Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (born February 4, 1906 in Breslau, now Wrocław, Poland; died April 9, 1945 at Flossenbürg concentration camp) was a German religious leader and participant in the resistance movement against Nazism. A Lutheran pastor and theologian who played a key role in the leadership of the Confessing Church that resisted Hitler's attempts to co-opt mainstream Protestantism, Bonheoffer took part in the plots by members of the Abwehr (Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Hitler. He was arrested, imprisoned, and eventually hanged following the failure of the July 20 1944, assassination attempt. His writings, especially his book The Cost of Discipleship have become classics of Christian literature, criticizing what he called "cheap grace" and emphasizing that salvation by grace in no way excuses Christians from loving their neighbors or from "taking up the Cross" and following Jesus.
Youth
Born into a large family Bonhoeffer had seven siblings, including a twin sister, Sabine. His father was a prominent German psychiatrist in Berlin; his mother homeschooled the children. Though he was initially expected to follow his father into the field of psychology, he decided to become a minister at a very young age. His parents supported his decision and when he was old enough he attended college in Tübingen, received his doctorate in theology from the University of Berlin, and was ordained. He then spent a post-graduate year abroad studying at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. During this time, he would often visit the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Harlem, where he became acquainted with Black Gospel music. He amassed a substantial collection of recordings of these spirituals, which he took with him back to Germany. He also heard Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. preach the message of the Social Gospel and became sensitive to not only social injustices experienced by minorities, but also the ineptitude of the church to bring about integration. At the same time he grew disillusioned with Liberal Christianity's failure, in his view to emphasize the God's grace and the need for personal salvation.
Return to Germany
He returned to Germany in 1931, where he lectured on theology in Berlin and wrote several books. A strong opponent of Nazism, he was involved, together with Martin Niemöller, Karl Barth and others, in setting up the Confessing Church, which resisted Hitler's attempts to co-opt mainstream German Protestantism. Between late 1933 and 1935 he served as pastor of two German-speaking protestant churches in London. He returned to Germany to head an illegal seminary for Confessing Church pastors, first in Finkenwalde and then at the von Blumenthal estate of Gross Schlönwitz, which was closed on the outbreak of war. The Gestapo also banned him from preaching, teaching, and finally speaking at all in public. During this time, Bonhoeffer worked closely with numerous opponents of Hitler.
Throughout World War II, Bonhoeffer played a key leadership role in the Confessing Church, which opposed the anti-semitic policies of Adolf Hitler. He was among those who called for wider church resistance to Hitler's treatment of the Jews. While the Confessing Church was not large, it represented a major focus of Christian opposition to the Nazi government in Germany.
In 1939 Bonhoeffer joined a hidden group of high-ranking military officers based in the Abwehr, or Military Intelligence Office, who wanted to overthrow the Nazi regime by killing Hitler. In 1943, after money used to help Jews escape to Switzerland was traced to him, he was charged with conspiracy and imprisoned in Berlin for a year and a half. Then, in the wake of the unsuccessful July 20 Plot in 1944, authorities uncovered evidence of Bonhoeffer's connections to the conspirators. He was moved to a series of prisons and concentration camps, ending at Flossenbürg. Here, Bonhoeffer was executed by hanging at dawn on April 9 1945, just three weeks before the liberation of the city. Also hanged for their parts in the conspiracy were his brother Klaus and his brothers-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi and Rüdiger Schleicher. All four men were forced to strip down completely in their cells before walking totally naked to the gallows.
Importance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is considered a martyr for his faith; he was absolved of any crimes by the German government in the mid-1990s. The calendars of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorate him on April 9, the date on which he was hanged in 1945.
An oft-quoted line from one of his more widely read books, The Cost of Discipleship (1937), foreshadowed his death. "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." His books Ethics (1949) and Letters and Papers from Prison (1953) were published posthumously.
The theological and political reasons behind his shift from Christian pacifism, which he espoused in the mid-1930s, to participation in planning the assassination of Hitler are much debated.
Bonhoeffer's letters and papers from prison included vague statements that have intrigued many theologians, including a remark about a "religionless Christianity". It is unknown what Bonhoeffer exactly meant by this and other ideas, but they have sparked a movement in Christian theology labeled, "Secular Theology" popularized by Harvey Cox's book, "The Secular City." Christian theologians since Bonhoeffer have been struggling with how to construct a theology for what Bonhoeffer called "a world come of age." Bonhoeffer is one of the few theologians embraced by both liberal and conservative Christians. It is universally agreed that, with his death, the world lost one of the most insightful theological minds.
Bonhoeffer's nephew by his sister is the conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi, son of Hans von Dohnanyi. He is similarly related to the former SPD Mayor of Hamburg – himself a von Dohnany – and also to the Hungarian composer Dohnany.
Works by Bonhoeffer
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Letters and Papers From Prison, New Greatly Enlarged Edition. ed. by Eberhard Bethge. New York: Touchstone Simon & Shuster (1997).
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke (18 Bände), ed. by Eberhard Bethge. Gütersloher Verlagshaus (1986-1999); English edition (as yet incomplete): Minneapolis: Fortress Press (1995-).
- The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Translated from the German Nachfolge first published 1937 by Chr. Kaiser Verlag München. New York: SCM Press Ltd. (1959).
- Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrick Bonhoeffer. Translated from the German Gemeinsames Leben. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. (1954).
Works about Bonhoeffer
- Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian, Christian, Man for His Times: A Biography Rev. ed. (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2000).
- Denise Giardina, Saints and Villains (Ballentine Books, 1999). A Fictional Account of Bonhoeffer's life.
Films
- Bonhoeffer Martin Doblmeier, 2005
- Bonhoeffer - Agent of Grace Eric Till, PBS, 2000
- Hanged on a Twisted Cross: The Life, Convictions and Martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. T.N. Mohan, 1996
- Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, 2005
- A View From The Underside - The Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Al Staggs
External links
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