The following is a precis of a talk given on 18th January 2024 at the church of Notre Dame de France, Leicester Place, London by Dr James Roberts, CCJ Senior Programme Manager.

The Monastic and Orthodox theologian, Mother Maria Skobtsova, was a Russian émigré living in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s. She is remembered as a Righteous Among the Nations for rescuing Jews during WW2; an activity which resulted in her murder at Ravensbruck concentration camp in 1945.

When in Paris, Mother Maria wrote an essay called ‘Four Portraits’. In this essay, Mother Maria writes an allegory about a princess who is caught in the clutches of a three-headed dragon. The princess is fighting for her life, as the dragon tries to kill her.

In Mother Maria’s allegory, each head of this dragon represents a different form of totalitarianism. The first head of the dragon represents communism. The second head represents racist totalitarianism (aligning with the Nazi ideology) and the third represents fascism.

In this allegory, the princess represents democracy.

Democracy, Mother Maria writes, can all too easily be caught in the clutches of totalitarianism. This is especially true when democracy does not have anything to battle the dragon with. If democracy forgets what it stands for, what its ideals are, then it cannot withstand the advances of totalitarian ideology. In fact, democracy may slip into totalitarianism without really realising it.

Mother Maria believed that democracy is fragile. So too are the freedoms which are associated with it. Various forms of totalitarianisms, and harmful forms of governance, can erode these freedoms. If democracy forgets what it stands for, and crumbles into relativity, then its values become fragile, and easy prey for the dragon.

Mother Maria, writing at a time when totalitarianisms were sweeping across Europe and when the freedom of Jews was being eroded, argues that democracy needs a backbone in order to stand up against the dragon of totalitarianism (in all its forms). Democracy cannot be a nebulous or vague concept, it must remember what it stands for and, importantly, maintain the freedom of all people.

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This evening, I would like to share with you a vision for Christian-Jewish relations; one which honours the memory of the Shoah, which builds on the example of the Righteous Among the Nations, and which calls out Christian anti-Judaism.

Positive Christian-Jewish relations do not ‘just happen’. Like democracy in Mother Maria’s allegory, a Christian vision for Christian-Jewish relations needs to know what positive values it stands for, and what negativity it challenges and opposes.

How can Christian-Jewish relations stand up against the fragility of freedom? A vision for Christian-Jewish relations (from the Christian perspective) needs to be one which is informed about the past, self-critical of Christian anti-Judaism, compassionate, constructive, and brave.

When Christian-Jewish relations are intentional, thought-through and considered, they stand a greater chance in combating the dragons of division and hatred, and holding together our fragile social fabric – especially in times of crisis.

What was the Shoah?

As the Shoah moves further back into history, there is a continuing and pressing need to educate people about what happened. The Shoah was the state-sponsored, bureaucratic killing of 6 million Jews across Europe, and millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.

The Shoah did not just appear from nowhere, and it was not just the workings of one particularly evil man, Adolf Hitler. The ‘final solution’ built upon a long history of anti-Jewish and antisemitic hatred across Europe. It was a state-sponsored genocide; one which many ordinary people saw and did nothing about, and one which a number of other states were complicit in.

There were many victims of the Holocaust: those who were deemed racially inferior (the Roma and Sinti people, Slavic people, Black people, disabled people), as well as those who were seen as ‘ideologically’ inferior (or what the Nazis perceived as ‘ideology’) including Jehovah’s witnesses, Communists, Gay people. Jews were by far the majority victims, and the Nazis sought their total destruction (as they also did with the Roma and Sinti people, of whom about half a million were killed).

The period of the Shoah began in the early 1930s with Hitler’s rise to power as Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Soon after, legal persecution of Jews began. Jews were forbidden from having certain jobs, who they could marry was legally defined, freedom of movement was taken away. Jews were banned from cinemas, theatres and sport facilities, the homes of Christians, and public transport.

As the 1930s progressed, the organised persecution of Jews intensified. Ghettos were established, where living conditions were inhumane. Resources (food, medicine) were sparse, starvation and disease spread. The freedoms of people forced into ghettos were further eroded; what agency they had over decisions are often described as ‘choiceless choices’ as they tried to discern, for example, who to give the scraps of food they had access to – the weak or the strong (who perhaps had a greater chance of staying alive). These choices are not really choices in the context of inhumane oppression. 

Camps were established, to which Jews were deported. Some of these camps were detention camps, some labour camps, and some created with the explicit goal of murder on arrival. The complete destruction of the Jews was the aim of the ‘final solution’. This impacted Jewish communities across Europe. Where people were not taken across Europe to camps, whole communities were shot in the ‘holocaust by bullets.’

The Shoah exposed the fragility of freedom for Jews. It took away their freedom of religion, their freedom to work, to have children, to own possessions, to have choices, to live.

A vision for Christian-Jewish relations needs to be aware of this history. It also needs to understand how this happened, and what steps led to the genocide of 6 million Jews. The first step of a new vision for Christian-Jewish relations, then, is education about the past, especially the heights of Jewish hatred in the genocide of the Shoah.

What has Christianity got to do with the Shoah?

Christianity has a long history of hostility towards Judaism and Jews. In many ways, anti-Judaism is ingrained within the Christian tradition. This has had an enormous impact on Jewish communities, from as far back as the first few centuries of Christian theological reflection. Any vision for Christian-Jewish relations needs to acknowledge this history.

In the Scripture of the New Testament, we can see a polemic emerging between Christianity and Judaism, as the ‘parting of the ways’ begins, and two distinct religions develop. Some of the strongest Christian-Jewish polemic in the New Testament has fuelled anti-Jewish biblical interpretation. Difficult texts include Paul’s letters and his characterisation of ‘the Law’ in opposition to the Gospel and sweeping references to ‘the Jews’ as the enemies of Christ in John’s Gospel. The passion narratives, which recall Christ’s death, are at the root of much anti-Jewish interpretation in Christian theology.  

Inspired by these texts, Christianity has consistently erred by placing the blame for Christ’s crucifixion not on the Roman authorities (or indeed upon Christ’s willing sacrifice), but on the Jewish people. Thus, the Jewish people have been branded by Christians throughout history as ‘Christ-killers’; a trope which can still be recognised in contemporary antisemitic libels. 

At the heart of these interpretations is a belief that Christianity has superseded Judaism, annulling the election of the Jewish people, and any contemporary spiritual value for Judaism.

The Nazi ideology was distinct from Christian anti-Judaism. Its racist totalitarian views were in opposition to Christian values, and Christians were persecuted by the Nazis for their resistance. So it's not possible to say categorically that Christianity caused the Nazi ideology. It's more complex than that. But, Christian Europe provided fertile soil for the seeds of modern antisemitism to sprout upon, which led to the Shoah and allowed the racist Nazi ideology to take root. Christian anti-Judaism was at the heart of this.

Understanding the place of Christianity and anti-Judaism, and being self-critical about this is vital. A vision for Christian-Jewish relations involves an element of self-reflection and self-criticism for the churches.

A Vision which is Compassionate

It’s so important to learn about the Shoah, and for Christians to learn about the history of anti-Judaism. It is vital for us to learn facts, dates, and the details of this history. But we also need to be moved in our hearts, and try to appreciate the human stories within this history.

We need a vision for Christian-Jewish relations which is not only informed, but also compassionate.

If this history is not our own, as it isn’t for many Christians, we need to attempt to ‘step into’ memory. We need to try and imagine what it must have been like for Jews, what horrors they must have faced. And we need to deepen our compassionate desire to listen, and to learn.

This isn’t just about the past. A compassionate vision needs to understand the lasting impact that the Shoah has across Jewish communities today – the collective trauma, what it means to have Grandparents or close relatives who were killed, and the completely understandable fear felt by Jewish communities in the context of growing antisemitism across the globe.

A Vision which rebuilds.

Discerning a vision for Christian-Jewish relations, for Christian engagement, is not just about being self-critical of our tradition and editing out harmful interpretations. It is about being compassionate for those whose heritage is wrapped up in this history. It is also, importantly, a vision which seeks to rebuild.

There is a theological task for Christians here, in this rebuilding. There are many questions which arise, that we now need to think about anew. How do we think about the meaning of the covenant(s)? What impact does Christ have on Christian-Jewish relations? How can we positively overcome supersessionism? So much excellent work has been done on redressing the anti-Jewish strain in Christianity. Moving forward, we need to build our own positive theologies of the Christian-Jewish relationship. 

As well as theological reconstruction, there is a practical and communal side too. Building Christian-Jewish relations involves reaching out, forging new friendships and relationships between Christians and Jews; entering into dialogue. Then we can work together for social change and transformation.

It is so poignant to be thinking about rebuilding after WW2 in a building which itself was bombed, and then rebuilt. The vision of constructing something beautiful out of the rubble, which happened here at Notre Dame de France after the War, resonates with the task for Christian-Jewish relations.

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This work needs courage. Not unlike Mother Maria’s allegory with which I began, and the battle with the three headed dragon. We must be courageous to enter into dialogue – it’s not intuitive. This is where interfaith work is brave. And interfaith work is challenging - it’s not all tea and biscuits. We need to follow the example of the Righteous Among the Nations in being brave, entering into dialogue, and standing up for our neighbours. When we have a vision for Christian-Jewish relations which is informed, self-critical, compassionate, constructive and brave, we have the potential to correct the Christian wrongs on the past, and forge new and fruitful relationships with our Jewish brothers and sisters, celebrating the joy of our distinct traditions, and working together to transform our society for the better.