As a result of his growing knowledge of the harsh realities of the Holocaust and World War II, following the war, Franklin Littell went to work in the Religious Affairs branch of the Office of Military Government in U.S. occupied Germany. He served as a religious advisor to the U.S. Government, specializing in Germany’s protestant churches, and he was also a leader in the growing Christian lay movement there (more on those activities later). As a result of his work and position, from time to time he was afforded the opportunity to travel into Soviet-occupied Germany. The following are portions of a letter written home about his experience the first time he made this journey in 1949.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Courtney Smerz, Project Archivist

 

 

 

 

 

Franklin H. Littell was Temple faculty member and scholar of religious history, whose focus lay in the history of sects and of Christian/Jewish relations.  He also brought world-wide attention to the importance of studying the Holocaust and its causes, and a large percentage of the more than 400 linear feet of papers (think the equivalent of 50 four-drawer filing cabinets) document that work.  This is one of the occasional posts about what we’re finding as we preserve and organize the collection for research use.