Bonhoeffer Today

April 9, 2026

Today marks the 81st anniversary of the martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was hanged on this day, at age 39, at Flossenburg Concentration Camp just weeks before the end of WWII and Hitler’s suicide. Without a jury or witnesses, Bonhoeffer was sentenced to death for his role in assisting Jews in fleeing Germany and for being associated with the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. Unlike his right-wing, inaccurate portrayal in the movie Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin (2024), Bonhoeffer was a pacifist who, according to friends and family, never held, much less owned, a gun.

“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor, active in the Confessing Church before he was forced to go underground. In the face of, and reality of, Hitler’s rise not only to Fuhrer of Germany but of the pro-Nazi National Church, the Confessing Church spoke out, claiming that only God is sovereign and that obedience is due God alone. In opposition to the execution of Jews, the Confessing Church professed the church’s allegiance to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer, and insisted that love must be practiced without calculating the cost, that service is demanded despite who may be deemed worthy of serving, and that speaking the truth in the face of persecution is essential to being a true Christian disciple. The Church was banned by the Nazis in 1937.

“Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

When Trump was elected, I posted here about Bonhoeffer as a model of resistance and discipleship. A friend of 16 years became offended and angry and ended our friendship because I wrote: “Currently, within the span of less than a week, the United States finds itself embroiled in a similar situation to Nazi Germany. The president believes himself above the law and is building a coalition of what essentially is a group of “Brown shirts,” those Nazi loyalists who intimidated their countrymen and acted in violence against Jews and other people deemed disloyal to Hitler. For this purpose, the president released every single January 6 protestor from prison, ensuring their loyalty to him.

“In less than four days the president has removed all employees from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department and required staff to report any “disloyalties.”  He has put a halt to all scientific endeavors within his administration and made it possible for immigration agents to raid schools and churches. He has even put himself above our Constitution by ordering an end to birthright citizenship. And, he is a convicted felon. His goal is clear: to become an autocrat, a dictator, and destroy this democracy.” Over a year into this “presidency,” I still stand by these words, and I still call on the spirit of Bonhoeffer to show me how to act.

“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I was moved by Joyce Vance’s column yesterday, “The Law of War,” where she wrote: “But really, how many more wake-up calls can the country, can Trump’s party ignore? How many more people, in our own military, in countries we attack, American citizens protesting peacefully on our own streets, people abroad who rely on American programs that are suddenly withdrawn, will die? How much more of this do we have to tolerate so MAGA can continue to worship its idol, who rules from an altar built of greed? . . . Contempt for the rule of law is contempt for our way of life.”

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”“ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The land of the free and the brave is being pummeled by a mad man and his cohorts, and those of us who have lived comfortably and been coddled all of our lives in these United States continue, and will continue, to face Bonhoeffer moments. Who shall we be? And more importantly, what shall we do? I claim to be a Christian, an imperfect one, for sure, but my claim must be held up to the Truth that Christ demonstrated and Bonhoeffer lived. I am called to stand up to evil, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to serve and to practice love wherever I can, and to call out the darkness, deceit, and lies, even at the cost of friendships, and maybe more. I, you, all of us, can no longer afford to stay silent, to pretend the horrors won’t happen to us, to continue to worship a Christ that we refuse to follow. Inaction and silence are complicity.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Staying the course,

Rosemary

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