The
Priest and the Nazi is the raw tale of two
characters who represent two of the most controversial issues in our recent past. The Nazi demands asylum from the
church and a priest
feels obligated to grant his request. Despite this, the priest feels a need to find out if this man can
actually be saved. His underlying fear is that the Nazi killed Jews not because of pressure from the SS but because he actually enjoyed the feeling of killing. While uncovering the horrid truth, the priest’s own demons also surface. The Priest and the Nazi is captivatingly dark. I really wanted to see some aspect of hope and light in these two characters so I kept on reading. Instead, I found the similarities in between what typically should have been two extreme character types to be very refreshing and not at all what I had expected. That the
book also touches upon some very important questions about the role of the Catholic Church during the atrocities of World War II is also quite brave.