There is no ISBN for this book and as far as I know it was last published in the English language in 1948. The author was born 1903 and died fifty-five years later having written many books and poems in his native German language. He was thirty-five years old when this book was published in Germany and he was strongly censured by Hitler’s government for its content. It is a veiled, but clear attack on totalitarian governments couched in a story about Spain’s incursions into the Americas. It concerns a monk named Las Casas whose life is dedicated to the freeing of the native Indians from the imperial and mercenary domination of the Spanish Empire. This powerful message would have been highly offensive to the German Government of Hitler’s Germany and needs to be heard today. The book will stir the hearts of God’s ministers to a deeper faithfulness to Him and His ways, away from the politics of their denominations, churches and secular governments. The reasoning and arguments of Las Casas as he faces the Imperial Court in Spain are incontrovertible. On the surface the book deals with events in the Spanish colonies and Imperial policy but in truth the book is an examination of the rights of States and individuals as viewed in the sight of God. The book is rarely available second hand. Some of the other writings of Schneider have been translated into English but are difficult to find. When you read books like this you breathe an atmosphere, you drink of a spirit, you are lifted to the heights of a holy perspective, a godly perspective and are silenced and brought to the worship of God the Creator and Redeemer of mankind. Reinhold Schneider had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1938 and that conversion to God was against the background of the wicked designs of Hitler and his government and the inveigling of the German people into the fulfillment of his plans as their nationalistic spirit was exploited. Clearly Schneider’s conversion was a real and powerful one and he became another of the witnesses that God always raises up to bear testimony to His ways and against the wickedness of man. We tend to think of God’s witnesses as being preachers and expositors of His word but He causes His vessels to speak by novels such as this one also.
