The Collected Works of Titus Brandsma, Vol. 7: National Socialism and the Struggle for Peace

By: Elisabeth Hense

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In this volume we present all writings in which Brandsma critiqued National Socialism and its race ideology. Among these writings are notes for his teaching at the university in which he argued that National Socialist philosophy and politics were not compatible with Catholic teaching and the practice of the Catholic faith. Brandsma, therefore, protested against the National Socialist measure to dismiss Jewish children from Catholic schools in the Netherlands, and he attempted to resist this measure as long as possible.

We also present all writings about Brandma's struggles for peace. In 1925 he was actively involved in the erecting of a New Catholic Union for the Promotion of the Peace of the World and became a member of the board of that union. In publications and on the radio, he untiringly advocated for peace on an international, national and personal level and he wished to politically strengthen the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations. Again and again he considered the idea of disarmament and discussed the causes of wars in human history. Although he was not a pacifist in a strict sense, he warned of the dangers of an unrestricted arms industry and the fatalist belief that wars are an unavoidable part of human cohabitation.