Hitler’s Priest is a gripping story about the journey of two families during the Holocaust. The story centers on Hans Keller, a young German architect invited by Josef Goebbels to become a Catholic priest in order to influence the Vatican.
His journey from young orphan irreligiously raised by his adoptive Jewish parents to devoted Nazi takes a fascinating series of twists and turns. The novel is filled with the tension and horror of the period and the controversies that have never been resolved regarding the relationship between the Church and the German government during the second world war. Some may be surprised to know that there were actually high-level clerics who were supportive of Hitler and wished the Roman Church and the Government to form an alliance that would benefit both.
There were also countless clerics and nuns, heroes and heroines, who, at great personal peril, did all that was humanly possible to prevent or at least alleviate the persecution of the Jews. The novel addresses the fundamental question, “Did the Church have a responsibility to openly speak out against the atrocities?
There were and are strong arguments on both sides. I have attempted to be balanced and fair in the answering of this question.
Book will be published in June, 2012.
Sal's Reflections 