From the depths

The Shoah profoundly influenced Western thinking about God and man. How does an all-powerful, loving God allow himself to be thought in the face of evil and suffering in the world? Siertsema's study of diaries from the concentration camps shows how people who are victims of extreme evil deal with their faith in such a situation.

What questions does one face and what answers does one find? Does faith provide comfort and support or can faith actually increase suffering?

The experiences in and with the Nazi concentration camps have had a great influence on our view of man and God ('theology after Auschwitz'). What exactly happened in the camps, however, seems to escape our understanding and comprehension.

This study brings together and compares all published Dutch diaries and memoirs about the Nazi concentration camps, with special attention to the theological, ethical and literary aspects. Not only well-known writers such as Abel Herzberg, GL Durlacher, Etty Hillesum, Floris Bakels and Hellema are discussed, but also writers who are known more theologically than literary, such as J. Overduin and Corrie ten Boom, and in addition more than a hundred other, lesser-known authors.