IN MEMORY OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (1906-1945)

The red rose is the symbol for Christians who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their Lord. This month is the seventy-sixth anniversary of the murder of Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, on April 9^th, 1945, presumably on the personal order of Adolph Hitler. Few contemporary ministers of the Gospel have had to labor under such difficult circumstances as this man, and who lost his life before his fortieth birthday. The eulogy is in memory of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945.)

Early life

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was ordained as a pastor at the age of twenty-five in Germany a year before Adolph Hitler came to power. While the protestant clergy quickly became enamored with the Fuhrer and his policies, willing to look the other way when it came to Hitler’s character and exploitation of the Church for his political ends, Bonhoeffer was one of the first voices among German ministers to raise the alarm, eventually helping found the Confessing Church synod. Bonhoeffer traveled extensively during Hitler’s early years, living for a time in Spain and America. In America, specifically New York City, Bonhoeffer became disappointed with the state of organized religion, noting that you could hear sermons on almost any subject—except Jesus, and why he died and rose. But Bonhoeffer found a home in a black church and the social injustice that he heard about helped him sort through his thoughts about what was unjustly happening in his homeland, particularly towards the Jews and others (including members of the Confessing Church.) Urged by friends to return home to Germany and share in the suffering of his people, he did return.

In the belly of the beast

Back in the Reich, Bonhoeffer was harassed and arrested on several occasions by the government, forbidden to preach, but eventually he joined the Abwehr, possibly to avoid military service (he was a pacifist.) The Abwehr was a Nazis intelligence-gathering agency, a good “fit” for a world traveler like Bonhoeffer. However, it is thought that rather than collect any meaningful information on people to pass on to his Nazi superiors, he actually used his access to classified material to warn other officials in England, the U.S. and elsewhere of Hitler’s intentions. And, he always looked for opportunities to help Jews escape from the clutches of the Fuhrer. Bonhoeffer was arrested and convicted, for helping fourteen Jews escape from the Gestapo using government money in the process (Larsen: 5.)

Statue of Christian martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, — “Statue of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor and theologian situated high on the facade of Westminster Abbey in London, England”. Photo credit: Uwe Aranas (Shutterstock.)

“To be a Christian does not mean to be religious in a particular way, to make something of oneself (a sinner, a penitent, or a saint) on the basis of some method or other, but to be a man—not a type of man, but the man that Christ creates in us. It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life.”

Only two weeks before American forces arrived at Bonhoeffer’s death camp, the Nazis killed Dietrich Bonhoeffer. H. Fischer-Hüllstrung, a prison doctor was quoted as saying: “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer… kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.” Stripped naked and kneeling in prayer as the noose was tightened around his neck, he faced the end knowing that even as this life was minutes aware from ending, a new life awaited him. He died without ever being able to marry his fiancé, but while his brother whom he loved, was still living (Klaus, sadly, would be executed on April 22^nd.) Also killed with Bonhoeffer on April 9^th were former Reich officials accused of treason or other crimes, such as Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Generals Hans Oster and Friedrich von Rabenau, and resistance fighter Ludwig Gehre. It is a testimony to Hitler’s evil vindictiveness that with the defeat of Germany no longer in doubt, Hitler’s attention and intention was to “settle scores” with people he despised.

“To be a Christian does not mean to be religious in a particular way, to make something of oneself (a sinner, a penitent, or a saint) on the basis of some method or other, but to be a man—not a type of man, but the man that Christ creates in us. It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Throughout his life, Bonhoeffer wrote books (most notably The Cost of Discipleship), plus journal articles, letters, and he taught and preached (his last sermon was in the death camp of Flossenbürg a day before his own death. In one passage of his writings, Bonhoeffer wrote: “To be a Christian does not mean to be religious in a particular way, to make something of oneself (a sinner, a penitent, or a saint) on the basis of some method or other, but to be a man—not a type of man, but the man that Christ creates in us. It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life.” Bonhoeffer participated in the sufferings of God’s people, the Children of Israel, and he accepted–embraced–the penalty for doing so.