Father Charles Coughlin (1891–1979)

A Canadian-born Roman Catholic priest serving at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan, Charles Coughlin became one of America’s most influential radio voices in the 1930s. His broadcasts blended religious language with political activism, reaching millions during the anxieties of the Great Depression and the rise of totalitarian regimes overseas. Coughlin’s popularity showed how modern media could amplify a pulpit far beyond a parish—and how spiritual authority, once tied to partisan heat, could be misused to inflame fear rather than form conscience.

November 20, 1938: A Broadcast After Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”) erupted in Nazi Germany on November 9–10, 1938, with synagogues burned, Jewish businesses wrecked, homes attacked, and thousands arrested. In a November 20 broadcast, Coughlin defended this wave of terror as “retaliation,” arguing that Jews were connected to atheistic persecution in Soviet Russia and implying that Jews and Communists were responsible for the coming war. By treating a whole people as guilty and by rationalizing violence as payback, the message turned grievous suffering into an excuse for further injustice.

Scripture rejects such logic. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). And, “for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:20). Political fear—whether of Communism, economic collapse, or war—never authorizes slander, scapegoating, or the blessing of vengeance.

Witness, Repentance, and Neighbor-Love Under Threat

This day stands as a warning that religious speech can be weaponized: true words about real evils can be twisted into accusations against the innocent. Believers are called to careful truth-telling, refusing conspiracy and collective blame, and guarding the heart from envy, rage, and tribal loyalty.

Heroism often looks quiet: pastors who refuse to echo lies, congregations that shelter the vulnerable, and ordinary Christians who choose costly compassion over the safety of silence. The standard remains clear: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).