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In the winter of 362–363, the Roman Emperor Julian composed a treatise titled Against the Galileans in which he critiqued Christianity as a deceptive, false religion based on, in his words, “that corpse of the Jews”. Julian’s attempt to turn the Empire back to paganism came to an end with his death in battle six months later, but his arguments against the Christian faith would find a new audience in the modern period among various figures including the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire and the playwright Henrik Ibsen. In the 20th century, the figure of Julian would be picked up again as part of the propaganda of the Third Reich. This lecture is presented by Matthew Crawford FAHA, Program Director of Biblical and Early Christian Studies at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry. It will examine the works Kurt Eggers (1906–1943), a Lutheran pastor who became a prolific author and prominent propagandist for the Nazi regime. Eggers was impressed by Julian’s antisemitic and anti-Christian arguments and in 1941 published a German translation of the Emperor’s treatise that was praised by none other than the Führer himself. Eggers’ own life came to an end on the eastern front in 1943, but his works are currently enjoying a renaissance in far-right circles in both Europe and the United States.

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