Exclusive Space as a Criterion for Salvation in German Protestantism during the Third Reich

Recent years have witnessed an expansion in the use of spatial conceptions for historical analysis.1 In the fields of Study of Religion and Theology specifically, researchers such as Kim Knott have introduced ‘space’ as an analytical category.2 This term is distinctly polysemic, encompassing, in the religious arena, physical space such as a church, mosque, or synagogue; geographic space such as a region or country; but also social space, perhaps a Baptist women’s choir or a Protestant congregation. In a broad sense, the first two areas, that is, physical and geographical, might be perceived as constructed space, and the third by its content. Our Baptist women’s choir, for instance, is a space in which women of Baptist belief meet in order to sing together. Thus, we already note a certain exclusivity by which entry into this space is governed: one must be a woman, wish to sing, and adhere to the Baptist faith in order to belong. Our Baptist women’s choir, however, is still not an ‘exclusive space,’ as its boundaries are permeable. It would be possible for this choir to accept men into its ranks, perhaps because there was no men’s choir available for those who would like to sing in a group. It would also be possible that the choir numbers among its members someone who does not sing, but performs administrative duties for the group. Furthermore, it would be possible to include non-Baptist members if appropriate, say, for inter-religious projects. In what follows, the term ‘exclusive space’ will extend the spatial conception regarding religion to the feature of ‘race’ (race referring to a racist categorization of humans). For this purpose, ‘exclusive space’ is to be understood in the sense that only a specific group of individuals ever has access to it. ‘Outsiders’ can never enter this ‘exclusive space.’ In this context, then, space becomes a social