Against Escaping Responsibility

An opponent of National Socialism, Elisabeth Schmitz was asked to give a speech at her school on September 7, 1950 on the occasion of the “Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Fascism”.

She argued against forgetting for We must know about our guilt. ... And we must know about the past for the sake of the future. She viewed the loss of Christian altruism as the principal cause of the Nazi past.

As a Christian, she rejected offsetting German guilt against the guilt of others, something practiced even in the postwar Protestant church. She believed: Human dignity means decision, means accountability. The Germans should not to be allowed to indulge in self-justification.

The teacher trusted in education to combat renewed undesirable developments in society. She thus openly mentioned German crimes in her speech and illustrated them with the fates of individuals. She also referred to individuals in the Christian resistance. For the future, Schmitz placed her hope in a Christian faith that was liberating.