Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Germany, on February 4, 1906. At the time of his death, at the young age of 39, he had become an accomplished man. He received his Doctorate in Theology from Berlin University and lectured in the theological faculty during the early thirties. Bonhoeffer was a gifted scholar, professor, and a caring pastor as well. He was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1931 and served two Lutheran congregations in Sydenham and London. It was during this time that Bonhoeffer noted the life-and-death struggle for the church in Germany. This struggle centered around the national church (supported by the Nazi regime) and the confessing church. As the struggle intensified, Bonhoeffer became more Gospel centered, comforting his people, but at the same time he became more defiant and confident of God’s victory. He continually opposed national Socialism and was recruited into the resistance of 1940. He began to see that Hitler needed to be removed, so he joined other high ranking military officials in a plan to assassinate Hitler. The plot was discovered, and Bonhoeffer spent the rest of his life in prison. Eventually this led to his death by hanging at the Flossenburg concentration camp on April 9, 1945.

Bonhoeffer was a university professor, a Lutheran pastor, a writer, and a central figure in the struggle against Nazism. In the challenging context of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer clearly demonstrated that theological thought and personal life are connected. His writings such as Ethics or The Cost of Discipleship are still of great value today.

Check out more information on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the film "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" on the PBS website www.pbs.org/opb/bonhoeffer/film