Martin Luthers Anti Semitism

Luther’s anti-Semitic comments and their use within Nazi Germany are well known, yet there is sometimes still a reluctance to acknowledge this blot on a beloved Reformer’s character. Here Eric W. Gritsch, Lutheran and distinguished Luther scholar, faces the glaring ugliness of Luther’s anti-Semitism head-on. Comprehensively laying out the evidence, Gritsch explores the development of Luther’s thinking about Jews – from his early attempts at converting them to later statements that would incite violence against them – and traces the tragic fallout of his words in subsequent centuries. He also sets Luther’s anti-Semitism within the historical context of European anti-Semitism – from its Greco- Roman origin to its furtherance among the church fathers and during the Middle Ages – yet refuses to exonerate Luther. In so doing, Gritsch offers this considered and honest historical study as a further stimulus for international discussion and another blow against the suppression of truth.