Text
The Declaration can be found in English and in German here.
The Declaration states in part:
| “ | Through us infinite wrong was brought over many peoples and countries. That which we often testified to in our communities, we express now in the name of the whole church: We did fight for long years in the name of Jesus Christ against the mentality that found its awful expression in the National Socialist regime of violence; but we accuse ourselves for not standing to our beliefs more courageously, for not praying more faithfully, for not believing more joyously, and for not loving more ardently. | ” |
The Declaration makes no mention of any particular atrocities committed during the Third Reich or of the church's support for Hitler during the early years of the regime.
One of the initiators of the declaration was pastor Martin Niemöller.
Read more about this topic: Stuttgart Declaration Of Guilt
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