Introduction
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (February 4, 1906 – April 9, 1945) was a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany. As the Nazi Party grew in power, he protested against their atrocities and was one of the central founders of the Confessing Church (Metaxas 2010). He wrote The Cost of Discipleship, one of the modern classics when it comes to the role of the Christian in a secular world. He was also well known for his strident opposition to the euthanasia program and the genocide of the Jews, both pet programs of Adolf Hitler. The Gestapo arrested him in the spring of 1943, and he was in prison for a year and a half before being moved to a concentration camp run by the Nazis. He was charged in connection with a plot to assassinate Der Fuehrer, and he was swiftly tried and convicted, hanged to die in the spring of 1945, not long before the Nazi government fell apart.
Sources of Motivation
Bonhoeffer grew up in a family that was both socially involved and committed to making a difference. His father was a neurologist and psychiatrist, and his mother was a teacher. His brother Walter fought for the German side in World War I, perishing in action. His brother Klaus was also involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler, and he was executed as well. His brothers-in-law were also captured and executed by the Nazi regime.
During his academic career, Bonhoeffer came to the United States to undertake theological studies, taking on a fellowship at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. This was where he met Frank Fisher, a colleague at the seminary who would take him to Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church. There, Bonhoeffer taught Sunday school classes and discovered the African-American spiritual, a musical form that he would love and take when he returned to Germany. While studying at Union, he also met Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., preach about the social justice gospel. This made Bonhoeffer aware of the status of minorities in the United States, as well as the difficulties that the church had encountered in trying to foster integration. This allowed him to see matters from those who are oppressed rather than those atop the power structure. It was this exposure to the ideas of social justice that inspired him to return to Germany and take on the growing menace that was the Third Reich.
One Particular Anecdote, Three Leadership Lessons
When I was reading about Bonhoeffer, one story that stood out to me was the radio address that Bonhoeffer delivered two days after Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. In this address, he boldly attacked Hitler, warning the nation against joining a cult that would worship Hitler, even though he could turn out to be misleading the entire nation. The radio station cut him off mid-sentence, although it was never established whether it was station management or an agent of the new Nazi regime that was responsible.
One leadership lesson that this taught me is that it is never acceptable to stand for evil. The ribald hatred that Hitler spewed forth was a toxin that Bonhoeffer knew had to be fought from the very beginning if it was to lose. There were many, many religious leaders in Germany who never spoke out against Hitler’s deeds. After all, it represented a great peril to do so. Bonhoeffer clearly would not have been able to live with himself if he had allowed Hitler’s rise to go without any sort of fight from himself. That showed the Germans that Bonhoeffer was a man of principle who could not be cowed, could not be intimidated. That makes Bonhoeffer an example for anyone who would stand on principles rather than practicalities, because people who live by ideals must step up and fight when those ideals are threatened. If they don’t, then those very ideals become meaningless.
Another leadership lesson that I learned from Bonhoeffer was that when you decide to take a step as a leader, you should take that step as soon as possible. Bonhoeffer did not wait until Hitler had had some time to settle into the office of the Chancellor to start stating his objections. Instead, he started speaking out within days of Hitler’s installation. If Bonhoeffer had taken the time to wait, to bide his time for the perfect occasion for dissent, it is likely that things would have gone just as poorly as they did for him, but he would have failed to arouse any dissident echo within Germany. The whole nation was afraid – but Hitler took those fears and pointed them at the Jews (and, later, at all of Europe). The purpose of the swiftness of Bonhoeffer’s response was to turn the tide as soon as possible. While Hitler was able to carry out a lot of his plans, activists like Bonhoeffer kept him from ultimately succeeding.
The third leadership lesson that I learned from Bonhoeffer is that, for the true spiritual leader, a life of compromise in areas that God has deemed to be absolute is impossible. There were far too many religious leaders in Nazi Germany – as well as elsewhere on the globe – who did not take umbrage at the Fuehrer’s declaration that Jews were the problem, that Jews were to blame for the country’s economic collapse after the Great War. We are seeing that sort of approach once again in the present American presidential primary campaign, as the Republican candidate Donald Trump has suggested not only banning Muslims from immigrating into the United States but also registering the Muslims who are already here and having them wear (or carry, depending on which news report you read) special identification cards indicating their religious beliefs. There were far too many sympathizers for those beliefs, both inside and outside Nazi Germany, during Hitler’s reign, and there are still far too many for similar beliefs about Muslims today. Church leaders will rail on and on about such issues as gay marriage while they will turn a blind eye (or even encourage) this sort of hatred, and Bonhoeffer provides us with a powerful counterexample.
This is a terrific book because it takes the life of a theologian and shows him as the hero that he was. There are many theologians who stay in their libraries and live inside the thoughts they have instead of turning that doctrine into meaningful action. While not every theologian needs to become a martyr in order to have a lasting effect on the world, engaging with the world around oneself was a key step that Christ always managed to take after some time away from his disciples and the rest of the world, and it is a step that theologians should take to – it is a helpful corrective.
Bibliography
Metaxas, Eric. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. New York: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
