''Protestantische Rompilger'' (Protestant Rome Pilgrims) (subtitled: ''Der Verrat an Luther'', or ''The treason of

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

'') was a polemic written by

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

to answer the Protestant criticism (mainly from the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German ...

) of his 1930 '' The Myth of the Twentieth Century''. It was also aimed against

Friedrich Rittelmeyer Friedrich Rittelmeyer (5 October 1872, Dillingen an der Donau, Bavarian Swabia – 23 March 1938, Hamburg) was a Lutheran German minister, theologian and the principal founder and first leader of The Christian Community. Rittelmeyer came to prom ...

and the Christengemeinschaft (Christian Community). In it, he demanded that the German ''Volk'' be released from Christianity and called Christian teachings of sin and grace as "teachings of inferiority". It was published by the Hoheneichen-Verlag,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, in a gift edition (already on its 4th edition by 1932, 696 S.), Volksausgabe (from 1933, 712 S.), Dünndrucksaugabe (712 S), and in an 86-page 1937 edition.

Reactions

Protestant churches

The work released a storm of indignation from the Deutschen Evangelischen Kirche (German Evangelical Church), Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche (Evangelical-Lutheran Church), Bruderrat der Evangelischen Kirche (Council of Brethren of the Evangelical Church), Schlesische Bekenntnissynode (Silesian Confessional Synod), Martin-Luther-Bund (Martin Luther League) and other connected organisations. 96 church leaders signed the ''Die Erklärung der 96 evangelischen Kirchenführer gegen Alfred Rosenberg'' against it in 1937. Walter Kunneth was a prominent Lutheran involved in the polemical controversy against Rosenberg.

Roman Catholic church

Bishop

Alois Hudal Alois Karl Hudal (also known as Luigi Hudal; 31 May 188513 May 1963) was an Austrian bishop of the Catholic Church, based in Rome. For thirty years, he was the head of the Austrian-German congregation of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome and, until ...

, rector of the foundation of

Santa Maria dell'Anima , native_name= , image=Santa Maria del Anima I.jpg , caption=Façade of the church. , mapframe=yes , mapframe-caption=Click on the map for a fullscreen view , mapframe-zoom=12 , mapframe-marker=religious-christian , coordinates= , location=Via di ...

and an expert of the

Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...

, played a large part in getting "Myth of the 20th Century" placed on the

Index of Forbidden Books The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidde ...

on 7 February 1934 as a result of ''Protestantische Rompilger''.

Nazism

Replies

* ''Ein Wort zu Alfred Rosenbergs Protestantische Rompilger: Rompilger oder Protestanten?'' Ulrich Nielsen, 1937 * ''Flugblatt des protestantischen Dekans'', Kornacker, 1937 * ''Evangelische Wahrheit! Ein Wort zu Alfred Rosenbergs Schrift'',

Walter Künneth Walter Künneth (1 January 1901 in Etzelwang – 26 October 1997 in Erlangen) was a German Protestant theologian. During the Nazi era, he was part of the Confessing Church, and in the 1960s took part in the debate around the demands of Rudolf Bultm ...

* ''Antwort auf den Mythus'', Walter Künneth, 1935 * ''Wider die Verfälschung des Protestantismus'', Walter Künneth * ''Evangelische Wahrheit! Ein Wort zu Alfred Rosenbergs Schrift "Protestantische Rompilger"'', Walter Künneth, 1937 * ''Verrat an Luther? Erwiderung auf Alfred Rosenbergs "Protestantische Rompilger"'', Siegfried Scharfe

Bibliography

* ''Ökumenisches Jahrbuch 1936-1937'', Friedrich Siegmund-Schultze, Hrsg., 434 S., Max Niehans Verlag, Zürich * ''Ein Wort zu Alfred Rosenbergs Protestantische Rompilger : Rompilger oder Protestanten?'', Ulrich Nielsen, Basel, Schriften Verlag, o.J. (nach 1937). 1. Auflage, 12 S., OBroschur, Evangelische Schriften Heft 8, Eine Entgegnung zu Rosenbergs Schrift von aufrichtigen Christen * ''Protestantische Rompilger, Flugblatt des protestantischen Dekans Kornacker'', Kornacker, 1937, Kempten * ''Antwort auf den Mythus'', Walter Künneth, 1935, 215 S., Wichern-Verlag, Berlin * ''Evangelische Wahrheit! Ein Wort zu Alfred Rosenbergs Schrift "Protestantische Rompilger"'', Walter Künneth, 1937, 30 S., Wichern-Verlag, Berlin * ''Wider die Verfälschung des Protestantismus'', Walter Künneth * ''Hitlers Pädagogen - Theorie und Praxis nationalsozialistischer Erziehung, Teil II: Pädagogische Felder'', Hermann Giesecke, 2. Überarb. Aufl., Juventa-Verlag 1999, Weinheim {{Authority control 1930s books Nazi works Anti-Protestantism Anti-Christian sentiment in Germany