Mission at Nuremberg LP

“Townsend’s account is full of surreal moments Gerecke witnessed during his time in Nuremberg” — Publishers Weekly “Rich, potentially explosive. ... Townsend authoritatively addresses the excruciating moral and religious issues confronting wartime chaplains.” — Kirkus Reviews “Gripping.” — Daily Mail (London) “Engagingly told…Townsend illuminates a hidden gem of World War II history and brings to light the life and career of a truly heroic Christian man…an important book. It deserves a wide audience.” — Christianity Today “A gripping story... puts the reader inside the cells of various Hitler henchmen.” — Wichita Eagle “Sheds light on a little-known player in an iconic episode of world history. ... A well-written study about a subject matter that can’t help but hold a reader’s attention.” — America in WWII Magazine “A dramatic story.” — Lutheran Quarterly Lutheran minister Henry Gerecke was fifty years old when he enlisted as an army chaplain during World War II. At the close of the European theater, Gerecke received his most challenging xadassignment: he was sent to Nuremberg to minister to the twenty-one imprisoned Nazi leaders awaiting trial for crimes against humanity. Detailed, incisive and emotionally charged, Mission at Nuremberg unearths groundbreaking new research and compelling first-hand accounts to take us deep inside the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, into the very cells of the accused, and the courtroom where they answered to the world for their crimes. These twenty-one Nazis had sat at the right hand of Adolf Hitler: Hermann Goering, Albert Speer, Wilhelm Keitel, Hans Frank and Ernst Kaltenbrunner were the orchestrators of the most methodical genocide in history. As the drama leading to the court's final judgments unfolds, Townsend brings Henry Gerecke's impossible moral quandary to life. As he worked to form compassionate relationships with these men, how could he preach the gospel of mercy, knowing full well the devastating nature of the atrocities they had committed? And as the day came when he had to escort each of these men to the gallows, what comfort could he offer—and what promises of salvation could he make—to evil itself? Tim Townsend has written for the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , and Rolling Stone , among other publications. In 2005, 2011, and 2013, he was named Religion Reporter of the Year by the Religion Newswriters Association for his work at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . He is a Washington, D.C.-based editor at Timeline.com. Read more