'The chapel truck is coming to your village!': Oostpriesterhulp, Catholic relief and the German refugee problem after World War II
In the aftermath of World War II, between 12 and 14 million Germans residing in Central Europe were expelled from their homes. This involuntary exodus changed not only the demographic composition of post-war Germany but also significantly altered its religious landscape, as several million Catholics...
| Published in: | Trajecta |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Amsterdam University Press
[2017]
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| In: |
Trajecta
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBB German language area KBD Benelux countries KDB Roman Catholic Church RG Pastoral care RK Charity work |
| Further subjects: | B
Politics and Christianity
Catholic Church
B Anticommunism B Missions Theory B Church and social problems Catholic Church B Refugees, German B Reconstruction (1939-1951) B Catholic Church Missions B Pastoral Theology Catholic Church B Straaten, Werenfried van, 1913-2003 B Church work with refugees B Oostpriesterhulp |
| Summary: | In the aftermath of World War II, between 12 and 14 million Germans residing in Central Europe were expelled from their homes. This involuntary exodus changed not only the demographic composition of post-war Germany but also significantly altered its religious landscape, as several million Catholics established themselves in areas that had been Protestant since the Reformation in the sixteenth century. The miserable lot of these expellees attracted the attention of a wide range of Catholic charities. One such organization was Oostpriesterhulp (Eastern Priests Relief Organization). Founded in Belgium by the charismatic Premonstratensian Werenfried van Straaten, it initially assisted the Catholic priests in the German diaspora but gradually broadened its scope to assisting all Catholics, worldwide, suffering from repression, discrimination, or in pastoral need. Today, Aid to the Church in Need (as the organization has been called since 1969) is one of the largest Catholic charities worldwide. This article sheds light on the phenomenon of international Catholic charity after the war and Oostpriesterhulp in particular. To this effect, if focuses on its most emblematic initiative, namely the Chapel Truck Action. From 1950 onwards, each year during the summer season, a convoy of trailer coaches converted into mobile chapels and loaded with gifts and food, would travel into Germany and visit the isolated pockets of Catholics in the diaspora. Boosting their pride and self-consciousness for at least a couple of days, such visits confirmed these minorities in their hopes that the Church had not given up on them. This article discusses how Oostpriesterhulp managed to transform this major pastoral and logistical problem into a captivating project that left no one untouched. To this effect we look at the Chapel Truck Action from three angles: as a prime example of the mobilizing force of Catholic charity in the aftermath of World War II; as a particular form of Christian mission in the context of the Cold War; and as an example of itinerant worshipping infrastructure for an increasingly mobile society. In this manner, the Chapel Truck Action becomes a prism through which the goals and strategies of Oostpriesterhulp can be assessed |
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| ISSN: | 2665-9484 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Trajecta
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