History Book - Death of a Sunday School pioneer

NICK EICHER: Today is Monday, April 4th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: And I’m Mary Reichard. Next up: the WORLD History Book. This week marks the anniversary of the founding of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Plus, the “People’s Court” in Germany convicts 35-year-old Adolf Hitler to five years in prison for treason.

NICK EICHER: But first, the death of an Anglican layman, philanthropist, and Sunday School pioneer. Here’s WORLD’s Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: Today we begin with April 5th, 1811, and the death of the father of English Sunday school: Robert Raikes. While not the first to promote religious instruction for children, his Sunday School was a harbor for poor and exploited children and not just the children of the parish.

Raikes was editor of the Gloucester Journal and an advocate of prison reform. Frustrated by the difficulties of character reformation once incarcerated, he began contemplating prevention instead of cures. While visiting a slum, he was distressed by the conduct and depravity of the children—reminding him of the old adage: “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”

So Raikes approached the Reverend Thomas Stock of Ashbury, Berkshire. Together, they started a Sunday school for boys. Students were catechized, and learned to read and write—with the Bible as their textbook. Soon, the schools were opened to girls as well. The idea spread quickly, though not everyone approved...

CLIP: There were Christians who thought that on the Sabbath you shouldn’t work—and learning/writing smacked too much of work on the Sabbath. And they weren’t too happy at all about the poor having uncensored access to the Bible…

Audio from the BBC television program: Songs of Praise. Over the next 30 years, Raikes helped start many Sunday Schools across England. It’s estimate that at the time of his death, a half-million students were regularly attending. Many cite Raikes’ religious instruction program as a catalyst for the current English public education system.

Next we fast forward to April 1st, 1924. After a 24-day trial a jury of judges convict Adolf Hitler for his role in an attempted government coup. He was the leader of The National Socialist German Workers' Party at the time.

The courtroom scene was reimagined for the 2003 Canadian television drama: Rise of Evil.

RISE OF EVIL: Heil Hitler. Court finds you guilty of treason. You are hereby sentenced to a fine of 200 gold marks and five years in Landsberg prison. You will, you will, be eligible for parole in nine months [APPLAUSE].

The "Beer Hall Putsch" [puh’ch] occurred five months earlier when Hitler tried to seize power in Munich, Bavaria. He led nearly 2,000 Nazis to the city center, but armed police put down the attempted coup. Sixteen Nazis and four police officers died in the clash. Hitler was wounded but escaped. He was captured and arrested two days later.

The trial began February 26th, 19-24, and received a lot of international publicity. The court proved sympathetic to Hitler and provided him a national platform to promote his ideas.

While serving in Landsberg Prison, Hitler dictated his autobiography: Mein Kampf —in English, “My Struggle.”

RISE OF EVIL: I’ll write a memoir. “Four And A Half Years Against Stupidity, Lies, And Cowardice.” An effective title don't you think? Yes, it’s very good. You might consider shortening it a bit...

After serving less than nine months of his five-year sentence, Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison on December 20th, 1924. He quickly reorganized the paramilitary Nazi organization in to a political party. And within a decade, he became the chancellor of Germany.

And finally, April 4th, 19-49. In response to the growing threat of the U-S-S-R, representatives from 12 Western nations gather in a Washington D-C auditorium to sign the North Atlantic Treaty—creating NATO. U-S President Harry S. Truman:

TRUMAN: War is not inevitable. We do not believe that there are blind tides of history which sweep men one way or the other… Men with courage and vision can still determine their own destiny.

A key term in the treaty is Article 5. It dictates that each participating nation will consider an attack against one member state as an attack against them all.

TRUMAN: If there is anything certain today, if there is anything inevitable in the future, it is the will of the people of the world for freedom and for peace.

The North Atlantic Treaty played a crucial role in winning the Cold War. But at the moment, it finds itself at the center of the conflict in Ukraine … which is one of three current partner countries seeking admission to the alliance.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book, I’m Paul Butler.

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