Talk:Maximilian Kaller
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This Is very interesting -- another one of those "not the whole truth" things. According to Kaller's online biography, he was at best a very politically naive man who seemed oblivious to the downside of the Nazis. Apparently, his tenure in Ermland was from the beginning troubled. There was resistance because he wasn't a local, and he made repeated faux pas that offended lots of people. He was pretty avid in forcing his Polish parishioners to participate in German-language liturgy. At the end of the war, he claimed the Heimatvertriebene were not victims, but God's chosen. Some of these latter parishioners have tried to put his name forth for canonization.
On the other hand, Hlond is also an interesting character. He was ousted from Poland by the Nazis. He returned at the end of the war, when as primate of Poland, he ousted Kaller. He would clearly have been within his rights to do so. From the articles I read (and there are few that aren't in Polish), it seems he ousted Kaller in part because he was seen to have been on the side of the Nazis. Interestingly, Hlond was also very active in standing up to the Soviet repression of the Church in Poland. So, his motivations are not entirely clear, but may have had less to do with any inherent unfairness than as a response to a Bishop who was already unpopular among many parishioners and who would not have been able to keep any real authority after the war. Hlond's record vis à vis the Jews in Poland is pretty bad, but typical of many clerics of the time. His name has also been put forth for beatification, not just by a small minority. Personally, if the Yad Vashem site is correct, I'd have second thoughts about that. Hlond was instrumental in setting up ministries for displaced Poles after the war, though. JHK
- I removed
"He returned during the worst time , when his flock needed him most."
I don't think this emotional remark has its place in an encyclopedia.
Kpjas
This needs a rewrite. Although it cites a source, it really is based on something inherently biased. It's also problematic because there are other soures out there that could be used. I'm sure HJ won't like it, but I'll look at some other stuff and revise. I find it impossible to just ignore the man's role in working with the Nazi government, and think we should be suspicious of any article that glosses over the Nazi occupation to highlight the problem of the Heimatvertriebene. It isn't true and it isn't history if the picture isn't in perspective.JHK
For Bishop Kaller's roll against Nazi policies, about the Soviet Union propaganda aimed at destroying the Catholic Church strong influence in Eastern Europe in order to conquer Eastern Europe, plus the aid the Soviet Union received from the American Protestants in establishing complete hold of Eastern Europe, read http://www.catholicreform.org/persecution.html and http://www.catholicleague.org/pius/piusnyt/war.htm user:H.J.
The German clergy was not persecuted per se. Only opponents of Hitler were persecuted, and major parts of the clergy were rather supporting Hitler than fighting him. They welcomed his anti-semitism, which had a long tradition in christian churches, as well as they welcomed his anti-communism. -- JeLuF
