Látható és láthatatlan ellenállás Dietrich Bonhoeffer élettörténetében

Abstract

Eberhard Bethge’s biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer sheds no light on a major dilemma of Bonhoeffer’s life, namely the connection between visible and invisible resistance. The reason for this unclear treatment is that Bethge wrote the biography as a member of the Bonhoeffer family, thus from a rather biased perspective. Bethge portrays the Bonhoeffer family as one resisting Hitler from early on. However, in the eyes of the Nazi authorities, the members of the family, with the sole exception of Dietrich, appeared to be loyal supporters of the regime. The resistance of the other family members would be discovered only after the failed coup on 20 July 1944. Dietrich was the only member of the family, who, also being a member of the Confessing Church, represented the visible resistance right after Hitler came to power. At the same time, due to his invisible and influential family members, Bonhoeffer enjoyed a much more effective protection than ordinary members of the Confessing Church did. Bonhoeffer’s theology bears witness to his consideration of the dilemma of visibility and invisibility. Exactly how this influenced his most important theological writings will be examined in a forthcoming study.