REUNION IN BERLIN

the end of world war ii did not bring peace military and political barriers still divide peoples everywhere tensions and fears deprive humanity of its god-intended unity and help godless dictators to divide and conquer the current ideological struggle in germany is symbolic of the worldwide lines of battle the country is divided between east and west each side wrestling for the souls of the people all this is basically a spiritual problem nations cannot find peace and security until they find god this is both the message and the task of the christian church the churches in germany are not only surrounded by wrecked buildings and rubble they are also battered by atheistic propaganda and in the east zone subjected to communist pressures by a police state signs of russian domination face them on every side yet these evangelical christians resist with a vitality and a stubbornness which match that of the martyrs of old so here in berlin in july 1951 together with other american church leaders i was privileged to observe a remarkable demonstration of this positive christian witness at the third annual evangelical church rally three hundred thousand people came from east and west for a five-day conference to study and discuss the issues vital to their christian faith they represented all classes of society and thought many came in spite of great difficulty and personal danger at the station on friedrichstrasse the visitors from the eastern zone arrived and checked in at the reception office set up on the premises of the barnum bailey circus this made one observer remark the christians are already entering the arena now all we need is a few lions few available rooms were to be found in shattered berlin some people were housed in schools and factories the young boys and girls stayed at camps which in the east zone incidentally had been set up for the international communist youth rally to follow two weeks later many guests and important visitors were there among them was the american high commissioner mr mccloy who visited dr van toden the president of this church rally the solemn opening service was held at saint mary's church among the guests were bishops debelius and lilia pastor niemoler pastor bayaka from the african gold coast dr ehlers the president of the west german federal parliament william peake the communist president of eastern germany the rally was officially opened by dr van tadden as president music was rendered by the famous dresden boys choir is so in four large work groups which met in both the eastern and western parts of the city prominent speakers discussed the theme of the rally after all we are brothers in the church the home the nation and at work the large exhibition halls in the northeast of the city were not large enough for the many people who came here seriously searching for reassuring answers to fundamental questions of their lives what is the place of the church in modern society who has the right to train our children the state or their parents does power make men evil what ends are we really working for after the lectures and bible studies in the morning discussion groups met in the afternoon these were marked by passionate participation and gave stirring examples of courageous witness remember that this affair was largely by and for christian laymen especially the delegates from the east who were introduced by name as everyone else confessed the needs of their consciences seventeen-year-olds called out we have to lie all the time they want us to sell our souls brothers do not condemn us because we have to lie pray for us the speakers did not mince words or mouth platitudes often mentioned dr heinemann former minister of the interior in the bonn government declared that in this century man has displayed his barbarism and terrible involvement in evil the church dare not be the tool of social or political aims but must show how the world has rebelled against god christians must restore integrity so that man can trust and will not betray his neighbor who is neither isolated nor engulfed in a mass but is a brother in god during the sessions people sat outside the overcrowded halls and listened to the addresses through loudspeakers taking down notes to bring back to their home congregations the messages of their church leaders pastor jacobs of cutlass especially challenged challenge totalitarianism in its every form jesus christ it was almost as dangerous to applaud as it was to speak undoubtedly spies were planted everywhere man does not live by bread alone but he does need bread it was almost like the miracle in the bible when the loaves and fishes fed everybody each brought his own dish and received all the soup he wanted some of this food came from christians in america throughout the entire five days of the rally there were many opportunities for real fellowship and for the sharing of ideas the spirit of the meeting overflowed into the streets and captured the people of berlin it overcame the barriers that divide the city and became expressive in words and songs the singing of luther's famous hymn lord keep us steadfast in thy word had special meaning against a background which included communist youth posters and east zone police the proclamation of the gospel to the general public was an important part of the program and a successful one as the days passed many literature starved people from the east zone crowded the reading rooms and for the first time in years were able to enjoy uncensored religious exhibitions and cultural events communist literature is plentiful in east germany but paper for christian literature usually can be secured only from outside especially through gifts from christians in america during the course of the meeting individual groups of the church came together for special discussions here in one hall 8 000 deaconesses met in other places there were meetings of evangelical youth and students in spite of the propaganda which had divided them they met as brothers and sisters trying to understand each other and to exchange ideas an unusual gathering took place at the berlin zoo this was an evening of fellowship thousands of people crowded into the brightly lit paths between the animals cages people sought old acquaintances many met again after years of separation one high point of the meeting was a young people's gathering in the eastern part of the city attended by over 80 thousand boys and girls from all parts of germany their free confession of fellowship and faith was a powerful witness offsetting to some degree the results of political indoctrination forced upon their generation under the cross on the globe this experience was significant because of the locality in which it took place this was the russian zone under communist eyes every word of the sermons given by bishop lilia and pastor jacobs fell on a tent of ears made a profound impression he had kind of naked is 1000 revolutionary dane foreign ice for many this was a contrast to the regimentation and dictatorship of past and present people walk through the streets slowly without commands without uniforms no shouting simply singing and friendly conversation the last day of the rally was sunday it began with church services in all parts of berlin then the men came together once more in the friedrich stadium the women in the vault miller theo muffin the final event brought together over 200 000 people in and around the stadium in west berlin this was the stadium built for the 1936 olympic games and later on was the scene of many fanatic nazi demonstrations as bishop lilia and i sat together in the reviewing stand he reminded me that we sat where the party leaders used to sit and remarked that this use of the vast stadium by christians to demonstrate love and peace and the will to serve god must make hitler turn over in his grave it was a tremendous demonstration of the vitality and devotion of christians many of whom would return home to face persecution again at its close bishop to baillius struck the final note thus lets villain i in amen yes in the fight against the fear and evil of our day the christian church is taking the lead we who are partners must match this courageous witness of our brethren in europe the future holds no fears with a resolute faith like this you