Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 16: Conspiracy and Imprisonment: 1940–1945

by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 2006

Overview

This volume, published in the year of the 100th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s birth, documents Bonhoeffer’s life under the increasing restraints and fateful events of World War II Germany.

In hundreds of letters, including 10 never-before-published letters to his fiancée, Maria von Wedemeyer, as well as official documents, short original pieces, and a few final sermons, the volume sheds light on Bonhoeffer’s active resistance to and increasing involvement in the conspiracy against the Hitler regime, his arrest, and his long imprisonment. Finally, Bonhoeffer’s many exchanges with his family, fiancée, and closest friends, demonstrate the affection and solidarity that accompanied Bonhoeffer to his prison cell, concentration camp, and eventual death.

In the Logos edition, this valuable volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Highlights the historical period that influenced the writings of this counter-cultural author
• Gives readers an opportunity to step into, and experience, a dramatic slice of history as it was lived day by day
• Contains letters, documents, essays, notes, sermons, and meditations
• Provides a unique source for understanding the interaction of religion, politics, and culture among those few Christians who actively opposed National Socialism

Praise for the Print Edition

An abundance of riches awaits anyone who turns to this magnificent volume. Never before could we see in such luminous detail how Bonhoeffer related his ethics to his involvement in political resistance. This is Bonhoeffer up close and personal during the last period of his life. Letters, essays, sermons, and more show him addressing challenges, ambiguities and terrors that were pressing for him then, and as will be clear to many, are . . . no less pressing for us today.

—George Hunsinger, Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary

This final volume of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works provides essential information on the Confessing Church and the conspiracy against the Nazi regime. Mark Brocker’s introduction includes a particularly clear account of Bonhoeffer’s complex life from his return to Germany in late 1939 to his death in April, 1945. In the documents collected here, we see how a new vision of both church and state began to emerge in Germany well before the end of the war. Conspiracy and Imprisonment shows the importance of Bonhoeffer’s contribution to that vision and . . . the sacrifices he and others made for it.

—Robin Lovin, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics, Southern Methodist University

This volume contains the most dramatic documentation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s defiance of the Hitler regime. It is the essential and long-awaited volume for an understanding of Bonhoeffer’s part in the resistance and conspiracy against Hitler in the years 1940–1943, demonstrating, in Bonhoeffer’s own notes and letters, and in Gestapo and court documents, Bonhoeffer’s engagement on behalf of Jews, which led to his arrest in 1943 and execution on 9 April 1945.

—Peter Hoffman, William Kingsford Professor, McGill University

Product Details

• Title: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 16: Conspiracy and Imprisonment: 1940–1945
• Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Translator: Lisa E. Dahill
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 912

About Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) a German theologian, pastor, and ecumenist, was a professor in Berlin, an uncompromising teacher in the Confessing Church, and a consistent opponent of National Socialism. Executed by Hitler at the end of World War II, his influence continues today as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Lying is first of all the denial of God as God has been revealed to the world. ‘Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?’^[22] Lying is a contradiction of the word of God as it was spoken in Christ and in which creation rests. Consequently, lying is the negation, denial, and deliberate and willful destruction of reality as it is created by God and exists in God to the extent that it takes place through words and silence. Our word in union with the Word of God is intended to express what is real, as it is in God, and our silence is to be a sign of the boundary drawn around the word by what is real, as it is in God.” (Page 607)

“How does my word become true? 1) By recognizing who calls on me to speak and what authorizes me to speak; 2) by recognizing the place in which I stand; 3) by putting the subject I am speaking about into this context.” (Page 608)

“We are not the ones who reform the church, but we are indeed very capable of blocking the way if God has decided to renew it. For us it can only be a matter of making room, of creating space. Reforming impulses can cause as much damage in the church as merely letting things go under the comfortable assumption that God alone will take care of it all.” (Page 37)

“A truthful word is not an entity constant in itself but is as lively as life itself. Where this word detaches itself from life and from the relationship to the concrete other person,^[8] where ‘the truth is told’ without regard for the person to whom it is said, there it has only the appearance of truth but not its essence.” (Page 604)

Product Details

• Title: Conspiracy and Imprisonment: 1940–1945
• Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Series: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works
• Volume: 16
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Print Publication Date: 2006
• Logos Release Date: 2012
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945 › Correspondence; Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945 › Imprisonment; Theologians › Germany--Correspondence; Political prisoners › Germany--Correspondence; Church and state › Germany--History--1933-1945--Sources; Theology › Germany--History--20th century--Sources
• ISBNs: 9780800683160, 0800683161
• Resource ID: LLS:DBW16
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:12:47Z

About Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), a German theologian, pastor, and ecumenist, was a professor in Berlin, an uncompromising teacher in the Confessing Church, and a consistent opponent of National Socialism. Executed by Hitler at the end of World War II, his influence continues today as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century. Bonhoeffer penned countless letters, portions of fiction, and several works on theology and ethics that have shaped modern religious thought. Life Together and The Cost of Discipleship are two examples of this modern martyr’s enduring legacy.