From Judaism to Catholicism: The Chronicle of Saint Edith Stein

Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce OCD; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She is canonized as a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church; she is also one of six patron saints of Europe.

Born into an observant Jewish family, Edith became an agnostic by her teenage years, but she was extremely intelligent from a young age and after completing her doctoral thesis at the University of Freiburg in 1916, she obtained an assistantship there. Edith's life changed forever after reading the life of the reformer of the Carmelite Order, Saint Teresa of Ávila. She was drawn to the Christian faith and was baptized on January 1, 1922 into the Catholic Church.

After losing her job at a Catholic school of education in Speyer, Germany, because of new racist Nazi laws, Edith was admitted as a postulant to the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Cologne on October 14, 1933, on the first vespers of the feast of Saint Teresa of Ávila, and received the religious habit as a novice in April 1934, taking the religious name Teresia Benedicta a Cruce (Teresia in remembrance of Saint Teresa of Ávila, Benedicta in honour of Saint Benedict of Nursia). She made her temporary vows on April 21, 1935, and her perpetual vows on 21 April 1938.

In August 1942, Edith and other Jews who had converted to Catholicism were arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz, where they were all gassed to death. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was beatified as a martyr on May 1, 1987 in Cologne, Germany, by Pope John Paul II and then canonized by him 11 years later on October 11, 1998 in Rome.

In July 1942, a pastoral letter condemning the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis was read from all pulpits in Catholic churches throughout the Netherlands. On August 2nd, 1942, the Nazis responded by arresting all non-Aryan Catholics throughout the Netherlands. It's important to understand what the word Aryan meant to the Nazis and so here it is: In Nazi Germany, the terms Aryan and non-Aryan initially were used to define who belonged to German society and who did not.

The Nazis glorified the German people as members of the "Aryan race," or the superior race. Furthermore, they specified that “non-Aryan” applied foremost to Jews, who were identified as the main racial threat to German society. The term was also applied to Roma and Sinti, also known as Gypsies, as well as black people. By targeting non-Aryan Catholics throughout the Netherlands in August 1942, the Nazis were sending a clear message: it does not matter if you convert to another religion, at the end of the day you are still a Jew. The Nazis already has issues with the Catholic Church and were not going to allow Catholic priests to speak out against them.

You see, Nazi principles could not accept an establishment, such as the Catholic Church, whose legitimacy did not spring from the Nazi government. The Nazis wanted the Church to bow down to them. To many Nazis, Catholics were suspected of insufficient patriotism, or even of disloyalty to the Fatherland, and of serving the interests of "sinister alien forces". Nazi radicals also hated the Semitic origins of Jesus and the Christian religion. To put it simply, the Nazis couldn't control the Catholic Church and so instead they took out their anger and hatred on innocent Catholic civilians. Such was the case with Edith Stein, a woman born a Jew who later converted to Catholicism and became a nun. She had been transferred to the Netherlands to protect her from the atrocities being committed by the Nazis but in the end, her faith was sealed the moment she was arrested.

Edith's story, hidden history that has remained long forgotten, is the story of a woman who ultimately remained faithful to both her identities while trying to survive in a fluctuating and precarious society.

 

For the rest of Edith's story, please check out the audio link provided for EPISODE THIRTEEN of our podcast, Hidden History: An Odyssey Through Time

 

LISTEN NOW: From Judaism to Catholicism: The Chronicle of Saint Edith Stein

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Images and Documents

The Stein Family, 1893.

Sisters Erna, left, and Edith, 1900.

Sisters Edith and Erna with nephew Gerhard, son of brother Paul, in the family garden, 1905.

Edith (front row, with light-colored coat) on an outing with family and friends, 1911 (courtesy of Graduate Theological Union, Edith Stein Collection).

Edith Stein, student at University of Gottingen (1913-1914).

Edmund Husserl, Edith's mentor, c. 1910.

Red Cross nurses enjoying free time activities, Edith seated at left, 1914.

Edith Stein in the 1920s.

Edith as a teacher at the Dominican nuns' school in Speyer, Germany, 1928.

Edith's mother, Mrs. Auguste Stein.

Edith Stein at her clothing ceremony, 1934, during which she adopted the name Teresia Benedicta a Cruce, or Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Edith Stein, passport photo, c. 1938-1939 (courtesy of Cologne Carmel Archives).

Rosa & Edith Stein in Echt, the Netherlands, 1940-1942.

Reading Material

Persecution of Jews and other groups was not solely the result of measures originating with Hitler and other Nazi zealots. Nazi leaders required the active help or cooperation of professionals working in diverse fields who in many instances were not convinced Nazis. Church leaders and other members of the conservative elite who were in a position to influence public opinion were all but silent regarding the persecution of Jews.

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In Nazi Germany, the terms Aryan and non-Aryan initially were used to define who belonged to German society and who did not. The term Aryan often was used incorrectly to describe a racial grouping of people. Aryans, however, are not a race and an "Aryan master race" does not exist. The word Aryan is an example of how words that originate as terms to describe seemingly neutral concepts can be adapted, manipulated, and radicalized for ideological or sinister purposes.

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Resources

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Comments

Donna Mendoza
a year ago

Very well said John I really enjoyed this series 👍