Washington Historical Research, Founder

Getting to know your neighbors!

Mama deer introduced her babies 😍

April 9, 1945

80 years ago today, the National Socialists executed the theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Today, his name stands for courageous resistance against National Socialism.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau on February 4, 1906 to Karl Bonhoeffer, a psychiatrist and neurologist, and to Paula Bonhoeffer (née von Hase), a teacher. After leaving school, Bonhoeffer studied theology in Tübingen and Berlin from 1923 to 1927. In the following year, he completed his vicar training in Barcelona, followed by a year of study in New York in 1930. From 1931 to 1933, he worked as a private lecturer and student pastor in Berlin.

Shortly after the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Bonhoeffer criticized the regime in a radio lecture: "Leaders and ministries that make themselves God mock God.", thus condemning the National Socialist leader principle. The program was then canceled.

The church, too, fell victim to the National Socialists’ policy of bringing everyone into line. While the "Deutschen Christen” (German Christians) followed the NSDAP, the "Bekennende Kirche” (Confessing Church), which Bonhoeffer belonged to, was considered an antagonist, seeking to keep the church independent. From 1935 onwards, Bonhoeffer led a seminar for preachers of the "Bekennende Kirche". In August 1936, the National Socialists revoked his teaching license. In 1937, the police closed his preacher's seminary, whereupon Bonhoeffer continued to teach underground. When he was banned from publicly speaking and writing in 1940, he left the clerical resistance to join the political one.

Through his brother-in-law, Hans von Dohnanyi, Bonhoeffer maintained contact with a resistance group led by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris in the Reich War Ministry from 1940 onwards. The latter used Bonhoeffer as an informer in the Office for Counterintelligence. His mission in the office was to try to establish contacts between Western governments and German resistance. On April 5, 1943, though, Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo and spent two years in prison. Early in February 1945, the SS transferred him to the Buchenwald concentration camp and in April to the Flossenbürg concentration camp. There he was sentenced to death on April 8, 1945 and hanged one day later. The N***s executed his two brothers-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi and Rüdiger Schleicher as well as his brother Klaus Bonhoeffer for having been involved in resistance.

Although Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been regarded as an icon of Christian resistance since the 1960s, he was not rehabilitated before 1996 when a court declared his death sentence invalid.

This should be interesting

Anthony Hopkins will play Handel, in a new biopic about the composer’s ‘Messiah’ A new composer biopic is coming to our screens, with two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins set to play the great 18th-century composer George Frideric Handel in ‘The King of Covent Garden’.

Yes, please

Bill Plante, legendary CBS News White House correspondent, has died at 84. Sad news. I met him in 1970s covering campaigns..

Bill Plante, legendary CBS News White House correspondent, has died at 84 The award-winning CBS News correspondent was one of the longest-serving White House broadcast journalists in history.