Martin Luther: Hitler's Spiritual Ancestor [Paperback]

Peter F. Wiener (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999 | ISBN-10: 1578849543 | ISBN-13: 978-1578849543 | Edition: 2

A foreword by Frank R. Zindler describes the relations of the never-excommunicated Catholic Adolf Hitler with two popes and his comment that "Luther, if he could be with us, would give us his blessing." A reprint of a book written during the last months of the war in Europe, the book discusses Luther the man, his unstable character, his often treacherous actions, his views and teachings on marriage, truth, the state, war, the Jews, the peasants, and Germany. The growth of the unrealistic, positive legend of Luther is examined, with a concluding essay "From Luther to Hitler."

Editorial Reviews

Review

It is easy to see how Luther prepared the way for Hitler. -- Dr. William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury

We must hope that the next swing of the pendulum will put an end to Luther's influence in Germany. -- Very Rev. W. R. Inge, Church of England

Written near the end of World War II, this little book shocked England and America... -- Frank R. Zindler, editor, American Atheist Press

About the Author

Peter F. Wiener (1870-1949) was a teacher of German and French living in England during the years of World War II. Educated in Germany, France, England, and other countries, he developed a supranational view of history and religion which he taught to his students. His reading of the works of Martin Luther in the original, bawdy German conflicted with the "Here I stand" legend of Luther so ubiquitous at the time. He was the author of "German for the Scientist," and "German with Tears."

Product Details

• Paperback: 110 pages
• Publisher: Amer Atheist Pr; 2 edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578849543
• ISBN-13: 978-1578849543
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #800,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Objective and historically accurate, January 16, 2007

By 

Mr. Paul A. Ackermann "Observer" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martin Luther: Hitler's Spiritual Ancestor (Paperback)

It seems to me that there are many here who treat Luther as a demi-god. To them Luther could do no wrong because he saved us from the big, bad Catholic Church.

I am tired of people apologizing for Luther's comments, saying that he is being taken "out of context". How do you take it "out of context" when you read that Luther said that we should round the Jews into their synagogues and burn it down? Is there a way that can be taken in a nice way? I have read how the apologists for Luther explain away his quotes, such as when he said we should "sin boldly". It doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Or how can this be taken out of context?

"Christ committed adultery first of all with the woman at the well about whom Saint John tells us. Was not everybody about Him saying: `Whatever has he been doing with her?" Secondly, with Mary Magdalene, and thirdly with the woman taken in adultery whom He dismissed so lightly. Thus even Christ, who was so righteous, must have been guilty of fornication before He died"

How can that statement be taken out of context? How can it be, within the right context, that it is all right to say that our Lord was a fornicator?

The author was not a Catholic. He did not have an axe to grind. He does nothing but quotes from Luther to speak for himself. The quotes are extensive. Even if half of the can be explained away, it still shows a very dark side to Luther.

By contrast, the apologists for Luther are Lutheran or at least Protestant. I would like to see a non-Protestant defend Luther. Then their arguments would carry weight.

Luther was a very complex individual. One minute he could write something very beautiful, the next minute he could write something very ugly. His apologists try to explain away his uqly quotes. His detractors ignore his

beautiful quotes. But the truth is that he was capable of saying both.

32 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Controversy comes in small packages, July 2, 2001

By 

"myerb" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Martin Luther: Hitler's Spiritual Ancestor (Paperback)

"Hitler's spiritual ancestor" is a short book that tackles some very large questions. The author Peter Wiener wrote the book towards the end of World War II and was a Christian of German origin. The huge questions that he tackles include: "How could the German people allow Hitler to lead them into a war that was so brutal, destructive and remorseless?", "Who was Martin Luther...really?" and "What part did Martin Luther's teachings play in the horrific genocide of the second world war?". Although the author doesn't answer all these questions completely (then again who could?), he brings up some excellent points and allows the reader to "see for themselves".

This work does not portray Luther as the "Great Reformer" that many theologians remember him as. The author does an excellent job of portraying Luther with 'warts and all' and he does this by using Luther's own writings against him. He argues that Luther set the scene for the bloodiest genocide in human history. His teachings, and his philosophy were instrumental in paving the way for a German nation filled with people that had a warped idea of Christianity and humanity. In fact the author portrays it as a "pseudo-political German religion" that puts the nation first and Jesus second. After hundreds of years of being indoctrinated by Luther and his unbelievable theology, it is no wonder that the people of Germany were so easily able to accept Hitler and his maniacal, nationalistic ideas of ethnic cleansing.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A somewhat weak argument, September 10, 2011

By 

The Librarian (Manassas, Virginia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Martin Luther: Hitler's Spiritual Ancestor (Paperback)

To be fair, it is obvious that Peter F. Weiner did extensive research before he wrote his 104 page book on the relationship between Martin Luther and Adolph Hitler; however the implied promise of the book is never truly realized.

Weiner does a fairly admirable job of showing that Martin Luther was not the heroic and blameless champion that many Germans and Lutherans from all over the Western world claim him to be. And indeed he piles up more than enough evidence to show that Martin Luther was extremely anti-Semitic and an advocate that gave his blessing for kings and princes and other authority figures of Germany to arrest, torture, oppress and even execute all of those "inferior" beings such as the Jews and the peasants that might be found on German lands.

He also proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Martin Luther was a strong proponent of war and that he had a great hatred of the French and the English. He hated foreigners and was a great believer in Germany over all.

And then after dedicating most of the pages in his book to Martin Luther, Weiner (almost as an afterthought) writes a small amount about Adolph Hitler and makes some small effort to connect the dots and explain why Hitler's hatred of the Jews, contempt for all non Germans, and belief in the use of brutal and deadly force was something that Hitler acquired from Martin Luther.

To be fair, Peter Weiner does at least BEGIN to build a case for how Martin Luther is Hitler's "spiritual ancestor"; however he never really finishes the job.

He very briefly mentions German anti-Semitic preacher and politician Adolph Stoecker who was influenced by Martin Luther and he strongly hints that Hitler growing up in the time that he would almost certainly have been influenced by Stoeker.

However this is a weak argument as are Weiner's brief mentions of Friedrich Naumann.

And of course the fact that Hitler was raised as a Catholic and remained a Catholic his entire life is never analyzed. If Hitler was truly the spiritual ancestor of Martin Luther why did Hitler never convert to Lutheranism? Also, Weiner never investigates the many anti-Semitic popes and other anti-Semitic Catholic leaders of the past 400 years. Why couldn't one of THEM have been responsible for the way Hitler turned out?

In all fairness, 104 pages is probably not enough to make a strong case for Martin Luther being to blame for Hitler's paranoia, German nationalism, anti-Semitism and bent for bloodthirsty conquest, however if Weiner was unwilling to write a longer book that was able to "connect the dots" in a satisfying manner than it is my opinion that he should have chosen a different title for his book.

Perhaps "MARTIN LUTHER: WARTS AND ALL" or "MARTIN LUTHER: NOT A HERO OR A GERMAN DEMI-GOD" or perhaps "MARTIN LUTHER: AN HONEST LOOK AT A DEEPLY FLAWED MAN".