Other Letters of Protest from Wurm to Nazi Leaders

Theophil Wurm, Bishop of the Württemberg Regional Church, complained again by letter on December 20, 1943, this time to the head of the Reich Chancellery, Hans Heinrich Lammers.

His letter criticized the ostracism of persons of mixed blood. For the most part, they were members of the Protestant church and would be isolated from the whole of the people. In addition, he addressed the persecution of the Jews anew. He called this policy a grave and fateful injustice for the German people and stated more precisely that killing without the necessity of war and without judgment … also [contradicts] God’s commandment whenever it is ordered by the authorities.

This and other letters eventually prompted Lammers to issue an ultimatum forbidding the regional bishop from any more petitioning. His letter to Wurm from March of 1944 states: I am warning you emphatically and request that, in the future, you most punctiliously stay within the limits drawn by your profession and refrain from observations on issues of general policy. I further advise you urgently to adopt the utmost reserve in your personal and professional conduct (Hermle, Thierfelder, Herausgefordert, p. 585).