Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis by Tim Townsend
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mission at Nuremberg is the story of Henry Gerecke, a Lutheran pastor and US Army chaplain and his ministry to the Nazis who were tried as war criminals at Nuremberg. I found this book fascinating because it works on many different levels. It is a biography of Pastor Gerecke of course, but it is also an account of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials from an unusual viewpoint: that of the pastor who tried to reconcile the accused with God. There are biographical sketches of most of the Nazis and enough history to put the charges against them into context. But the book also contains interesting discussions of theology; for example the theology of forgiveness in both Judaism and Christianity. It’s a very unusual book and well worth reading.