Never Forget

 An eminent philosopher, educator, and advocate for women who became a Discalced Carmelite nun, Edith Stein (1891-1942) died like many millions of others of Jewish ancestry in the Auschwitz concentration camp, a victim of Nazi genocide. Today she is increasingly recognized as a major figure of our times. 


The Catholic Church’s decision to beatify and canonize Edith Stein as a martyr has inspired many. Yet it has also raised important concerns, especially within the Jewish community, about the implications of this action, and of Edith Stein’s life and death, for Jewish-Christian relations. 


The essays in this volume, gathered together by S. Waltraud Herbstrith of the Edith-Stein-Karmel in Tübingen, Germany, and translated by Edith Stein’s niece, Susanne Batzdorff, explore the broad spectrum of Jewish and Christian opinions on the controversy. Also included are the reactions of Edith Stein’s own surviving family members, along with warm remembrances by her former students, friends, and acquaintances. Seveal important new essays have likewise been added for the American edition. 


A useful companion to Edith Stein’s Life in a Jewish Family, this seventh entry in the Carmelite Studies series can help readers better appeciate Edith Stein’s rich and multifaceted personality, along with her significance for the ongoing dialogue between Christians and Jews.



Our being and our life are forced upon us as a problem. We cannot avoid the question of who we are and what we want. And not just the reflecting mind confronts us with this question. Living itself has made our life into a problem.

Edith Stein, Zürich, 1932