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 pril 9, 1995 was the 50th anniversary of
the execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by the Nazis. He died at 39, but
left a legacy in his writings that now, a half-century later, still provides
valuable insight for Christians seeking to live faithfully to the Gospel
in a culture dominated by hostile ideologies.
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A Poem from Prison: "Who Am I?"
Who am I? They often tell me I would step from my cell's confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly, like a squire from his country-house.
Who am I? They often tell me I would talk to my warden freely and friendly
and clearly, as though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me I would bear the days of misfortune equably,
smilingly, proudly, like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really all that which other men tell of, or am I only what
I know of myself, restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat, yearning
for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, thirsting for
words of kindness, for neighborliness, trembling with anger at despotisms
and petty humiliation, tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance, weary and
empty at praying, at thinking, at making, faint and ready to say farewell
to it all.
Who am I? This or the other? Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others, and before myself a contemptibly
woebegone weakling? Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am,
Thou knowest, O God, I am thine.
[Bonhoeffer biographer Eberhard Bethge was surprised to receive poems
Bonhoeffer wrote in prison. The lines above give profound insight into
his prison experience.]
DISTANT DATELINE Theologian Bonhoeffer Executed on
Order from Hitler
FLOSSENBURG PRISON April 9, 1945. Today the controversial theologian
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, along with other members of the Admiral Canaris resistance
group, was executed here by hanging.
Bonhoeffer went calmly to his death. This morning as he was led out of
his cell, he was observed by the prison doctor who said: "Through
the half-open door I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer still in his prison clothes,
kneeling in fervent prayer to the Lord his God. The devotion and evident
conviction of being heard that I saw in the prayer of this intensely captivating
man moved me to the depths."
The prisoners were ordered to strip. Naked under the scaffold, Bonhoeffer
knelt for one last time to pray. Five minutes later, he was dead.
Bonhoeffer was condemned for his involvement in "Operation 7,"
a rescue mission that had helped a small group of Jews over the German
border and into Switzerland. The 39-year-old theologian had also been
involved in planning an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the life
of Adolf Hitler. His participation in the murder plot obviously conflicts
with Bonhoeffer's position as a pacifist. His sister-in-law, Emmi Bonhoeffer,
cited his reasoning. He told her: "If I see a madman driving a car
into a group of innocent bystanders, then I can't, as a Christian, simply
wait for the catastrophe and then comfort the wounded and bury the dead.
I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver."
Interestingly, Bonhoeffer had safely escaped the troubles in Europe and
gone to teach in New York in June, 1939. He abruptly returned less than
a month later saying: "I have had time to think and to pray about
my situation, and that of my nation, and to have God's will for me clarified.
I have come to the conclusion that I have made a mistake in coming to
America. I shall have no right to participate in the reconstruction of
the Christian life in Germany after the war if I did not share in the
trials of this time with my people. Christians in Germany face the terrible
alternative of willing the defeat of their nation in order that civilization
may survive, or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying
civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose. But I
cannot make that choice in security."
Bonhoeffer, even while in prison, maintained his pastoral role. Those
who were with him spoke of the guidance and spiritual inspiration he gave
not only to fellow inmates but to prison guards as well.
In a letter smuggled out of prison Bonhoeffer showed no bitterness but
rather explained how, "We in the resistance have learned to see the
great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the
excluded, the ill treated, the powerless, the oppressed and despised...
so that personal suffering has become a more useful key for understanding
the world than personal happiness."
EDITOR'S POSTSCRIPT: In the same month that Bonhoeffer was hanged, on
April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide. Seven days later Germany surrendered.
Bonhoeffer Chronology
Feb. 4, 1906--Dietrich and twin sister Sabine born in Breslau, Germany
Aug. 1, 1931--Becomes lecturer in Theology at the University of Berlin
Apr. 26, 1935--Establishes underground seminary for the Confessing
Church at Zingst, which in June moves to Finkenwalde
Aug. 5, 1936--Forbidden to lecture at the University of Berlin
1937--Finkenwalde Seminary closed by Gestapo; 27 former Finkenwalde
students imprisoned; Dietrich publishes Cost of Discipleship
Feb. 1938--Makes first contact with conspirators in connection with
political resistance against Hitler
Jun. 2, 1939--Leaves for New York City
Jul. 27, 1939--Returns to Germany and joins the political resistance
Mar. 27, 1941--Forbidden to print or publish
Sep. 1941--Becomes part of Jewish rescue action (Operation 7)
Jan. 1943--At age 36 engaged to Maria von Wedemeyer
Apr. 5, 1943--At age 37 arrested and taken to Tegel Prison, Berlin;
Dohnanyi and Dietrich's sister, Christine, also arrested
Feb. 7, 1945--Moved to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Apr. 1945--Discovery of Admiral Canaris' diary; Hitler orders annihilation
of the Canaris group which includes Bonhoeffer
Apr. 9, 1945 Bonhoeffer (age 39) hanged at Flossenburg; Dohnanyi killed
at the Sachsenhausen Camp
For Bonhoeffer Buffs
For a biography of Bonhoeffer, Eberhard Bethge's Dietrich Bonhoeffer--Man
of Vision, Man of Courage (published by Harpers) is an authoritative,
detailed work written by one of Bonhoeffer's closest friends. But if you
can afford only one book by or about Bonhoeffer we heartily recommend
A Testament To Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
edited by Geffrey B. Kelly and F. Burton Nelson and published by Harper
San Francisco. In addition to the best selections from Bonhoeffer's sermons,
lectures, letters, and books, with some material in English for the first
time, the editors also provide valuable introductions and a running biographical
commentary.
The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Center is an important resource for Bonhoeffer
studies. The Center houses the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works project, serves
as an ongoing institute to study his life and theology, is a national
clearinghouse on Bonhoeffer materials and conducts annual seminars. For
more information contact:
Wayne Whitson Floyd, Jr., Director
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Center
7301 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119-1794
(215) 248-4616
Dietrich's Daring Grandmother Defies
SS
Hitler became chancellor in Germany on January 30, 1933.
His government's first official act against the Jews was a one-day boycott
of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933. Pickets were placed in front of
factories, stores and shops belonging to Jews. Dietrich's grandmother,
Julie Bonhoeffer, boldly walked through a group of SS men into a Jewish
department store and made a purchase. Marion Lehmann, an American friend
of the family who visited them in Berlin at the time said, "(Julie)
said she was not going to be told that she couldn't go inside because
the owner was Jewish, so she walked right in and bought the strawberries...
They didn't dare take this elderly woman. She was very alert and walked
elegantly. So nobody was going to stop her!" |
