Letters Related to Pastor Krause’s Arrest

Four brief letters provide vivid insight into the dramatic events following Pastor Krause’s detention in May of 1944: Barth superintendent Just had informed the consistory of the Province of Pomerania in Stettin on May 10, 1944 about Pastor Krause’s arrest; he was unable to state any reasons for this action, though.

The Stettin district attorney asked the consistory on May 22 to forward Krause’s employee records since he had been taken into custody for an offence against the Treachery Act. Only at this point did the consistory request on May 25 to be informed of more precise grounds for issue of the arrest warrant.

The Reich attorney general at the People’s Court ultimately informed the consistory on October 19, 1944 that Krause was in custody on suspicion of undermining the war effort but that the proceedings had not yet been concluded.