Germanness on Trial

Germanness on Trial

The German Evangelical Synod of North America and the Espionage Act of 1917

Charles A. Maxfield
Santos Books, 2025
ISBN 9781601269898

Softcover, 88 pp.

An examination of the crisis experienced by a small German-American Protestant denomination at the time of the anti-German hysteria that accompanied World War I. It includes a thorough examination of the trials of two pastors for violating the Espionage Act. It then explores the struggle within the denomination on how to cope with the tsunami of anti-Germanism. Originally a paper presented to the American Society of Church History at Grand Rapids, Michigan, on April 9, 2011. Revised with new information November 2024.

2025.03.25