Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 - 1945)

Born 4 Feb 1906 in Breslau, Schlesien, Preußen, Deutsches Reich

Ancestors

Died 9 Apr 1945 at age 39 in Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg, Bayern, Deutsches Reich

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Eric Stamper [send private message]

Biography

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and executed for his part in a plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is Notable.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was born on February 4, 1906, at Breslau, Germany [now Wrocław, Poland] He died on April 9, 1945, at Flossenbürg, Germany. Dietrich was the son of Karl Bonhoeffer and Paula von Hase. He was a twin, born ten minutes before his sister Sabine. German Protestant theologian important for his support of ecumenism and his view of Christianity’s role in a secular world. His involvement in a plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler led to his imprisonment and execution. His Letters and Papers from Prison, published posthumously in 1951, is perhaps the most profound document of his convictions. Bonhoeffer was engaged to Maria von Wedemeyer three months prior to his arrest and wrote to her from his prison cell. ^[1]

Chronology of Arrest and Execution

• April 5, 1943: Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo and taken to Tegel Prison where he was held in Cell 92. At this stage the Nazis knew nothing of the conspiracy but were angered by his opposition to their regime and his conviction that it was contrary to Christian teaching. From Tegel he was allowed to write to his parents and Maria and even to have occasional visits. It was only after the failed attempt on Hitler's life on July 20 1944 that the Gestapo searched out those involved.
• October 8, 1944, He was transferred to the Gestapo prison on Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse where the cells were underground. He was interrogated and threatened with torture.
• February 7, 1945, He was transported from Berlin to Buchenwald. Payne Best who was also at Buchenwald at this time, testified to Dietrich's twin sister Sabine that 'he was different, just quiet and normal, seemingly perfectly at ease...his soul really shone in the dark desperation of our prison'.
• April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday), The American guns could be heard in the distance from the prison. The guards feared the arrival of the Americans.
• April 3,1945. Sippach, the chief guard, announced that they would leave the camp. At 10 pm that night, a van designed to carry 8 took 3 guards and 13 prisoners, including Bonhoeffer; they had no idea where they were going. The van was full of wood and made them choke so much some thought it was a gas van and that they would all be killed, until someone spotted a ventilator. They were heading for Flossenbürg, but not to be killed and cremated. Flossenbürg had no room, and the guards did not know what to do with them.
• April 7, 1945 . The prisoners were lodged in the village schoolroom at Schoberg.
• April 8, 1945. (The first Sunday after Easter) In the morning, Bonhoeffer held a service at the request of some of the other prisoners. Payne Best testified, 'He had hardly finished his last prayer when the door opened and two evil-looking men in civilian clothes came in and said: 'Prisoner Bonhoeffer, get ready to come with us'. Bonhoeffer arrived in Flossenbürg late on the Sunday evening. He was condemned to death that night by the 'summary court'; five others who were all part of the conspiracy we also condemned.
• April 9, 1945. Between 5 and 6 o'clock in the morning, the prisoners were taken from their cells and the verdicts of the court martial were read out to them. The prison doctor later said of Bonhoeffer's death, 'At the place of execution he said a short prayer and then climbed up the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds.
• April 23, 1945. Flossenbürg was liberated by the Allies.^[2]

Legacy

Bonhoeffer's life as a pastor and theologian of great intellect and spirituality who lived as he preached—and his being killed because of his opposition to Nazism—exerted great influence and inspiration for Christians across broad denominations and ideologies, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, the anti-communist democratic movement in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, and the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa.

Bonhoeffer is commemorated in the liturgical calendars of several Christian denominations on the anniversary of his death, 9 April. This includes many parts of the Anglican Communion, where he is sometimes identified as a martyr, and other times not. His commemoration in the liturgical calendar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America uses the liturgical color of white, which is typically used for non-martyred saints. In 2008, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which does not enumerate saints, officially recognized Bonhoeffer as a "modern-day martyr." He was the first martyr to be so recognized who lived after the Reformation, and is one of only two as of 2017.

The Deutsche Evangelische Kirche in Sydenham, London, at which he preached between 1933 and 1935, was destroyed by bombing in 1944. A replacement church was built in 1958 and named Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Kirche in his honor.[67]

Books

See also : Wikipedia: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer was a prolific writer; his most famous work, "The Cost of Discipleship" has been widely read by both conservative and liberal Christians and is still read and quoted today.

• The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Reader is a volume of selected readings with a chronological view of Bonhoeffer's theological development. It was available in November 2013^[3].
• Bethge, Eberhard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Man of Vision, Man of Courage. New York: Harper & Row, 1970. BX 4827.B57B43
• Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Macmillan, 1966. BT 380.B66 1966
• Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Eberhard Bethge, ed. Ethics. New York: Macmillan, 1955. BJ 1253.B615 1955a
• Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Eberhard Bethge ed. Letters and Papers from Prison. New York: Macmillan, 1972, c1971. BX 4827.B57A43 1972a

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/februaryweb-only/33.0a.html
2. ↑ Book Source Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas Published by Thomas Nelson Nashville Tennessee 2010
3. ↑ The Bonhoeffer Reader, edited by Clifford Green and Michael DeJonge. Fortress Press, 2013. ISBN 0-8006-9945-9

• Wikipedia: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10008205
• Year: 1930; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 4824; Line: 6; Page Number: 151; Name: Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Arrival Date: 13 Sep 1930; Birth Date: abt 1906; Birth Location: Germany; Birth Location Other: breslau; Age: 24; Gender: Male; Ethnicity/ Nationality: German; Port of Departure: Bremen, Germany; Port of Arrival: New York, New York; Ship Name: Columbus
• Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. : Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010; Provo, UT, USA
• Original data: : Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897. Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C.
• Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957. Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls. NAI: 300346. Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives at Washington, D.C.
• URL: Find A Grave: Memorial #20228