Stuttgart Declaration

Stuttgart Declaration. The Stuttgart Declaration, formally known as the "Declaration of Guilt," was a pivotal statement issued by the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany on October 19, 1945. It represented the first collective admission of guilt by German church leaders for failures during the Nazi era and the Second World War. The document was presented to an international delegation of the World Council of Churches in the aftermath of the Allied occupation, marking a crucial step in post-war reconciliation. Its drafting and reception were deeply influenced by key theologians like Martin Niemöller and Otto Dibelius.

Background and context

The declaration emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Berlin and the Potsdam Conference, which solidified the division of Germany into occupation zones. The Evangelical Church in Germany, seeking to re-establish its moral authority after the compromises of the German Christians movement and the Confessing Church struggle, faced immense pressure from both its own congregants and the international ecumenical community. Leaders such as Theophil Wurm and Hans Asmussen grappled with the church's complicity during the Holocaust and the war crimes of the Wehrmacht. The invitation from the World Council of Churches, represented by figures like W. A. Visser 't Hooft and George Bell, provided a critical forum for this confession, set against the backdrop of the Nuremberg trials and the unfolding Cold War.

Content and key points

The text explicitly confessed that the church had not resisted the Nazi regime more courageously and had failed its people through "fear and silence." It acknowledged a shared burden of guilt for the "endless suffering" inflicted upon many peoples and countries, a clear reference to the atrocities of the Eastern Front and the Final Solution. While not detailing specific failures like the Aryan Paragraph or the Kristallnacht, the declaration expressed a commitment to a "new beginning" and internal reform. It appealed for trust from other nations, framing the church's future work within the nascent World Council of Churches and the global ecumenical movement.

Signatories and participants

The declaration was issued by the newly formed Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, which included leading bishops and church presidents from across the occupation zones. Key signatories and influential figures behind the statement included Theophil Wurm of Württemberg, Hans Asmussen from Schleswig-Holstein, and Otto Dibelius of Berlin. The influential pastor and former Dachau concentration camp prisoner Martin Niemöller was a central voice in advocating for a strong confession. The international delegation receiving the statement was led by W. A. Visser 't Hooft, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches in formation, and included Samuel McCrea Cavert from the United States and George Bell, the Bishop of Chichester.

Reactions and impact

Initial reactions within Germany were mixed, with many congregants and some clergy, particularly in the Soviet occupation zone, viewing it as an unnecessary capitulation to the Allies. However, it was positively received by the international ecumenical community, helping to restore broken relationships with churches in countries like France, the Netherlands, and Norway. The declaration facilitated the Evangelical Church in Germany's early readmission into the World Council of Churches at its first assembly in Amsterdam in 1948. It also set a theological precedent for later confessional statements, influencing the Darmstadt Statement of 1947 and the Barmen Theological Declaration's post-war interpretation.

Legacy and historical significance

The Stuttgart Declaration is historically significant as the first major institutional confession of guilt in post-war Germany, preceding political statements like the Warsaw Genuflection by Willy Brandt. It established a model of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming to terms with the past) for other institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany. The document's legacy is debated; some scholars argue it was too vague regarding specific crimes like the Holocaust, while others credit it for enabling the Evangelical Church in Germany's role in reconciliation efforts with Israel and Eastern European nations. Its themes directly informed the Leuenberg Agreement and later ecumenical dialogues, securing its place as a foundational text in 20th-century Protestant church history.

Category:1945 in Germany Category:Protestantism in Germany Category:World War II documents Category:1945 documents