My Dearest Dietrich, page 40
Hans von Dohnanyi—Though suffering both mental and physical anguish, Hans endured the grueling interrogations he was subjected to during his time at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse Prison without giving Gestapo authorities a shred of information about the conspiracy. In the cellar at Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, despite rigorous security, Dietrich managed to find ways to care for his partially paralyzed brother-in-law. On April 5, 1945, Hitler was shown the Chronicle of Shame and, in a burst of murderous outrage, ordered the immediate execution of every person listed in the dossier. Before the so-called “trial,” a kind doctor dosed Hans heavily with painkillers, sparing him the pain of submitting to the farce of Nazi legal justice. On April 9, he was carried half conscious on a stretcher to the place of execution and hanged. His beloved wife, Christel, remained a source of strength for her children and aged parents in the years following the war. She never remarried and died in 1965.
Klaus Bonhoeffer and Rüdiger Schleicher—Klaus and Rüdiger were held in Gestapo custody from October 1944 to April 1945. Though there is no indication that Dietrich was ever tortured, both Klaus and Rüdiger suffered brutal beatings during their interrogations. For the rest of her life, Ursula Schleicher reproached herself for preventing her brother from committing suicide before he was taken into custody. On April 23, 1945, in an abandoned courtyard, Klaus and Rüdiger were executed by machine pistol.
Karl and Paula Bonhoeffer—Due to the chaos following the end of the war, the Bonhoeffers did not learn of Klaus’s and Rüdiger’s deaths until June 1945. For weeks after, they clung to the hope that Dietrich might still be alive and trying to return to them. But on July 26, they heard from a friend that a memorial service for Dietrich was to be broadcast on the BBC the following day. After the war, when asked about the loss of his four sons and sons-in-law, Karl Bonhoeffer said, “We are sad, but also very proud.” Karl died in 1948, and Paula in 1951.
Eberhard Bethge—After being liberated by Soviet troops, Eberhard returned to Berlin and his young wife and baby. Following the war, he and Renate moved to London, where he pastored a German-speaking congregation for many years. The couple had two more children. It is to Eberhard and Renate that we owe much of our knowledge of Bonhoeffer’s life and theology. During the harrowing days after the failed July 20 plot, Renate buried the bulk of her husband’s correspondence with Dietrich in gas mask cans in the Bonhoeffers’ back yard. These later formed the bulk of Letters and Papers from Prison. As they once joked about, Eberhard indeed became Dietrich’s biographer. The over one-thousand-page volume is recognized as the definitive Bonhoeffer biography. Throughout his life, Eberhard worked tirelessly, editing and compiling Dietrich’s unfinished book Ethics, along with the correspondence he and Bonhoeffer exchanged throughout their friendship. He generously answered every Bonhoeffer-related letter sent to him. Eberhard passed away on March 18, 2000. He was ninety years old.
Maria von Wedemeyer—Before her death, Maria informed her family of her decision to entrust her sister, Ruth-Alice von Bismark, with the task of publishing her correspondence with Dietrich. Love Letters from Cell 92 was first published in German in 1992. Except for one interview for a television documentary and an article for Union Theological Seminary’s Quarterly Review, Maria spoke little about Dietrich during her lifetime. She passed away on November 16, 1977, after a four-month battle with cancer. She was fifty-three years old.
Though Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s physical life ended on the morning of April 9, 1945, he left behind an incredible legacy. His example of living fully devoted to Christ and taking responsible action against a godless government has been a challenge and inspiration to millions. I am no exception. Though he left behind a grieving family and fiancée, I can’t help but wonder if, had he survived the war, he would be as well-known and remembered today.
Studying the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer has caused me to ponder questions such as “How does a Christian behave when earthly authorities are going against everything the gospel stands for?” and “What is God asking me to surrender for His glory?” Bonhoeffer famously said that Christians are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice but are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself. Reading the words of a man living in Nazi Germany and prayerfully pondering them as they apply to life in the twenty-first century has taken me on a journey of growth that continues to challenge and enrich my faith. I pray you discover the same!
Blessings,
Amanda
For further reading, I highly recommend the following:
Love Letters from Cell 92 by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer, edited by Ruth-Alice von Bismarck and Ulrich Kabitz
Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906–1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance by Ferdinand Schlingensiepen
Notes
p. 18, The thought that you are concerned: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92: The Correspondence Between Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer, ed. Ruth-Alice von Bismarck and Ulrich Kabitz, trans. John Brownjohn (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 203.
p. 39, I haven’t written to Maria: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 330–31.
p. 105, Dear Fraülein von Wedemeyer: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Conspiracy and Imprisonment, 1940–1945, ed. Lisa E. Dahill and Mark Brocker, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works 16 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016), 366–67.
p. 127, Fundamentally, you and I: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 333.
p. 128, But only from a peaceful: Bonhoeffer, Conspiracy and Imprisonment, 370–71.
p. 158, We have been silent witnesses: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, trans. Reginald Fuller and Frank Clark (New York: Touchstone, 1997), 16–17.
p. 165, I’ve known, ever since arriving home: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 338.
p. 166, Dear Maria, may I simply tell you: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 339–40.
p. 167, Don’t say anything: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 340.
p. 222, Dearest Dietrich, has something bad happened: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 347.
p. 248, Dear, beloved Dietrich, your mutter … without my writing them down: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 22–23.
p. 301, My dear, dear Maria, it’s no use: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 199–201.
p. 305, You went, beloved happiness: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 248–51.
p. 309, None of what you wrote surprised: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 254–55.
p. 314, Who am I? They often tell me … O God, I am thine: Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, 347–48.
p. 324, We don’t know how often we shall: Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer, Love Letters from Cell 92, 256.
978-0-8254-4414-2
“Stuart’s powerful first novel is based on 15 years of research and interviews with World War II survivors. Sadness and unvarnished brutality interspersed with pockets of human kindness are woven into descriptions of a wrecked world no longer familiar…. Engrossing.”
—Library Journal
“Gritty scenes of war and death [entwined] with touching moments of grace, hope, and life…. Through the darkness, the power of mercy, forgiveness, and love shines brightly.”
—Publishers Weekly
MUSIC OF HOPE SERIES
Book 1
978-1-68370-040-1
Book 2
978-1-68370-042-5
From best-selling novelist Liz Tolsma comes a powerful series of love, music, and sacrifice in the midst of war-torn Nazi Europe.
Tolsma’s celebrated talent with historical fiction shines in her stark World War II setting, reminding readers that beauty can still exist in an increasingly ugly world.
Amanda Barratt, My Dearest Dietrich
