Digital Continent Winter 2019 | Page 37

This block, block 26, became known as Der Priesterbloc. Over 2720 priests of various nationalities were imprisoned at Dachau, 1240 survived. Two of the priests in the block who survived were Wilhelm Schamoni and a “priest-rogue”, Jesuit Otto Pies. 48 During their internment the priests would discuss the renewal of the Church after the war. They would discuss the question: What role should the Church have in responding to the needs of a world ravaged by war? How can the Church better respond to the needs of the afflicted and continue the work of the diakonia of Christ? In their discussions of the need for a Church which could respond to the needs of the world after the war, a restoration of the diaconate as a permanent ordained office seemed part of the solution. After their liberation and recuperation from their internment, Schamoni and Pies would urge for the renewal of an ordained permanent diaconate. In 1947, Pies would write, “Cell Block 26: Experiences of a Priestly Life in Dachau”, and in 1953, after pleas from Pies, Schamoni would publish, based on notes he kept during the 48 Cf. Pauly Fongemie, ed., Priests: The Persecution of the Catholic Church and the Priests of Dachau. Catholic Tradition.Org. Accessed July 8, 2018, http://www.catholictradition.org/Priests/dachau.htm#3. 29