The Bitter Road to Dachau

By Robert L. Wise

Book Overview

Christian Reger's quiet, storybook world collapsed in the frenzy of l939 prewar Germany. Joining the Confessing Church to protest Adolf Hitler and Nazism, the fury of the Reich was unleashed. Ending up in the Dachau concentration camp where 10 percent of the prisoners were men of the cloth, Reger struggled to survive. Crammed into the Pastor's Barracks with other ministers, the clergyman came face to face with man's inhumanity to man. His struggled to endure asked tough questions about God, suffering, and life itself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805430733
• ISBN13: 9780805430738
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Christian Pastor as a Prisoner in Dachau

This is an interesting account of the experiences of Christian Reger, who is a Christian pastor that becomes a member of the Confessing Church, which was an underground organization of Christian pastors and Protestant church members in resistance to the Nazi government. (The Nazis, after they came to power in 1933, began to coordinate various aspects of German society under the concept of "Gleichshaltung", which was really a thinly veiled attempt to control individuality and eliminate opposition to the regime. As part of this Gleichshaltung concept of national coordination, all Protestant churches in 1933 were forced to become part of the Protestant Reich Church and in effect support the Nazis, whose long-term plan, ironically enough, was to eliminate Christianity in Germany altogether.) Christian Reger refused to submit to the Nazis and in 1940 they rewarded him with confinement in Dachau concentration camp, where he survived until its liberation in 1945. "The Bitter Road to Dachau" is the story of his experiences while confined in Dachau (where 1 out of 10 prisoners were clergymen). His story is a fascinating account of what life was like under the Nazi regime and at Dachau from the perspective of a Christian pastor who was part of a Christian-based resistance movement. In that regard, the story of how many men survived under incredibly harsh conditions not only physically but spiritually as well is quite moving. The story itself is worthy of a five-star rating. The problem is that the book may not appeal to the general reader because it does not explain well enough or in sufficient detail the background of the Confessing Church and thus the many references in the book to the Confessing Church might be confusing to the average person, detracting from the overall story and making it harder to follow. Thus, I give the book four stars.

A moving story of Faith and Survival

When religious sect means nothing because of your love for Christ bonded through persecution. A church pastor resists Nazi Socialism and is imprisoned at Dachau prison camp. He and fellow minister are placed in the "pastor's barracks" and humiliated and some tortured to death. The lesson: Faith in Christ in the face of persecution. "All things work together for the good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose." A great read!! Non-stop!