Saving Germany

Introduction

Historians have mainly concentrated on the significance of the Marshall Plan, the creation of NATO, and exports of pop culture to describe the role of North Americans in the development of West Germany after the devastation of the Second World War.

Focus of the Book

Saving Germany, James Enns brings an entirely new focus to West Germany’s recovery by demonstrating how North American missionaries played a formative role in cultivating the humanitarian and spiritual conscience of postwar Germany.

Categories of Missionary Agencies

Enns begins by categorizing the kinds of Protestant missionary agencies active in West Germany, which ranged from mainline churches overseeing ecumenical humanitarian and church reconstruction projects to independent evangelical mission agencies working alongside local church groups.

Key Themes and Responses

He then identifies notable themes that contextualize the spectrum of missionary responses, including the degree to which missionaries intentionally functioned as agents of Western democracy.

Notable Figures

In addition to discussions of well-known figures such as US evangelist Billy Graham, Enns highlights the important contributions of the Janz Quartet from the Canadian prairies and Robert Kreider of the Mennonite Central Committee.

Conclusion

Tracking thirty years of transnational Christian missionary work, Saving Germany demonstrates the significant role of North American missionary agencies in the reconstruction of Germany.