Sam ter Welle
The Dutch Reformed Church and Its Stance on the Holocaust
2024 | Full access
This thesis examines the Dutch Reformed Church (NHK) during World War II and its response to Jewish persecution, the Holocaust, in the Netherlands between 1940-1945. The thesis focuses entirely on the actions and words of NHK leadership: the General Synod and the General Synodal Commission. This research is divided into three chapters: the NHK’s reaction to anti-Jewish measures, its involvement in the persecution of the Jews affiliated with a Christian church, and NHK’s resistance, adaptation, or cooperation. Each of these sections is presented in chronological order, providing a historical context before delving into the reaction of the NHK. This research is based on archival material and involves secondary literature dealing with a related topic. After the two chapters it is being asked what the differences are between the reaction of the NHK towards the anti-Jewish measures and their involvement with the Christian-Jewish persecution, which concludes that the NHK prioritized avoiding persecution of Christian-Jews over the Jewish population in general. The third chapter questions the research of early postwar historians who claimed that the NHK was a resistance church and examines which actions, in relation to the Holocaust, would categorize them as adapting to new circumstances, resisting the occupier, or working with the occupier. The chapter concludes that the NHK was not a strong resistance church, but neither was it a church that collaborated with the occupier. The declaration of the Dutch Protestant church about their part in the Holocaust, introduced in the introduction, comes back in the conclusion where it is connected to the findings of this thesis.
Supervisor:
Prof. Bart Wallet