecke was asked to go to Nuremberg to minister to the Nazis on trial. He was given a choice to go home to his wife and family or go to Nuremberg. He chose to go to Nuremberg.

He must have been very conflicted in emotions because he had visited Dachau and helped pray for the deceased at a burial. He had ministered to thousands of dying Allied soldiers and POWs. It's just unbelievable how he was able to do what he did.

The officials actually had to write the charges against the Nazis as they had no precedence to try them. They didn't want them to get off because of a lack of laws. This was also an interesting section of the book. What crimes would they charge them with? What procedures would they use? How did some of them get off in the end???

I won't spoil it for you because it's known history--but the executions were gruesome. Horrifying.

My only complaint is that some of the author's comments seemed to confuse communion with salvation, or goodness with the grace of God.

Like this quote, "Those chaplains believed that God loves all human beings, including perpetrators, and so their decision was more about how to minister to the Nazis, not whether they should. The process of ministering to those who have committed evil involves returning the wrongdoer to goodness, a difficult challenge when faced with a leader of the Third Reich."

Other times he seemed to emphasize God's grace.

Recommended with that caveat. ( )

This is a biography of the American Lutheran pastor who ended up being assigned to minister to the Germans (who would let him) as they endured the Nuremberg trials. Along with an American Catholic priest they held services and provided opportunities for the German prisoners to discuss matters of faith as they were being tried. Several were clear they did not and would not believe in the Jewish Christ that Lutheran's preach. Several advised the pastor that they wanted to return to the faith they had been familiar with as children but had turned from as they joined the Nazi party and followed Hitler.

The is a biography of the chaplain but also gives a brief history of chaplains in the military and explains the trial so that the reader understands the context of what is happening.

Of interest is the chaplain service before the trials as Pastor Gerecke served at a large hospital in England where the wounded were brought over from Europe, triaged, and then many times sent other hospitals for special care. I was already fairly familiar with the Nuremberg trials but had not read much about the hospital system before this book. The amount of work Pastor Gerecke did was incredible. Often having over 50 meetings with individuals each day offering comfort and support. This is not a job that just anyone could handle. Many times the pastor found himself writing letters to family members on behalf of patients who passed away or having frank discussions with patients near death. The pastor mentions that of the many hundreds of Americans he visited with only two ever turned him away saying they did not believe in God.

Pastor Gerecke also worked closely with other chaplains and sometimes reached out to members of the local community to make sure both Catholics and people of the Jewish faith were able to receive spiritual counsel from religious ministers of their faith.

There is some analysis about forgiveness and what that means to Lutherans and within the Jewish faith. Some good insight into a side of the trial that I have not read about before. It appears the pastor was able to do some good, that perhaps in conjunction with being forced to face the terrible deeds their country was responsible for during the trial several Nazis had to seriously consider whether they were wrong and how it was possible that could effect their afterlife.

( )

Reverend Henry Gerecke embodied every stereotype and cliche of a mild mannered, midwestern pastor, but has Tim Townsend demonstrated in Mission At Nuremberg, his outward appearance aside, he was an extraordinary man.

Age 51 when a shortage of chaplains caused the Army to greatly increase the age of those allowed to serve, Rev. Gerecke was soon found himself in the midst of one of the most pivotal points of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge. Because of the care he showed for his men during these days, and his fluent German, he was chosen to be among those to minister to the Nazi’s awaiting trial for crimes against humanity in Nuremberg.

Hermann Goering, Albert Speer, Martin Bormann, Alfred Jodl, and many other of those responsible for the death of millions became Gerecke’s parish. Rather than focusing on these men and their actions,, this Lutheran minister focused on the message he had been called to give. His relationship with all these men, whether they were believers or not, was such that when Gerecke had to opportunity to end his service to his country and return home, every single prisoner signed a letter sent to Mrs. Gerecke begging her to allow Gerecke to remain as their pastor. She had not seen her husband in nearly three years, but did not stand in the way of his remaining in Nuremberg. Only after the trials and executions were complete did Rev. Gerecke return home.

Townsend not only told Pastor Gerecke’s story, but took the time to explain the theology of the message Gerecke was so passionate to deliver. This allowed to reader to these men not based on the crimes they committed, but rather the value placed in them by their creator. It allowed you to understand how Gerecke saw them.

Returning home after Nuremberg he continued his ministry, and sought to continue to work with prisoners. Rev. Gerecke was the Chaplain at Menard State Penitentiary until his death. Of course those Gerecke ministered to at the time of his death could not join the thousand gathered at the pastors funeral to celebrate his life. With the permission of their warden, the prisoners asked the Gerecke family to bring his coffin to the prison prior to internment so they could pay their respects. “Inmates at Menard State Prison marched through the prison chapel yesterday,” the Associated Press reported, “for a last look at the man many considered their only friend.”

Shortly before his death Gerecke wrote, “When men crucify their God they can expect to hear something different. His first word is His last prayer. It sweeps up to Heaven burdened as no other prayer in the history of men. Burdened with sin—all the loneliness and hate and terror of the centuries before or after. . . . The sum of man’s years and man’s shame and the greater sum of God’s forgiveness and God’s love. This is our faith. A religion without forgiveness is only the ghost of religion which haunts the grave of dead faith and lost hope.” ( )