Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige Experiment

Since the eighteenth century the history of the Jesuit missionary endeavours in South America, especially their forced closure in 1760s, has been used rhetorically by writers in several genres, providing them with historical evidence to support a variety of latter-day causes. During the Second Worl...

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Main Author: F. Hale
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2008-06-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2186
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author F. Hale
author_facet F. Hale
author_sort F. Hale
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description Since the eighteenth century the history of the Jesuit missionary endeavours in South America, especially their forced closure in 1760s, has been used rhetorically by writers in several genres, providing them with historical evidence to support a variety of latter-day causes. During the Second World War the Viennese Jewish playwright Fritz Hochwälder, then living in exile in Switzerland, followed in this tradition when he wrote his tragedy, Das heilige Experiment. It was a timely plea for toleration and religious freedom. Though almost completely ignored in histories of the Society of Jesus, this work vividly illustrates how a dramatic event in the history of Christianity can speak to subsequent issues.
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spelling doaj-art-c84f2757b7ca447c85111f9af32e497c2025-02-11T10:07:46ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892008-06-0128110.38140/at.v28i1.2186Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige ExperimentF. Hale0University of Stellenbosch Since the eighteenth century the history of the Jesuit missionary endeavours in South America, especially their forced closure in 1760s, has been used rhetorically by writers in several genres, providing them with historical evidence to support a variety of latter-day causes. During the Second World War the Viennese Jewish playwright Fritz Hochwälder, then living in exile in Switzerland, followed in this tradition when he wrote his tragedy, Das heilige Experiment. It was a timely plea for toleration and religious freedom. Though almost completely ignored in histories of the Society of Jesus, this work vividly illustrates how a dramatic event in the history of Christianity can speak to subsequent issues. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2186
spellingShingle F. Hale
Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige Experiment
Acta Theologica
title Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige Experiment
title_full Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige Experiment
title_fullStr Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige Experiment
title_full_unstemmed Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige Experiment
title_short Appropriating the closure of Jesuit missions: Fritz Hochwälder's Das heilige Experiment
title_sort appropriating the closure of jesuit missions fritz hochwalder s das heilige experiment
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2186
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