Jürgen Moltmann

Jürgen Moltmann (born April 8, 1926) is a Christian theologian.

Theology in the Camps

He was first confined in Belgium. In the camp at Belgium, the prisoners were given little to do. Moltmann and his fellow prisoners were tormented by "memories and gnawing thoughts" -- Moltmann claimed to have lost all hope and confidence in the German culture because of Auschwitz and Buchenwald (concentration camps where Jews and others the Nazis opposed had been imprisoned and killed). They also glimpsed photographs nailed up confrontationally in their huts, bare photographs of Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen.² Moltmann claimed his remorse was so great, he often felt he would have rather died along with many of his comrades than live to face what their nation had done.

Related Topics:
Belgium - Auschwitz - Buchenwald - Jew - Bergen-Belsen

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Moltmann met a group of Christians in the camp, and was given a small copy of the New Testament and Psalms by an American chaplain. He gradually felt more and more identification with and reliance on the Christian faith. Moltmann later claimed, "I didn't find Christ, he found me."

Related Topics:
Christian - New Testament - Psalms - Chaplain - Christ

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After Belgium, he was transferred to a camp in Scotland, where he worked with other Germans to rebuild areas damaged in the bombing. The hospitality of residents toward the prisoners left a great impression upon him. In July of 1946, he was transferred for the last time to Northern Camp, a British prison located near Nottingham, UK. The camp was operated by the YMCA and here Moltmann met many students of theology. At Northern Camp, he discovered Reinhold Niebuhr's Nature and Destiny of Man--it was the first book of theology he had ever read, and Moltmann claimed it had a huge impact on his life.

Related Topics:
Northern Camp - Nottingham - YMCA - Theology - Reinhold Niebuhr

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