Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Man of Faith
“Human love has little regard for the truth. It makes the truth relative, since nothing, not even the truth, must come between it and the beloved person.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Silesia into a middle to upper-class on February 4th, 1906. Dietrich’s father was in the field of psychology, and he was ordinarily expected to follow him, but decided at an early age to become a religious minister. Bonhoeffer attended college in Tübingen and later at the University of Berlin, where he received his doctorate in theology at the age of only 21. Due to the church’s rule that no one under the age of 25 could be ordained, Dietrich decided to go abroad and study to kill time. Bonhoeffer began to study at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and often would visit the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.
Upon returning to Germany in 1931, Dietrich began to lecture on various topics of theology and also wrote several books. Being strongly against Nazism, Bonhoeffer with Martin Niemöller, Karl Barth and others, established the Confessing Church, which was a Christian resistance movement in Nazi, Germany. Between late 1933 and 1935, Bonhoeffer served as pastor of St. Paul's and Sydenham, two German-speaking Protestant churches in London. Dietrich even wanted to travel to India to discover non-violent resistance with Mohandas Ghandi, but was unable to as he was needed in Germany because of the nearing of World War II. The Gestapo, Hitler’s Secret Police, even banned Dietrich Bonhoeffer from any kind of public speaking, and during this time he worked with many of Adolf Hitler’s opponents and enemies. In 1939, Bonhoeffer joined a secret group of high-ranking military officers based in the Abwehr, or military intelligence office, who wanted to overthrow the National Socialist regime by killing Hitler. Bonhoeffer was arrested in April of 1943 after money used to help Jews escape to Switzerland was traced back to him. The German officials charged Dietrich of conspiracy and sentenced him to prison for a year and a half. On July 20th, 1944, Bonhoeffer’s secret group’s attempted assassination of Hitler failed, and Dietrich’s involvement in this was discovered and he was sent to several concentration camps. On April 9th, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by being hanged and accompanying him were his brother and two brother-in-laws.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was considered a martyr and a great theologian, as his life was faith-packed. Throughout his life, he spread the word of God while also trying to attain peace and unfair persecution. Even though Bonhoeffer did not live to see the liberation of Germany of the Nazi Party, he was a part in the downfall of Hitler, while he always worked against his evil decisions. Dietrich also wrote many theological books throughout his life, strengthening his understanding of God and educating others as well. Bonhoeffer is clearly a man of great faith, as he died trying to make the world a more peaceful place for others to live in.
Sources:
Huff, Douglas. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” Date Accessed: 11/12/07.