Periodically over the last twenty years or so, I have heard about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But, I have not until recently taken time to learn about his life. Oddly, on the “pre-WOFF” bookshelf, I found two of his works. “Letters & Papers From Prison” published by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc; this edition is the fourth printing in 1975 and was edited by Eberhard Bethage, a very good friend of Dietrich. The second book I found was “The Cost of Discipleship”, written by Bonhoeffer and first published in 1949 as a translation from a work titled “NACHFOLGE” in 1937. This paperback edition was published in 1963 by Macmillan Publishing Company of New York. Honestly, I have not read either book. It was not until I recently viewed a documentary film released in 2003 by Journey Films titled “Bonhoeffer” that I learned more about his life. The documentary contained interviews with relatives of Bonhoeffer as well as some of his students, historians of the time and leaders in the church. It outlined the major events preceding the end of Bonhoeffer’s life in 1945. This film is the resource for this post unless otherwise noted.   

     Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born February 4, 1906 in Breslau, Germany. His father was a university professor and his mother had aristocracy in her family history. He had a twin sister and six other siblings in total. He was the youngest boy in the family. His oldest brother Walter, at 18 years old joined the German army to fight in World War I. He was killed within two weeks of joining. This event seemed to have a profound effect on Dietrich and some would say this helped him decide to join the ministry and later be a pacifist.

    The Bonhoeffer family was characterized as conservative. They would discuss politics often. They were not very religious and did not attend church often. There was some surprise when Dietrich went to study theology at the University of Berlin in 1924. Dietrich obtained his doctorate on theology by the age of 21. A few years later, in 1930, Dietrich went to the USA – New York, for further study and also a teaching fellowship at Union Theological Seminary. Through a friend from school, for the first time he became acquainted with black churches and found a deep appreciation for their type of worship and their community involvement. He purchased recordings of their spiritual hymns and would take them back to Germany upon his return. He would later liken the struggle of African Americans to that of the Jews in Germany.

    Also, while in the USA, Dietrich became good friends with a Frenchman named Jean Lasserre. Lasserre was an ardent pacifist and would affect Dietrich’s outlook and work for years to come. They would have many long discussions and even traveled together across America to an ecumenical peace conference in Mexico. (source here.. http://www.crosscurrents.org/hollandf20.htm ) In 1931, Bonhoeffer headed back to Germany.

   It was at this point that my interest peaked as I learned more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. From here, I will share why I felt it important to take time to write this post and why it is important enough for you to take time to read this post. On January 30, 1933, Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. His rise to power, his methods and his message are material for another post. Two days after Hitler become Chancellor; Dietrich Bonhoeffer was on the radio criticizing him. As far as I can learn, there is no actual recording of the message. There are written drafts. I have read a version of the message, an excerpt from a book titled, “Berlin- 1932-1933” by Bonhoeffer. It is lengthy, but it can be found in Google Books® and purchased from many websites.

    In a brief summary, Bonhoeffer explained the concept of authority and where do certain leaders obtain their authority. Do they obtain authority from the led or the governed or from the office and power above that office? In general, he shared that when a leader takes power from those being led and neglects to adhere to the limitations on that power, while also not continuing to encourage the folks being led to carry their own responsibilities, then that leader becomes a “misleader” and “does wrong to the led and toward himself”. He in essence becomes the idol that the governed desired. The argument Bonhoeffer put forth is lengthy but well thought out. During his speech, his radio address was cut-off. He in effect was warning that Hitler was setting himself up to be an idol to the German people. For years the economic struggles of Germany had left a hunger for answers in the hearts of the people and Hitler came forward promising answers.  

    Early in the film “Bonhoeffer”, Marianne Liebholz, a relative of Bonhoeffer, stated that what she was most proud of was the ability of Bonhoeffer to recognize early on the danger of Hitler and to have the courage to speak out so soon after Hitler became Chancellor. Looking back it may be easy to discount such a note of praise. That is the inherent problem when viewing history. We look back and know Germany’s future under Hitler. Bonhoeffer was seeing his present and not sure of his future or Germany’s. He was sounding a warning that for millions would be ignored. His first voice of dissent would grow and become a very vital part of his work. He was pastor, pacifist and yet later became an active part of the resistance movement against Hitler. That is what I found so intriguing. He had pacifist yearnings and leanings but, eventually would become a very ardent activist seeking to bring Hitler’s reign of idolatry to an end. But, I jump ahead.

    After becoming Chancellor, Hitler made moves to unite the Protestant and Catholic churches in line with his cause and mission. The Catholic Church signed a document promising to not organize against the NAZIs and Hitler’s regime. They assumed Hitler was Catholic and would act with restraint. The Protestant Evangelical church took organizational steps to show agreement with Hitler and submit to him. One part of the film showed Hitler speaking about God and asking God to “..bless our struggles, our liberty and with that our German people and Fatherland.” This portion of the film took my breath. I had never considered that Hitler would have the gumption or presumption to tell Germans that God was with them and blessed their cause. Bless the nation that would take up the destruction of people who were called God’s chosen race- the Jews? It still baffles me. We will take up that theme in another post.

    Reflecting on Bonhoeffer’s drive to speak out, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “It is easy to be sucked in with a structure, a false loyalty, a false church. But, when God gets your attention, you can say no, but, in a sense you can’t say no, you must speak.” In the months to come, many ministers would be jailed. Some would form the “Pastors Emergency League”. Later, Bonhoeffer would be a founding member of the Confessing Church. This church formed in resistance to the NAZIs and the Aryan paragraph. Bonhoeffer would teach in the illegal seminary for the Confessing Church until the Gestapo shut it down in September of 1937. Dietrich would take a trip to the United States again in 1939, but would later regret leaving Germany and would return on the last ship to go to Europe before the war broke out.

    The killing of the Jews was well known in the Bonhoeffer family. Several members of the family were involved in the resistance movement. They convinced Dietrich to join in the cause. He became a double agent for the resistance and would later say of his choice, “I do not regret this path in any way.” The group that Dietrich was a part of would help fourteen Jews escape Germany as well as make several attempts to end Hitler’s life and thus end the carnage Hitler ordered and condoned.

   In April of 1943, papers were discovered by the Gestapo naming Dietrich Bonhoeffer as having knowledge about the plots to kill Hitler. He was sent to Tegel military prison. There he found favor with the guards and was able to continue his writings and letters to those on the outside. After the failed plot on Hitler’s life of July 20, 1944 , information was found linking Bonhoeffer to the conspiracies. Bonhoeffer was moved several times but eventually ended up at the Flossenburg concentration camp. In April 1945, more information was found about the conspiracies and Hitler condemned all conspirators to death. This was only three weeks before the Soviets would capture Berlin. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged with thin wire on April 9, 1945. He is quoted as saying, “This is the end– for me the beginning of life.” Bonheoffer’s brother and two other relatives were executed later that month.

   Many aspects of Bonhoeffer’s life intrigue and inspire me. He was a voice of dissent and it cost him his life. He is quoted as saying, “Where Christ calls us, his call leads to death.” His very plain understanding of authority and the possible resulting idolatry fascinates me. The question of where people in positions of leadership obtain their authority/power is one to ponder when speaking about governments, churches and religious groups of different sorts. We will take that concept up in another post as well as some reflections on Adolph Hitler and his methods and his message.

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      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 188.