Dietrich Bonhoeffer
HOW ONE MAN OPPOSED CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS TO FOLLOW GOD
1930’s Germany was in need of change. 15 years had passed since Germany lost WWI, and the country was experiencing a brittle and depressed economy. The people of Germany were desperate for change and leadership. A change came in 1933 when the Nazi Administration was voted into power, promising sweeping changes and prosperity for the struggling nation. Adolf Hitler was the head of this administration, and over time, a radical shift in Germany’s cultural norms and values took place. Strategically, Hitler and the Nazis flipped morality on its head. They successfully changed the climate of Germany to accept institutionalized murder, prejudice, war, and genocide on a national scale. The pressures to accept this cultural shift rose as those who opposed the Nazis were publicly silenced or punished. Thankfully, not everyone kept silent, not Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
A German-born Christian, Bonhoeffer was a pastor who experienced firsthand horrors during Hitler’s reign. Unlike the vast tide of people, he was not easily swayed to keep his head down. What made Bonhoeffer different than other German citizens? What made him dig his heels into the dirt and oppose Nazis instead of submitting to their ways? Simply put, Bonhoeffer feared God more than he feared any man. More than he feared Hitler. He knew that what the Nazi powers were doing in Germany was not right. An idle man could have easily opposed the Nazis in secret, but do nothing to actually help stop the atrocities. But for Bonhoeffer, the cost of sitting idly by was too high.
Despite pressure from close friends, Bonhoeffer willingly returned to a hostile German nation in 1938 from the safety of America. He returned to preach, serve, and ultimately to help locals survive. By 1941, the Nazis began opposing Bonhoeffer. They went so far as to ban and forbid him from public speaking or printing anything for distribution. Bonhoeffer was bold, and kept preaching the truth of Christ anyway, stating things such as, “One act of obedience [to God] is better than one hundred sermons.” Bonhoeffer stuck to the truth and promoted obedience to Christ above all other authority in a climate where most were too afraid to speak up, let alone speak biblical truth. To speak against anything that Hitler and his Nazis propaganda teams were pushing out was a death wish. The Nazis forced Bonhoeffer to regularly check in with police to monitor his actions, but by this time, Bonhoeffer was involved with allied intelligence agencies. These groups were dedicated to toppling Hitler and dismantling the horrors of the Nazi Regime by any means necessary.
Bonhoeffer’s dedication to God, the truth of obeying Christ, and fighting the injustices he faced led to his eventual demise and martyrdom. In 1943, the Nazis imprisoned Bonhoeffer, but even from his cell he wrote letters and continued to teach and preach. Eventually he was sent to Flossenbürg, a concentration camp. In April of 1945, as the Nazis were nearing their end, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was publicly hanged.
In an increasingly violent and hostile Nazi climate, it would have been easy to shut up and not cause trouble. Fear has historically caused many to go against what they know to be true. But an even greater fear, the fear of God, propelled Bonhoeffer to be bold, stand up for righteousness, and speak the truth. The pressures and expectations of the culture were no match for Bonhoeffer’s dedication to Jesus Christ. What’s the cost of following God to you? Would you follow Him to your death even in as volatile a nation as Bonhoeffer’s Germany?