Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4 Februari 1906 - 9 Aprili 1945) alikuwa mchungaji wa Kilutheri, mwanatheolojia na mpinzani wa ufashisti, na mwanzilishi mmojawapo wa "Kanisa la Ungamo" nchini Ujerumani. Maandishi yake juu ya jukumu la Ukristo katika ulimwengu wa kisasa yamekuwa na ushawishi mkubwa, hasa kitabu chake Gharama ya Uanafunzi.^[1]

Mbali na maandiko yake ya kitheolojia, Bonhoeffer alijulikana kwa upinzani wake mkali dhidi ya udikteta wa Nazi, pamoja na kupinga mradi wa serikali wa kuua wagonjwa na siasa ya Hitler ya kutesa Wayahudi. ^[2]

Bonhoeffer alikamatwa mnamo Aprili 1943 na kufungwa katika gereza la Tegel kwa mwaka mmoja na nusu. Baadaye, alihamishiwa kwenye kambi ya wafungwa ya Flossenbürg.

Baada ya jaribio la kumwua Adolf Hitler kwenye tarehe 20 Julai 1944 alishtakiwa kushiriki katika maandalizi. Alihukumiwa haraka pamoja na washtakiwa wengine, wakiwemo maafisa wa kitengo cha ujasusi wa jeshi, kisha akanyongwa tarehe 9 Aprili 1945 siku chache kabla ya utawala wa Wanazi kuanguka.

Bonhoeffer alizaliwa mnamo 4 Februari 1906 huko Breslau (wakati ule Ujerumani, sasa Poland), katika familia kubwa. Mbali na ndugu zake wengine, Dietrich alikuwa na dada pacha Sabine; yeye na Sabine walikuwa watoto wa sita na wa saba kati ya wanane. Baba yake alikuwa tabibu, mtaalamu wa magonjwa ya akili na daktari wa neva Karl Bonhoeffer, na mama yake Paula alikuwa mwalimu na mjukuu wa mwanatheolojia wa Kiprotestanti Karl von Hase na wa mchoraji Stanislaus von Kalckreuth. Katika familia yake elimu ilikuwa muhimu.

Kaka yake mkubwa Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer aliendelea kuwa mwanakemia. Walter Bonhoeffer, mtoto wa pili, aliuawa wakati wa Vita Kuu ya Kwanza ya Dunia. Mtoto wa tatu Klaus, alikuwa wakili hadi alipouawa kwa kuhusika kwake katika njama ya 20 Julai.

Dada wakubwa wa Bonhoeffer, Ursula na Christel waliolewa na wanaume walionyongwa baadaye na Wanazi. Christel alifungwa na Wanazi lakini alinusurika. Sabine na dada mdogo Susanne waliolewa na wanaume ambao walinusurika utawala wa Hitler.

Dietrich aliamua kusoma theolojia wakati bado alikuwa mwanafunzi wa sekondari. Kifo cha kaka yake wakati wa vita kilimshawishi kutafakari mambo ya imani kwa undani zaidi. Kuanzia mwaka 1923 alisoma theolojia kwenye vyuo vikuu vya Tübingen na Berlin, alipoathiriwa na theolojia pembuzi ya Karl Barth. Wakati alikuwa bado mwanafunzi, alihitimu mnamo 1927 digrii ya uzamivu (PhD); tasnifu yake likuwa kuhusu "Sanctorum Communio" (Ushirika wa Watakatifu). Mwaka uliofuata, alimaliza masomo ya theolojia kwa mtihani wa kanisa.

Mwaka 1928 alianza kipindi cha kuandaliwa kwa kazi ya kichungaji akihudumia katika usharika wa Kiinjili wa Kijerumani huko Barcelona, Hispania. Baada ya kurudi Berlin alikuwa mhadhiri msaidizi kwenye idara ya theolojia ya chuo kikuu; hapa alitunga tasnifu ya uprofesa.

Mwaka 1930 alihitimu mtihani wa pili wa theolojia; lakini akiwa na miaka 24 alikuwa hajafikia umri wa kubarikiwa mchungaji.

Bonnhoeffer alikwenda Marekani kwenye mwaka 1930 kwa masomo ya ziada na kazi ya kufundisha kwenye Chuo cha Theolojia mjini New York. Aliona hali za theolojia kuwa duni ikilinganishwa na Ujerumani ("Hakuna theolojia hapa."), ^[3] hata hivyo alikutana na watu waliobadilisha maisha yake. Alisoma chini ya Reinhold Niebuhr. Chuoni alikuwa rafiki wa Frank Fisher, mwanaseminari mwenzake Mweusi ambaye alimpeleka kwenye African Baptist Church huko Harlem, ambapo Bonhoeffer alifundisha shule ya Jumapili. Hapa Bonnhoeffer alianza kupenda spirituals, nyimbo za kiroho za Wamarekani weusi wa Marekani. Alimsikia mhubiri Adam Clayton Powell Sr. akihubiri Injili ya Haki ya Jamii. Maarifa hayo yalimfungulia macho kuhusu udhalimu wa kijamii.^[4]

Bonhoeffer alianza kuangalia vitu "kutoka chini" yaani kwa mtazamo wa wale wanaoteswa. Aliona, "Hapa mtu anaweza kusema kweli na kusikia juu ya dhambi na neema na upendo wa Mungu ... Kristo Mweusi anahubiriwa kwa hamu na maono." Baadaye Bonhoeffer alitaja maarifa aliyopata Marekani kama mahali ambapo "aligeuka kutoka maneno kwenda ukweli." ^[3] Alijifunza pia kuendesha gari, ingawa alishindwa mtihani wa kuendesha mara tatu. ^[5]

Baada ya kurudi Ujerumani mnamo 1931, Bonhoeffer alipata ajira ya mhadhiri wa theolojia katika Chuo Kikuu cha Berlin. Akivutwa sana na harakati ya ekumeni, aliteuliwa na Umoja wa Kukuza Urafiki wa Kimataifa kupitia Makanisa (mtangulizi wa Baraza la Makanisa Duniani) kama mmoja wa makatibu wake watatu wa vijana wa Ulaya. Tarehe 15 Novemba 1931 — akiwa na umri wa miaka 25 — alibarikiwa kuwa mchungaji.

Mwelekeo wa kazi ya kitaaluma ya Bonhoeffer ulibadilishwa ghafla na mageuzi ya kisiasa ilhali Adolf Hitler alikuwa chansela wa Ujerumani tarehe 30 Januari 1933. Bonhoeffer alionekana kuwa mpinzani wa serikali hiyo tangu siku zake za kwanza. Siku mbili baada ya Hitler kuwa mkuu wa serikali aliyetajwa kama "Führer" (kiongozi), Bonhoeffer alitoa somo kwenye ambako aliwaonya wasikilizaji wasiteleze katika ibada ya kiongozi. Somo hilo lilikatwa hewani katikati ya sentensi.^[7] Mnamo Aprili 1933, Ujerumani ulitoa sheria ya kwanza ya kubagua Wayahudi waliofukuzwa katika ajira ya serikali. Bonhoeffer alikuwa mwanatheolojia wa kwanza aliyedai kanisa linapaswa kupinga siasa hiyo; aliandika kwamba kanisa halipaswi "kufungia bendeji tu wahanga chini ya gurudumu, lakini kukwamisha gurudumu lenyewe." ^[8]

Tangu mwaka 1932, kulikuwa na chama cha wafuasi wa Hitler ndani ya kanisa la Kiprotestanti waliojiita "Deutsche Christen" (Wakristo Wajerumani) waliogombea uchaguzi ndani ya kanisa kwa nafasi za sinodi za majimbo au dayosisi na mabaraza ya wazee katika sharika. Kati ya shabaha zao ilikuwa kuondolewa kwa athari ya Kiyahudi katika Ukristo na kuundwa kwa kanisa lisilo la kidhehebu litakaloshikamana na uongozi wa dola ukiendesha siasa ya utaifa. Kwenye mwezi wa Julai 1933 Hitler aliamuru uchaguzi mpya ndani ya kanisa ufanyike kwa matumaini kwamba wafuasi wake watamiliki baadaye sinodi za makanisa ya kieneo. Bonhoeffer aliweka juhudi zake zote katika uchaguzi huo, akifanya kampeni kwa viongozi wasio Wanazi.

Hata hivyo, uchaguzi ulileta wingi mkubwa kwa wagombea wa "Wakristo Wajerumani"^[9], isipokuwa katika sinodi ya jimbo la Westfalia na dayosisi za Kilutheri za Bavaria, Hannover, na Württemberg. Upinzani wa wasio Wanazi ulizingatia sehemu hizo kama "makanisa yasiyoharibika", kinyume na yale mengine waliyoitwa "makanisa yaliyoharibika."

Mnamo Septemba 1933, sinodi ya kitaifa ya Kanisa la Kiprotestanti la Ujeruamni ilikaa Wittenberg ikapitisha azimio la kutumia sheria ya kiserikali ndani ya kanisa kwamba wachungaji na maafisa wa kanisa wenye asili ya Kiyahudi walipaswa kuondolewa kwenye nyadhifa zao. Mchungaji Martin Niemöller aliona azimio hilo kama dharau kwa ubatizo, na pamoja na Bonhoeffer alianzisha shirika la Pfarrernotbund (Ligi ya Dharura ya Wachungaji). Mnamo Novemba, kongamano la "Wakristo Wajerumani" 20,000 lilidai kuondolewa kwa Agano la Kale kutoka kwenye Biblia ya Kikristo. Hatua hiyo ilitazamwa na wengi kama uzushi dhahiri, na idadi ya wachungaji waliojiunga na Ligi ya Dharura iliongezeka.

Ligi ya Dharura ya Wachungaji ilijumuisha takriban theluthi moja ya wachungaji wa Kiprotestant katika Ujerumani. Ilikuwa mtangulizi wa Kanisa la Ungamo lililolenga kuhifadhi imani ya Kibiblia. Katika mkutano wa mwaka 1934 viongozi wake walitoa Azimio la Barmen, lililotungwa na Karl Barth mnamo Mei 1934 na kupitishwa na Kanisa la Ungamo, lililosisitiza kwamba Kristo, si mkuu wa nchi ("Führer" - kiongozi), ndiye mkuu wa kanisa.

Mwisho wa mwaka 1933 Bonhoeffer aliamua kuondoka Ujerumani akakubali kazi ya kuwa mchungaji wa sharika mbili za Kijerumani huko London, Uingereza. Alimuandikia Karl Barth kuwa amepata kuungwa mkono na watu wachache tu kwa msimamo wake - hata kati ya marafiki - na kwamba "alijisikia anapaswa kuhamia jangwani kwa muda". Barth aliona hii kama kutoroka katika changamoto halisi. Alimkemea Bonhoeffer kwa nguvu, akisema, "Ninaweza kujibu tu kwa vyote ulivyotaja: Vipi Kanisa la Ujerumani?" Barth alimlaumu njW -.ù Bonhoeffer kwa kuacha wadhifa wake na kupoteza "silaha zake nzuri za kitheolojia" wakati "nyumba ya kanisa lako inaungua moto," akamdai arudi Berlin "kwa meli ijayo." ^[10]

Lakini Bonhoeffer hakWenda Uingereza ili tu kuepusha shida nyumbani; alitumaini kusambaza habari ili harakati ya kiekumenI ifanye kazi kwa masilahi ya Kanisa la Ungamo. Aliendelea kujihusisha na mambo ya Ujerumani akipata bili kubwa ya simu ili kudumisha mawasiliano yake na Martin Niemöller. Katika mikusanyiko ya kimataifa, Bonhoeffer aliwahimiza watu kupinga harakati ya "Wakristo Wajerumani" na jaribio lao la kuunganisha utaifa wa Wanazi na injili ya Kikristo.

Alitembelewa na Askofu Theodor Heckel aliyesimamia mahusiano ya nje ya Kanisa la Kilutheri la Ujerumani aliyemwonya Bonhoeffer ajiepushe na shughuli yoyote ya kiekumeni isiyoidhinishwa moja kwa moja na Berlin, lakini Bonhoeffer alikataa kuachana nayo. ^[11]

Mnamo 1935, Bonhoeffer alialikwa kusafiri Uhindi na kujiunga kwa muda na ashram ya Mahatma Ghandi ili ajielimishe kuhusu mbinu za upinzani usio na vurugu. Walakini, akikumbuka alivyokemewa na Barth, Bonhoeffer aliamua kurudi Ujerumani badala yake, ambapo alikuwa mkuu katika seminari huko Finkenwalde kwa kufundisha wachungaji wa Kanisa la Ungamo.

Katika miaka hiyo serikali ya Wanazi iliongeza ukandamizaji dhidi ya Kanisa la Ungamo; Karl Barth alipaswa kuondoka Ujerumani na kurudi Uswisi, Niemöller alikamatwa mnamo Julai 1937; na mnamo Agosti 1936, idhini ya Bonhoeffer kufundisha katika Chuo Kikuu cha Berlin ilifutwa baada ya kulaaniwa kama "mpinzani vita na adui wa serikali".

Mnamo Agosti 1937, serikali ilipiga marufuku kazi za kuwafundisha wachungaji wa Kanisa la Ungamo ikabatilisha mitihani yao. Mnamo Septemba 1937, polisi ilifunga seminari huko Finkenwalde, na kufikia Novemba iliwakamata wachungaji 27 na wanafunzi wa zamani.

Bonhoeffer aliendelea kuendesha seminari yake kwa siri, akisafiri kutoka mahali hadi mahali alipopewa nafasi na wachungaji kufundisha vikundi vidogo ndani ya majengo ya sharika fulani. Mmoja wa wanafunzi wake wa siri alikuwa Eberhard Bethge aliyeendelea kuwa rafiki yake akaandika baadaye kitabu juu ya maisha ya Bonnhoeffer.

Katika kipindi hiki Bonhoeffer alitunga kitabu chake kinachojulikana zaidi, Gharama ya Uanafunzi, ambacho ni utafiti juu ya Hotuba ya Mlimani, ambamo alikosoa "neema rahisi" kama kifuniko cha ulegevu wa maadili, akahubiri "neema yenye gharama".

Jitihada za Bonhoeffer kwa seminari za siri ni pamoja na kupata fedha zilizohitajika. Alipata mfadhili mkubwa katika Ruth von Kleist-Retzow. Wakati wa shida, wanafunzi wa zamani wa Bonhoeffer na wake zao wangekimbilia nyumba kubwa ya von Kleist-Retzow huko Pomerania, ambako Bonhoeffer alikuwa mgeni mara kwa mara. Baadaye alimpenda mjukuu wa Kleist-Retzow, Maria von Wedemeyer, ^[12] ambaye alichumbiana naye miezi mitatu kabla ya kukamatwa kwake mnamo 1943.

Mnamo 1938, polisi ilipiga marufuku Bonhoeffer asifike tena Berlin. Mnamo 1939, seminari iliweza kuhamia Sigurdshof, shamba kubwa la familia von Kleist huko Wendish Tychow. Mnamo Machi 1940, wakati Vita Kuu ya Pili imeshaanza, polisi ilifunga seminari hiyo pia. ^[13] Maisha ya kijamaa na ya kimonaki pamoja na kufundisha katika seminari yaliweka msingi kwa vitabu vyake, Gharama ya Uanafunzi na Maisha Pamoja.

Dada pacha wa Bonhoeffer, Sabine, alikuwa ameolewa na Gerhard Leibholz, aliyezaliwa katika familia ya Kiyahudi na kubatizwa baadaye. Kufuatana na sheria za Wanazi alifukuzwa katika kazi yake ya profesa wa sheria. Pamoja na binti zao wawili familia iliweza kuondoka Ujerumani na kuhamia Uingereza kwa njia ya Uswisi mnamo mwaka 1938.

Mnamo Februari 1938, Bonhoeffer alipata mawasiliano ya kwanza na washiriki wa upinzani katika jeshi la Ujerumani; shemeji yake Hans von Dohnanyi alimtambulisha kwa kikundi kilichokuwa kinatafuta kupinduliwa kwa Hitler huko Abwehr, huduma ya ujasusi ya jeshi la Ujerumani.

Bonhoeffer pia alijifunza kutoka kwa Dohnányi kwamba vita ilikuwa imekaribia na alikuwa na wasiwasi sana na matarajio ya kulazimishwa kuwa mwanajeshi. Kama mpinga vita aliyepinga pia serikali ya Wanazi, asingeweza kula kiapo kwa Hitler na kupigana katika jeshi lake, ingawa kukataa kufanya hivyo kulikuwa kosa la kifo. Alihofia pia kwamba kukataa kwake utumishi wa kijeshi kungeweza na matokeo mabaya kwa Kanisa la Ungamo.^[11]

Katika hali hiyo Bonhoeffer alikubali mwaliko wa Seminari ya Theolojia huko New York. Katikati ya msukosuko mwingi wa ndani, hivi karibuni alijutia uamuzi wake akarudi baada ya wiki mbili licha ya shinikizo kubwa kutoka kwa marafiki zake kukaa Marekani. Alimwandikia Reinhold Niebuhr :

I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people ... Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security.^[14]

Kurudi Ujerumani, Bonhoeffer alisumbuliwa zaidi na serikali akikatazwa kuzungumza hadharani na alihitajika kufika mara kwa mara ili aripoti shughuli zake kwa polisi. Mnamo 1941, alikatazwa kutoa vitabu au makala katika majarida.

Wakati huohuo, Bonhoeffer alikuwa amejiunga na huduma ya ujasusi ya kijeshi ya Ujerumani. Shemeji yake Dohnanyi aliyekuwa afisa katika huduma hiyo, alimwingiza katika huduma kwa madai kwamba mawasiliano yake mengi ya kiekumenio yangetumika kwa Ujerumani. Kuajiriwa hapa kulimlinda kutokana na kuandikishwa kwenda utumishi wa kijeshi. Bonhoeffer labda alijua kuhusu njama mbalimbali za 1943 dhidi ya Hitler kupitia Dohnanyi, ambaye alikuwa akihusika kikamilifu katika upangaji huo. ^[15] Bonhoeffer alijifunza kiwango cha ukatili wa Wanazi kupitia kazi hiyo. Alikubali alitenda dhambi akifanya kazi dhidi ya serikali yake lakini aliona angetenda dhambi kubwa zaidi kama angekaa kimya na kuvumilia jinai zilizotendwa kwa jina la taifa lake. Hakuhalalisha kitendo chake lakini alikubali kwamba alikuwa akijichukulia hatia mwenyewe akaandika, "Mtu anapojichukulia hatia akiwajibika, anajihesabia mwenyewe hatia na si mtu mwingine yeyote. Anajibu kwa hilo... Mbele ya watu wengine anahesabiwa haki kwa ulazima wa tendo lake; mbele yake mwenyewe huachiliwa huru na dhamiri yake, lakini mbele ya Mungu anatarajia neema tu." ^[16]

Chini ya kifuniko cha Huduma ya Ujasusi, Bonhoeffer aliweza kusafiri kuwa mjumbe wa vuguvugu la upinzaji katika Ujerumani kudhihirisha uwepo wake na nia yake kwa mataifa ya nje, kwa matumaini ya kupata msaada wao. Kupitia mawasiliano yake ya kiekumeni nje ya nchi, alitafuta masharti ya amani kwa serikali baada ya Hitler. Ziara zake huko Norway, Uswidi, Denmark, na Uswisi zilifichwa kama shughuli halali za huduma ya ujasusi. Mnamo Mei 1942, alikutana na askofu wa Anglikana George Bell wa Chichester, baada ya mawasiliano na shemeji yake Leibholz; kupitia askofu ujumbe ulitumwa kwa Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Uingereza Anthony Eden. Walakini, serikali ya Uingereza ilipuuza mawasiliano hayo sawa na yote mengine kutoka kwa upinzani wa siri ndani ya Ujerumani. ^[17] Dohnanyi na Bonhoeffer pia walihusika katika operesheni za huduma ya ujuasusi kusaidia Wayahudi kutoka Ujerumani wakimbilie Uswisi. Wakati huo Bonhoeffer aliendelea kuandika kitabu chake Maadili. Hakuweza kukimaliza kabla ya kifo chake. Aliendelea kuwatunza wanafunzi wake wa zamani kwa njia ya kuwandikia barua. Mnamo 5 Aprili 1943, Bonhoeffer na Dohnányi walikamatwa na kufungwa.

Mnamo 13 Januari 1943, Bonhoeffer alikuwa amemposa Maria von Wedemeyer, mjukuu wa rafiki yake wa karibu na msaidizi wa seminari ya Finkenwalde, Ruth von Kleist Retzow. Ruth alikuwa amemshawishi kuoa, lakini hadi mwishoni mwa Oktoba 1942, Bonhoeffer alisitasita tu. ^[18] Kulikuwa na tofauti kubwa ya umri kati ya Bonhoeffer na Maria: alikuwa na umri wa miaka 36, Maria alikuwa na 18. Bonhoeffer alikuwa amekutana na Maria mara ya kwanza wakati alipokuwa na umri wa miaka 11. ^[19] Wawili hao walikuwa na wakati mdogo tu wa kuonana. Mara Dietrich alipofungwa gerezani, hata hivyo, hadhi ya Maria kama mchumba ilikuwa muhimu sana, kwani aliruhusiwa kumtembelea Bonhoeffer na kuwasiliana naye. Aliweza kumletea chakula gerezani na kupeleka nje nyaraka alizoficha.^[20]

Kwa mwaka mmoja na nusu, Bonhoeffer alifungwa katika Gereza la Tegel akisubiri kuanzishwa kwa kesi yake. Huko aliongea na wafungwa wenzake na walinzi kuhusu mambo ya imani. Walinzi wenye huruma walisaidia kusafirisha barua zake kutoka gerezani kwenda kwa Eberhard Bethge na wengine, na barua hizo zilichapishwa baada ya kifo chake katika kitabu Barua kutoka Gerezani. Mmoja wa walinzi hao, koplo aliyeitwa Knobloch, hata alijitolea kumsaidia kutoroka gerezani na "kutoweka" pamoja naye, na mipango ilifanywa kwa lengo hilo lakini hatimaye Bonhoeffer alikataa, akiogopa adhabu ya Nazi dhidi ya familia yake, haswa kaka yake Klaus na shemeji Hans von Dohnanyi, ambao pia walifungwa. ^[21]

Baada ya kutofaulu kwa Njama ya 20 Julai 1944 dhidi ya Hitler nyaraka za siri za Abwehr zinazohusiana na njama hiyo, Bonhoeffer alishtakiwa kwa kushirikiana na wale waliokula njama. Alihamishwa kutoka gereza la kijeshi Tegel huko Berlin, ambapo alikuwa ameshikiliwa kwa miezi 18, hadi kwenye chumba cha kizuizini cha gereza la polisi ya usalama chenye ulinzi mkali. Mnamo Februari 1945, alihamishwa kwa siri kwenda kwenye kambi ya wafungwa ya Buchenwald, na mwishowe akapelekwa kwenye kambi ya wafungwa ya Flossenbürg.

Mnamo tarehe 4 Aprili 1945, shajara za admirali Wilhelm Canaris ziligunduliwa. Canaris alikuwa mkuu wa huduma ya ujasusi lakini aliwahi kukamatwa tayari baada ya 20 Julai 1944 ingawa kushiriki kwake katika njama kulikuwa hakujathibitishwa. Hitler alipoonyeshwa shajara akakasirika akaamuru kwamba wote waliokuwa sehemu ya njama waangamizwe. ^[22] Bonhoeffer alikuwa akiongoza ibada ya Jumapili kwa ajili ya wafungwa katika kambi ya Buchenwald alipochukuliwa ili apelekwe Flossenbürg. Alikuwa na muda kumwambia mfungwa Mwingereza Payne Best kumpa askofu George Bell salamu zake: “Umwambie kwamba huu ni mwisho wangu lakini pia mwanzo. Pamoja naye ninaamini katika usuli wa undugu wa Wakristo wote duniani juu ya majukumu yetu ya kitaifa, na ushindi wetu ni hakika; umwambie pia sijasahau maneno yake tulipokutana mara ya mwisho." ^[23]

Bonhoeffer alihukumiwa kifo mnamo 8 Aprili 1945 na jaji wa SS Otto Thorbeck mbele ya mahakama ya kijeshi bila mashahidi, rekodi za kesi au utetezi katika kambi ya wafungwa ya Flossenbürg. ^[24] Aliuawa huko kwa kunyongwa alfajiri ya tarehe 9 Aprili 1945, wiki mbili tu kabla ya jeshi la Marekani kufika na kukomboa kambi hiyo, ^{[25] [26]} wiki tatu kabla ya kukamatwa kwa Berlin na Jeshi Jekundu na mwezi mmoja kabla ya kujisalimisha kwa Ujerumani.

Bonhoeffer alivuliwa nguo na kupelekwa uchi kwenye uwanja wa kunyongwa ambapo alinyongwa na wengine sita: admirali Wilhelm Canaris; jenerali Hans Oster, naibu wa Canaris; jenerali Karl Sack, mwanasheria wa kijeshi; jenerali Friedrich von Rabenau; mfanyabiashara Theodor Strünck; na mpiganaji wa upinzani wa Ujerumani Ludwig Gehre

Kaka wa Dietrich, Klaus Bonhoeffer, na shemeji yake, Rüdiger Schleicher, waliuawa huko Berlin usiku wa tarehe 22-23 Aprili wakati askari wa Kisovyeti walikuwa tayari wanapigana ndani ya Berlin. Shemeji yake Hans von Dohnanyi alikuwa ameuawa katika kambi ya wafungwa ya Sachsenhausen mnamo Aprili 9.

Daktari wa kambi aliyeshuhudia mauaji aliandika baada ya vita: "Nilimwona Mchungaji Bonhoeffer... akipiga magoti sakafuni akiomba kwa bidii kwa Mungu. Niliguswa sana na jinsi mtu huyo mpole alivyoomba, mwenye bidii na mwenye hakika kwamba Mungu alisikia sala yake. Mahali pa kunyongwa, alisema tena sala fupi kisha akapanda hatua chache hadi kwenye mti wa kunyongea, jasiri na tulivu. Kifo chake kilifuata baada ya sekunde chache. Katika miaka karibu hamsini ambayo nilifanya kazi kama daktari, sijawahi kuona mtu akifa kwa unyenyekevu kabisa kwa mapenzi ya Mungu. " ^[23]

Ila wanahistoria waliona wasiwasi kuhusu maelezo yake kwa sababu yule daktari alikuwa afisa wa SS aliyesimamia mauaji na hivyo inawezekana alitaka tu kupunguza hatia yake kwa kusimulia hadithi ya kuvutia ^[27].

Haijulikani maiti ya Bonhoeffer ilizikwa wapi. Inawezekana mwili wake uliteketezwa nje ya kambi pamoja na mamia ya wafungwa wengine waliouawa hivi karibuni au waliokufa, au wanajeshi wa Marekani waliuweka mwili wake katika moja ya makaburi ya watu wengi ambapo walizuru wafu wasiozikwa wa kambi hiyo.

Maisha ya Bonhoeffer kama mchungaji na mwanatheolojia mwenye akili kubwa na maisha ya kiroho ambaye aliishi yale aliyohubiri - na kuuawa kwake kwa sababu ya upinzani wake dhidi ya Wanazi - yalikuwa na ushawishi mkubwa na msukumo kwa Wakristo katika madhehebu mengi.

Bonhoeffer anakumbukwa katika kalenda za kiliturujia za madhehebu kadhaa ya Kikristo kwenye kumbukumbu ya kifo chake, tarehe 9 Aprili. Hii ni pamoja na sehemu nyingi za Kanisa Anglikana, ambapo hujulikana kama shahidi ^{[28] [29] [30]}. Kumbukumbu yake katika kalenda ya liturujia ya Kanisa la Kiinjili la Kilutheri huko Amerika hutumia rangi ya kiliturujia nyeupe, ^[31] ambayo hutumiwa kwa watakatifu ambao hawakufia dini.^{[32] [33] [34]} Mwaka 2008, Baraza Kuu la Umoja wa Wamethodisti, ambao hauna utaratibu wa kuorodhesha watakatifu, ilimtambua rasmi Bonhoeffer kama "shahidi wa kisasa".^{[35] [36] [37]}

Tafsiri za Kiingereza za kazi za Bonhoeffer, ambazo nyingi ziliandikwa kwa Kijerumani, zinapatikana. Mihadhara na vitabu vyake vingi vilitafsiriwa kwa Kiingereza na vinapatikana kutoka kwa wachapishaji wengi. Kazi hizo zimeorodheshwa kufuatia toleo la Fortress Press la maandiko ya Bonhoeffer.

• Sanctorum Communio. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Clifford Green, Editor Translated by Reinhard Krauss and Nancy Lukens. Hardcover, 392 pp; ISBN|978-0-8006-8301-6 and paperback, 386 pp; ISBN|978-0-8006-9652-8. Bonhoeffer's dissertation, completed in 1927 and first published in 1930 as Sanctorum Communio: eine Dogmatische Untersuchung zur Soziologie der Kirche. In it he attempts to work out a theology of the person in society, and particularly in the church. Along with explaining his early positions on sin, evil, solidarity, collective spirit, and collective guilt, it unfolds a systematic theology of the Spirit at work in the church and what it implies for questions on authority, freedom, ritual, and eschatology.
• Act and Being. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Wayne Whitson Floyd and Hans Richard Reuter, Editors; Translated by H. Martin Rumscheidt. Hardcover, 256 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8302-3. Bonhoeffer's second dissertation, written in 1929–1930 and published in 1931 as Akt und Sein, deals with the consciousness and conscience in theology from the perspective of the Reformation's insight into the origin sinfulness in the "heart turned in upon itself and thus open neither to the revelation of God nor to the encounter with the neighbor." Bonhoeffer's thoughts about power, revelation, Otherness, theological method, and theological anthropology are explained.
• Creation and Fall. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 3. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; John W. De Gruchy, Editor Translated by Douglas Stephen Bax. In 1932, Bonhoeffer called on his students at the University of Berlin to focus their attention on the word of God, the word of truth, in a time of turmoil. Hardcover, 214 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8303-0. Paper, 224 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8323-8.
• Discipleship. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 4. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; John D. Dodsey and Geffrey B. Kelly, Editors. Originally published in 1937, this book (generally known in English by the title The Cost of Discipleship) soon became a classic exposition of what it means to follow Christ in a modern world beset by a dangerous and criminal government. Hardcover, 384 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8304-7. Paper, 354 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8324-5.
• Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 5. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; James H. Burtness and Geffrey B. Kelly, Editors; Translated by Daniel W. Bloesch. Hardcover, 242 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8305-4} Paper, 232 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8325-2. Life Together is a classic which contains Bonhoeffer's meditation on the nature of Christian community. Prayerbook of the Bible is a classic meditation on the importance of the Psalms for Christian prayer. In this theological interpretation of the Psalms, Bonhoeffer describes the moods of an individual's relationship with God and also the turns of love and heartbreak, of joy and sorrow, that are themselves the Christian community's path to God.
• Ethics. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 6. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Clifford Green, Editor; Translated by Reinhard Krauss, Douglas W. Stott, and Charles C. West. Despite remaining incomplete at the time of Bonhoeffer's execution, this book is central to understanding Bonhoeffer's body of work. Ethics is the culmination of his theological and personal odyssey. Hardcover, 544 pp: ISBN 978-0-8006-8306-1. Paperback, 605 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8326-9.
• Fiction from Tegel Prison. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 7. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Clifford Green, Editor Translated by Nancy Lukens. Hardcover, 288 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8307-8. Writing fiction—an incomplete drama, a novel fragment, and a short story—occupied much of Bonhoeffer's first year in Tegel prison, as well as writing to his family and his fiancée and dealing with his interrogation. "There is a good deal of autobiography mixed in with it," he explained to his friend and biographer Eberhard Bethge. Richly annotated by German editors Renate Bethge and Ilse Todt and by Clifford Green, the writings in this book disclose a great deal of Bonhoeffer's family context, social world, and cultural milieu. Events from his life are recounted in a way that illuminates his theology. Characters and situations that represent Nazi types and attitudes became a form of social criticism and help to explain Bonhoeffer's participation in the resistance movement and the plot to kill Hitler.
• Letters and Papers from Prison. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 8. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; John W. de Gruchy, Editor; Translated by Isabel Best; Lisa E. Dahill; Reinhard Krauss; Nancy Lukens. This splendid volume, in many ways the capstone of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, is the first unabridged collection of Bonhoeffer's 1943–1945 prison letters and theological writings. Here are over 200 documents that include extensive correspondence with his family and Eberhard Bethge (much of it in English for the first time), as well as his theological notes, and his prison poems. The volume offers an illuminating introduction by editor John de Gruchy and an historical Afterword by the editors of the original German volume: Christian Gremmels, Eberhard Bethge, and Renate Bethge. Hardcover, 800 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-9703-7.
• The Young Bonhoeffer, 1918–1927. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Paul Duane Metheny, Editor. Gathers Bonhoeffer's 100 earliest letters and journals from after the First World War through his graduation from Berlin University. Hardcover, 720 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8309-2. This work gathers his earliest letters and journals through his graduation from Berlin University. It also contains his early theological writings up to his dissertation. The seventeen essays include works on the patristic period for Adolf von Harnack, on Luther's moods for Karl Holl, on biblical interpretation for Professor Reinhold Seeberg, as well as essays on the church and eschatology, reason and revelation, Job, John, and even joy. Rounding out this picture of Bonhoeffer's nascent theology are his sermons from the period, along with his lectures on homiletics, catechesis, and practical theology.
• Barcelona, Berlin, New York: 1928–1931. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 10. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Clifford Green, Editor. This period from 1928 to 1931, which followed completion of his dissertation, was formative for Bonhoeffer's personal, pastoral, and theological direction. Hardcover, 790 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8330-6.
• Ecumenical, Academic and Pastoral Work: 1931–1932, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Works, Volume 11, is a translation of Ökumene, Universität, Pfarramt: 1931–1932. Hardcover, 576 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-9838-6.^[38]
• Berlin: 1932–1933. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 12. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Larry L. Rasmussen, Editor. Translated by Isabel Best, David Higgins, and Douglas W. Stott. Berlin documents the crisis of 1933 in Germany as Bonhoeffer taught "on a faculty whose theology he did not share." Hardcover, 650 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8312-2.
• London, 1933–1935. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Works, Volume 13. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Keith C. Clements, Editor. Translated by Isabel Best. Includes records and minutes of his congregational meetings, reports from international conferences from 1934, more than 20 sermons he preached in London, and more. Hardcover, 550 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8313-9.
• Theological Education at Finkenwalde: 1935–1937, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Works, Volume 14, is a translation of Illegale Theologenausbildung: 1935–1937, was released on 1 October 2013. The publishers description of the volume is thus: "In the spring of 1935 Dietrich Bonhoeffer returned from England to direct a small illegal seminary for the Confessing Church. The seminary existed for two years before the Gestapo ordered it closed in August 1937. The two years of Finkenwalde's existence produced some of Bonhoeffer's most significant theological work as he prepared these young seminarians for the turbulence and risk of parish ministry in the Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer and his seminarians were under Gestapo surveillance; some of them were arrested and imprisoned. Throughout, he remained dedicated to training them for the ministry and its challenges in a difficult time. This volume includes bible studies, sermons, and lectures on homiletics, pastoral care, and catechesis, giving a moving and up-close portrait of the Confessing Church in these crucial years—the same period during which Bonhoeffer wrote his classics, Discipleship and Life Together."^[39]
• Theological Education Underground: 1937–1940, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Works, Volume 15, is a translation of Illegale Theologenausbildung: 1937–1940. Hardcover, 750 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-9815-7.^[40]
• Conspiracy and Imprisonment 1940–1945. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 16. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Mark Brocker, Editor Translated by Lisa E. Dahill. Hundreds of letters, including ten never-before-published letters to his fiancée, Maria von Wedemeyer, as well as official documents, short original pieces, and his final sermons. Hardcover, 912 pp: ISBN|978-0-8006-8316-0.

• Watakatifu wa Agano la Kale
• Orodha ya Watakatifu Wakristo
• Orodha ya Watakatifu wa Afrika
• Orodha ya Watakatifu Wafransisko

• Watakatifu wa Agano la Kale
• Orodha ya Watakatifu Wakristo
• Orodha ya Watakatifu wa Afrika
• Orodha ya Watakatifu Wafransisko

 

• Bethge, E.; Barnett, V.J. (1999). Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1-4514-0742-6.
• Bonhoeffer, D.; Barnett, V.; Schulz, D. (2011). Theological Education Underground, 1937–1940. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works Series. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1-4514-0683-2.
• Marsh, Charles (2014). Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-26981-2.
• Schlingensiepen, Ferdinand (2010). Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906–1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance. Continuum/T & T Clark. ISBN 978-0-7735-1531-4.
• Root, A. (2014). Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker: A Theological Vision for Discipleship and Life Together. Baker Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4412-2131-5.

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer kwenye Encyclopædia Britannica
• Chumba cha Archived 28 Agosti 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Kusomea cha Bonhoeffer na viungo vingi kwa msingi na vyanzo vya mtandao, Seminari ya Tyndale
• Lawrence, Joel. "Bonhoeffer Bibliography. Update 2009" (PDF). Ilihifadhiwa kwenye nyaraka kutoka chanzo (PDF) mnamo 23 Septemba 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date auto-translated (link)
• Nakala ya Douglas Huff katika The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Archived 13 Januari 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
• Maisha Mkubwa: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Tazama: Maria von Wedemeyer-Weller Archived 6 Machi 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
• "Maandishi ya Gerezani katika Ulimwengu Ujao wa Umri: Maono Maalum ya Dietrich Bonhoeffer", Martin E. Marty, Berfrois, 12 Mei 2011
• Richard Beck (8 Desemba 2010), Bonoheffer: etsi deus non daretur
• Abbey ya Westminster: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Kwa nini Utangazaji wa kazi za Bonhoeffer kwa Kijerumani na Kiingereza ni kubwa sana Archived 2 Februari 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer katika Kanisa la Jumuiya ya Greenville