1. Dietrich, Jorge and Jackie
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in February 1906 in what is now Wrocław, Poland, into a prestigious family. His father Karl was a neurologist and psychiatrist while his mother, Paula von Hase, a teacher. He was one of eight children including a twin sister, Sabine and Karl, Jr., a physicist who did some atom splitting with Albert Einstein and Max Planck. Dietrich’s father valued education but emphasized that thinking logically trumped IQ, always emphasizing that his children should be convincing in their statements. Also of importance was action to follow what one preached, away from hypocrisy. These thoughts applied to religion as well as science.
The Bonhoeffers supplemented their lives with the arts: music, poems, travel and opera. Dietrich had musical talent, composing while he was very young and blessed with the ability to sight-read music. Saturday night was traditionally music night in the family home. Other than this, Dietrich was a typical youth, not one to avoid the occasional fight, but engaging in athletics. He was raised as a Lutheran. The Bonhoeffer family was Christian even though not always participating in church services. Though the head of the family may have been an agnostic, his wife read from the Bible and raised the children as Christians, of which Karl, Sr. approved.
Dietrich was eight when World War I began, with all three of his older brothers joining in the fight. The family was by no means nationalists but signed up out of patriotic duty. Brother Walter was called to the front line in 1917. Shortly after that he was killed in battle. This affected the family deeply, especially Dietrich and his mother, who may have had a nervous breakdown. At the age of thirteen, Dietrich decided on a career in theology. His father and siblings would have preferred a different choice for the lad, but Dietrich was not to be deterred. He was following relatives on his mom’s side of the family. On turning seventeen, he entered Tübingen University.
Dietrich was in Rome on Palm Sunday when he visited Saint Peter’s Basilica. By this time, he had attended many Catholic services, but here he witnessed people of various faiths and races celebrating the Eucharist. He envisioned the church as eternal and universal, which had no membership restrictions based on culture or race. Returning from Rome, he left school in Tübingen and enrolled in Berlin University. He obtained his PhD at the age of twenty-one and soon felt his calling in the church. Since he couldn’t be ordained for a few years, he became an assistant vicar in Barcelona and followed this by traveling to the United States, studying at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
After meeting Frank Fisher, Dietrich joined Frank at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem one Sunday. At the time it was the largest church in the country and Bonhoeffer was transfixed. Pastor Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. engaged the people, urging them to bring Jesus into their lives, caring for the poor and following the example that Christ had given 2000 years before. Dietrich was so inspired that he went back to the Harlem church many more times, even teaching Sunday school. At this point, Bonhoeffer integrated his social and political action. While in New York, on Easter Sunday of 1931, he couldn’t get into any Protestant church. Instead he heard Rabbi Stephen Wise preach, but not in a synagogue. The place was Carnegie Hall since those attending couldn’t fit into any temple that day.
Dietrich was greatly affected by his time in the states, going back to Germany in the summer of 1931. His friends saw his transformation. Bonhoeffer’s faith had increased and his heart had been modified for the better. He taught theology at the University of Berlin, calling the Bible the Word of God. The experience was real, spiritual, intellectual and personal. In 1930, Nazis were without power in Germany, but they soon were close to the top in influence. Their strength grew every day and Dietrich spoke out against them. He insisted, For German Christians, there can be only one savior, and that savior is Jesus Christ. This upset many people, who thought of Hitler as the one who would lead the nation out of its troubles. Bonhoeffer was one of the few who brought up the danger of Hitler and the Nazis.
In January 1933, Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Two days later Dietrich gave a speech tearing apart the Führer and his principles. When World War I ended, it resulted in widespread unemployment, bread lines and political squabbling. Many figured that Hitler could change this, but he wasn’t really a leader, only someone who could mislead the masses. On this, Bonhoeffer concentrated his talks. Dietrich realized that though Adolf claimed to be a Christian – that was merely for show – so he did what Christians were meant to do by being a voice for the voiceless. Here he meant the Jews. Dietrich offered that Jesus was the man for others and following Him was a way of standing up for every man’s dignity even if he was different.
In 1935, Bonhoeffer was the leader of an illegal seminary in the Confessing Church, an offshoot of the official Nazi Church. Training seminarians to be not only Lutherans but also Disciples of Christ, he passed on to them devotion and meditation on the Scriptures. Many thought of this time as the Golden Age of Bonhoeffer. The Gestapo shut down the school, but Dietrich continued his work any way he could underground. Eventually the Nazis stopped even this. They also took great effort to halt the liberties of all Germans, especially Jews and Christians.
Despite this and the many restrictions facing Dietrich, he persisted, doing so with great caution. In the late 1930s, war drums began beating, with Hitler leading the way. It was one of nationalist aggression. Bonhoeffer was torn because of it: he couldn’t become a conscientious objector nor could he take a stand in public against it since it would lead to trouble for other members of the Confessing Church. He prayed for guidance and considered heading to America to avoid the dilemma. However, once ship bound, his conscience overruled his feelings. He was only in the states for a few weeks when he went back to Germany. His associates asked what he was doing there and he apologized that he had made a mistake. Still, he was not sure of what he would do.
Matters were complicated because the family Bonhoeffer was involved in action against the Führer for years, placing Dietrich in even more danger on his return. This conspiracy – maybe this isn’t the right word – started in the early 1930s and involved many of the elite. For various reasons, many other Germans didn’t feel the same way as this group. Some felt the danger shadowing them while others bought right into what Adolf was promoting.
Dietrich felt a need to react and stop the Führer and his Nazi movement. He always felt that a Christian had to stand up for anyone being persecuted. Here, his action went right in line with his thinking and beliefs. The family member involved the most was his sister, Christel, through her husband, Hans von Dohnanyi, who was high up in German intelligence. Belonging to the Abwehr, which worked on behalf of the Third Reich, Dohnanyi placed Bonhoeffer there, but as a spy against Hitler. Dietrich became a double agent. One of his missions was to spread the word about the efforts to halt Hitler to Sweden, Switzerland and other countries opposed to the Führer. No matter how large the movement, help would never be refused. The best friend of Dietrich, Eberhard Bethge, stated that he had gone from confession to conspiracy. There was no turning back.
Bonhoeffer wasn’t allowed to publish, but continued with his writing. Ethics, the large opus he was working on, wasn’t done but would be published later. Being human, in 1942, at the home of Ruth von Kleist-Retzow, he became aware of her eighteen-year old daughter, Maria. In the spring of 1943, they were engaged. Maria’s father and her closest brother died in the war and Dietrich provided pastoral support to Ruth. She wasn’t happy with the couple at first but then came around to accept Bonhoeffer. Not long after this, he was arrested at the home of Karl and Paula. Dietrich was apprehended for attempting to help the Jews. The forces of evil were not yet aware of his part in the conspiracy since the Nazis didn’t know of it. Hitler’s men did have an eye on Hans, Dietrich and others, though. Phones were tapped and it wasn’t for beer, German or otherwise.
Bonhoeffer wound up in Tegel prison in Berlin, less than ten miles from where he lived. It wasn’t as bad as the Gestapo prison, so he was treated all right. There he wrote his Letters and Papers from Prison and some poems, including, “Who Am I?” Despite the conditions, many reported that he found peace, joy and comfort at this time. He had hopes of being released, but fifteen months after his arrest, the Valkyrie plot began. It didn’t succeed but the Third Reich then knew of the conspiracy. Dietrich was transferred to the dreaded Gestapo prison in the fall of 1944 with its high security.
At this point, the war was winding down, with many Germans knowing of the futility of the Nazi cause. The Allied bombing of Berlin in February of 1945 forced Hitler’s men to move prisoners from Gestapo prison elsewhere. Bonhoeffer wound up in the Buchenwald concentration camp. Hitler directed his execution by hanging on April 9, 1945.
After his death, many felt that losing his life was tragic and the world would have been better served had he lived. However, his efforts helped end the Third Reich, as he was a huge part of the group out to halt the Führer, which eventually came about. Dying at 39, he was a great hero to many people, regardless of race, culture or creed. Dietrich preached discipleship and faith, with concern for all men. To him, the religion one practiced was of little concern as he attended Protestant, Catholic and Jewish services. He talked but then followed with actions that matched his words and beliefs. In addition to the books already mentioned, some of the other books he wrote include Act And Being, Temptation, The Communion Of Saints and God Is In The Manger: Reflections On Advent And Christmas. You can find numerous books about him including the 2013 book by Eric Mataxas, 7 Men And The Secret Of Their Greatness. This book also says a few words about Jackie Robinson, Eric Liddell and William Wilberforce, which you can read in pages that follow.