Martin Luther as a Spiritual Icon for Adolf HitlerThe world has been tormented by the specter of anti-Semitism for many centuries. This hatred manifested itself in the frenzy of Nazism and the deaths of six million Jews, the Holocaust as it became known. If someone revealed an eight-step plan for the elimination of Jews from European society, they would easily be associated with Adolf Hitler. However, one would not also think of Martin Luther, although he himself wrote an essay in 1543 entitled "On the Jews and their Lies" in which he outlined such a plan. This is not to say that Luther was similar to Hitler in actions or deeds. This suggests that Luther, the spark of the Protestant Reformation and father of German nationalism, and his teachings had a profound impact on the anti-Semitic thinkers who would follow (Prager 106). It is possible that Hitler and Luther shared a common ideological basis. Luther's attitude towards the Jews is disconcerting. In the course of his theological writings Luther made a drastic shift from sympathy to hate-filled paranoia. Very early in his Protestant career Luther wrote an essay entitled "That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew." In it he calls for tolerance, compassion and peaceful conversion. “…they [the Catholics] treated the Jews as if they were dogs and not human beings” (Luther “That” 33). Luther believed that a purified Christianity, his Christianity, would appeal to the Jews (Patterson 16). Jews could only be truly converted through demonstration of the scriptural basis of Christianity. A Jew was a person of value to Luther. Luther asked how Jews could improve his society (Luther “That” 34). Luther called into question those who supported vi...... middle of paper ......was not bound by Luther's sense of "merciful severity". Therefore, it is not fair to say that Martin Luther was a direct cause of the Holocaust. Rather, Luther's anti-Semitic ideas and proposals provided fertile soil from which the seeds of even more horrific new visions could germinate and grow into full bloom. Works Cited Luther, Martin. “Concerning the Jews and their lies.” 1543. Rpt. in Dispute and dialogue. FE Luther ed. New York: Ktav Publishing House, 1975.---. "That Jesus Christ was born a Jew." 1523. Rpt in Dispute and dialogue. FE Luther ed. New York: Ktav Publishing House, 1975. Mosse, George L. Toward the Final Solution. New York: Howard Fertig, 1978. Patterson, Charles. Antisemitism. New York: Walker and Company, 1982. Prager, Dennis, and Joseph Telushkin. Why the Jews? New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.