Uncommon Allies: American Jews and Christians Uniting Against Hitler, 1933-1945

The emergence of “interfaith amity” between Jews and Christians in America—a development scholars usually place after WWII—should be “relocated” to the war years, according to this fine-grained debut from historian Shore. Exploring how Hitler’s rise strengthened a growing bond between the faiths, Shore highlights four rallies staged by Jewish organizations in Madison Square Garden in 1933, ’34, and ’43 to protest Nazi persecution of European Jews. Leaders framed the rallies as protests of the Third Reich’s “fundamentally un-American and unchristian views,” recruiting well-respected Christian clergy and politicians whose speeches made those links explicit (in his closing remarks, politician Al Smith quoted a Christian hymn that called for peace to “remind Germany of its better self”). Drawing a connection between the era’s liberal Protestant and Jewish values, Shore writes that the interreligious cooperation cemented a “Judeo-Christian” tradition in American culture—though he notes that even as Jewish representation increased, conservative media rhetoric often portrayed Jews as inherently separate from other Americans. Shore’s careful research and cogent analysis brings the rallies to life and effectively draws links to broader developments, such as the growth of Christian Zionism. It’s a thought-provoking examination of the complex bonds between these two faiths. (Aug.)