Anselm of Canterbury and the Third Reich: Gottlieb Söhngen on Upholding the Humanum Amid the Inhumane

Abstract

Gottlieb Söhngen (1892-1971) is a figure of no small significance: he directed both Joseph Ratzinger’s (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) dissertation and habilitation, and his writings on Anselm of Canterbury’s theological contri-butions illustrate the struggles of a then still nascent theological discipline: fundamental theology. Söhngen’s explorations occur within the context of National Socialist rule, while he teaches theology at Akademie Braunsberg in the eponymous city located in East Prussia (1937-45) during the dark years of the Third Reich. This investigation shows how very much Söhngen does justice to both Anselm’s oeuvre and the Roman Catholic statement, while nevertheless introducing pointers to pre-Christian, Germanic notions in order to flatter the Nazi rulers, but more importantly to underscore how pagan concepts ultimately indirectly prepare the ground for the implantation of the Gospel.