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The resistance to the Holocaust from the clergy came in myriad forms. There was sporadic resistance from German clergymen, who protested against the Nazi euthanasia policies and the atrocities aimed at Jews. In other European countries, clergymen defied Nazi deportation orders by hiding Jews in monasteries and convents. The clergy distributed forged identity cards and certificates of baptism to shelter Jews or to make it easier to smuggle them to safety into neutral territories. In particular, the clergy played a major role in saving many Jewish children from death. Pastors, priests, and bishops also protested official Nazi decrees, arguing that they violated basic humanitarian principles. A few clergy willingly gave up their lives, thus becoming martyrs for refusing to be judged by Nazi law, surrendering instead to divine justice. This chapter focuses on stage representations of the sacrifices the clergy made during the Holocaust as reflected in Celeste R. Raspanti's No Fading Star, Arthur Giron's Edith Stein, and David Gooderson's Kolbe's Gift.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137000613_6

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