Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have become widely influential; his 1937 book The Cost of Discipleship is described as a modern classic. Apart from his theological writings, Bonhoeffer was known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship, including vocal opposition to Nazi euthanasia program and genocidal persecution of Jews. He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Tegel Prison for a year and a half. Later, he was transferred to Flossenbürg concentration camp.
Though many believe Bonhoeffer was accused of being associated with a plot to assassinate Hitler, the actual arrest and court documents show that he was arrested for his involvement in "Operation 7" – which succeeded in saving the lives of first 7 then 14 Jews. He was hanged on 9 April 1945 during the collapse of the Nazi regime.
Childhood and family Bonhoeffer was born on 4 February 1906 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), into a large family. Dietrich and his twin sister, Sabine Bonhoeffer Leibholz, were the sixth and seventh children out of eight. His father, Karl Bonhoeffer, was a psychiatrist and neurologist, noted for his criticism of Sigmund Freud; his mother, Paula Bonhoeffer, was a teacher and the granddaughter of Protestant theologian Karl von Hase and painter Stanislaus von Kalckreuth. Bonhoeffer's family dynamic and his parents' values enabled him to receive a high level of education and encouraged his curiosity, which impacted his ability to lead others around him, specifically in the church setting. He learned how to play the piano at age eight and composed songs performed at the Philharmonic at age eleven. Walter Bonhoeffer, second born of the Bonhoeffer family, was killed in action during World War I, when Bonhoeffer was twelve years old.
At age fourteen, Bonhoeffer decided to pursue his education in theology despite the criticism of his older brothers Klaus, a lawyer, and Karl-Friedrich, a scientist. He took Hebrew as an elective in school and attended many evangelical meetings, moved by the manifold suffering inflicted by war. Bonhoeffer began his studies at Tübingen and eventually moved to the University of Berlin, where he defended his dissertation, Sanctorum Communio. At age twenty-one, on 17 December 1927, he went on to complete his Doctor of Theology degree from Humboldt University of Berlin, graduating summa cum laude.
Early life
Studies in America In 1930, Bonhoeffer moved to America with the intent of attaining a Sloane Fellowship at New York City's Union Theological Seminary. Bonhoeffer was greatly unimpressed with American theology. He described the students as lacking interest in theology and would "laugh out loud" when learning a passage from Martin Luther's Sin and Forgiveness. During his time there, he met Frank Fisher, a black seminarian who introduced him to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where Bonhoeffer taught Sunday school and formed a lifelong love for the African-American church. He heard Adam Clayton Powell Sr. preach the "Gospel of Social Justice" and became sensitive to the social injustices experienced by racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., as well as the ineptitude of churches when it came to bringing about integration. He was captivated by the sermons he witnessed in black churches. The originally nationalist Bonhoeffer later changed his views after seeing All Quiet on the Western Front, which showed the horrors of war. Later in life he favored the views of pacifism, which promoted love for all people and placed a high value on each individual life. Bonhoeffer became involved with the ecumenical Christian movement, which eventually led him to resist Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Return to Germany
After returning to Germany in 1931, Bonhoeffer became a lecturer in systematic theology at the University of Berlin. Deeply interested in ecumenism, he was appointed by the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches (a forerunner of the World Council of Churches) as one of its three European youth secretaries. At this time he seems to have undergone a personal conversion, as he changed from being a theologian primarily attracted to the intellectual side of Christianity, to being a dedicated man of personal faith, resolved to literally carry out the teachings of Christ, revealed in the Gospels.Michael Balfour, Withstanding Hitler, p. 216 On 15 November 1931, at age 25, he was ordained at Old-Prussian United in Berlin-Tiergarten.
Anti-Nazism Bonhoeffer's promising academic and ecclesiastical career was derailed by the Nazi ascent to power on 30 January 1933. He was a determined opponent of the regime from its first days. Two days after Hitler was installed as chancellor, Bonhoeffer delivered a radio address in which he attacked Hitler and warned Germany against slipping into an idolatrous cult of the Führer (leader), who he argued might well turn out to be ("misleader", "seducer"). His broadcast was abruptly cut off, though it is unclear whether the newly elected Nazi regime was responsible.Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pp. 259–60
In November 1932, two months before the Nazi takeover, there had been an election for presbyters and synodals (church officials) of the German (Protestant mainstream churches). This election was marked by a struggle within the Old-Prussian Union Protestant Church between the pro-Nazi Deutsche Christen (German Christian) movement and Young Reformers, who were interested in following the Gospel teachings of Jesus—a struggle that threatened to explode into schism. In July 1933, Hitler unconstitutionally imposed new church elections. Bonhoeffer put all his efforts into the election, campaigning for the selection of independent, non-Nazi officials who were dedicated to following Christ.
Despite Bonhoeffer's efforts, in the July election an overwhelming number of key church positions went to the Deutsche Christen.Elizabeth Raum, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, p. 72 The Deutsche Christen won a majority in the Old-Prussian general synod and all its provincial synods except Westphalia, and in synods of all other Protestant church bodies, except for the Lutheran churches of Bavaria, Hanover, and Württemberg. The anti-Nazi Christian opposition regarded these bodies as uncorrupted "intact churches", as opposed to the other so-called "destroyed churches".
In opposition to Nazification, Bonhoeffer urged an interdict to stop offering all pastoral ceremonial services (baptisms, confirmations, weddings, funerals, etc.), but Karl Barth and others advised against such a radical proposal. In August 1933, Bonhoeffer and Hermann Sasse were deputized by opposition church leaders to draft the "Bethel Confession,"Enno Obendiek, "Die Theologische Erklärung von Barmen 1934: Hinführung", in: "... den großen Zwecken des Christenthums gemäß": Die Evangelische Kirche der Union 1817 bis 1992; Eine Handreichung für die Gemeinden, Wilhelm Hüffmeier (compilator) for the Kirchenkanzlei der Evangelischen Kirche der Union (ed.) on behalf of the Synod, Bielefeld: Luther-Verlag, 1992, pp. 52–58 . as a statement of faith in opposition to the Deutsche Christen movement. Notable for affirming God's fidelity to Jews as His chosen people, the "Bethel Confession" was eventually so watered down to make it more palatable that ultimately Bonhoeffer refused to sign it.David Ford, The Modern Theologians, p. 47
In September 1933, the nationalist church synod at Wittenberg voluntarily passed a resolution to apply the Aryan paragraph within the church, meaning that pastors and church officials of Jewish descent were to be removed from their posts. Regarding this as an affront to the principle of baptism, Martin Niemöller founded the Pfarrernotbund (Pastors' Emergency League). In November, a rally of twenty thousand Deutsche Christens demanded the removal of the Jewish Old Testament from the Bible, which was seen by many as heresy, further swelling the ranks of the Pastors Emergency League.Robert P. Ericksen. (2012). Complicity in the Holocaust. [Online]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books Online [Accessed 15 April 2016]. pp. 26–27
Within weeks of its founding, more than a third of German pastors had joined the Emergency League, forerunner of the (Confessing Church), which aimed to preserve historical, biblically based Christian beliefs and practices.Robert P. Ericksen. (2012). Complicity in the Holocaust. [Online]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books Online [Accessed 15 April 2016]. pp. 26, 28, 29, 95 The Barmen Declaration, drafted by Barth in May 1934 and adopted by the Confessing Church, insisted that Christ, not the Führer, was the head of the Church.. The adoption of the declaration has often been viewed as a triumph, although only about twenty percent of German pastors supported the Confessing Church.
Ministries in London When Bonhoeffer was offered a parish post in eastern Berlin in the autumn of 1933, he refused it in protest of the Nationalist policy, and he accepted a two-year appointment as a pastor of two German-speaking Protestant churches in London: the German Lutheran Church in Dacres Road, Sydenham, and the German Reformed Church of St Paul's, Goulston Street, Whitechapel.. He explained to Barth that he had found little support for his views on devotion to literally following the words of Jesus—even among friends—and that "it was about time to go for a while into the desert". Barth regarded this as running away from a real battle. He sharply rebuked Bonhoeffer: "I can only reply to all the reasons and excuses which you put forward: 'And what will now happen to the people of the German Church? Barth accused Bonhoeffer of abandoning his post and wasting his "splendid theological armory" while "the house of your church is on fire", and chided him to return to Berlin "by the next ship".Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works: London 1933–1935, p. 40
Bonhoeffer, however, did not go to England simply to avoid trouble at home; he hoped to put the ecumenical movement to work in the interest of the Confessing Church. He continued his involvement with the Confessing Church, running up a high telephone bill to maintain his contact with Martin Niemöller. In international gatherings, Bonhoeffer rallied people to oppose the Deutsche Christen movement and its attempt to amalgamate Nazi nationalism with Christianity. When Bishop —the official in charge of German Lutheran Church foreign affairs—traveled to London to warn Bonhoeffer to abstain from any ecumenical activity not directly authorized by Berlin, Bonhoeffer refused to abstain.Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Testament to Freedom, ed. Geffrey B. Kelly, p. 19
Underground seminaries