"Hitler’s Priests: Catholic Clergy in the Nazi Party"
Professional Background
Dr. Kevin Spicer received a Ph.D. and an M.A. in modern European history from Boston College, a Master’s in Divinity from the University of St. Michael’s College, and a B.A. from Stonehill College. During his fellowship at the Museum, he was Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue Committee at Stonehill College, and an appointed member to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Church Relations. For his Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies Fellowship, Professor Spicer conducted research and wrote about “Hitler’s Priests: Catholic Clergy in the Nazi Party.”
Professor Spicer is the author of several scholarly publications including his book Resisting the Third Reich: The Catholic Clergy in Hitler’s Berlin (Northern Illinois University Press, 2004). Together with Stonehill College, the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Danish Museum of Resistance, he organized an exhibition at the Cushing-Martin Fine Arts Gallery on the rescue of Danish Jews during the Holocaust. Professor Spicer is the recipient of a number of awards for his exceptional scholarly work including research grants from the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Holocaust Educational Foundation, among others.
Fellowship Research
During his tenure at the Center, Professor Spicer conducted research on Catholic clergy who were either members of the Nazi party or who publicly supported Nazi ideology and promoted Nazi party goals. He was particularly interested in examining how these priests were able to align traditional Catholic religious antisemitism with Nazi racial antisemitism.
Professor Spicer was in residence at the Mandel Center from September 1, 2005 to May 31, 2006.