4.0
Letters and Papers from Prison
ByPublisher Description
One of the great classics of prison literature, Letters and Papers from Prison effectively serves as the last will and testament of the Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young German pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his part in the “officers’ plot” to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
This expanded version of Letters and Papers from Prison shifts the emphasis of earlier editions of Bonhoeffer’s theological reflections to the private sphere of his life. His letters appear in greater detail and show his daily concerns. Letters from Bonhoeffer’s parents, siblings, and other relatives have also been added, in addition to previously inaccessible letters and legal papers referring to his trial.
Acute and subtle, warm and perceptive, yet also profoundly moving, the documents collectively tell a very human story of loss, of courage, and of hope. Bonhoeffer’s story seems as vitally relevant, as politically prophetic, and as theologically significant today, as it did yesterday.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young German pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his part in the “officers’ plot” to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
This expanded version of Letters and Papers from Prison shifts the emphasis of earlier editions of Bonhoeffer’s theological reflections to the private sphere of his life. His letters appear in greater detail and show his daily concerns. Letters from Bonhoeffer’s parents, siblings, and other relatives have also been added, in addition to previously inaccessible letters and legal papers referring to his trial.
Acute and subtle, warm and perceptive, yet also profoundly moving, the documents collectively tell a very human story of loss, of courage, and of hope. Bonhoeffer’s story seems as vitally relevant, as politically prophetic, and as theologically significant today, as it did yesterday.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesLetters and Papers from Prison Reviews
4.0
“This is a collection of very personal letters that Bonhoeffer wrote to his friends and family while he was imprisoned from 1942-1945 by the Nazis. He was executed after 2 years in prison for his role in the plot to execute and overthrow Hitler.
It feels silly to review this book, but I have to give it 5 stars. It was encouraging and inspiring to read the thoughts of a Christian who took extreme action against a culture that was turning a blind eye to horrific crimes, call out the Church for being complicit in the crimes, and die young in prison without regrets. The letters themselves aren’t about his work in the conspiracy. They are reflections on his life, thoughts on the state of Christianity at the time, and encouragement for his family. But in reading between the lines you can feel the great anxiety and anticipation of the plot against Hitlers life (which ultimately failed.)
The prologue to the book is a letter than Bonhoeffer wrote to his co-conspirators before his arrest. I actually read the prologue last, and I am glad I did. He reflects on and analyzes the circumstances they live in, and much of it felt so familiar that I couldn’t believe it was written 80 years ago. Even if you don’t want to read 500+ pages of letters, everyone should read his essay “On Folly.”
“What remains for us is only the very narrow path, sometimes barely discernible, of taking each day as if it were the last and yet living it faithfully and responsibly as if there were yet to be a great future”
“It may be that the day of judgement will dawn tomorrow; only then and no earlier will we readily lay down our work for a better future.””
About Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau in 1906. The son of a famous German psychiatrist, he studied in Berlin and New York City. He left the safety of America to return to Germany and continue his public repudiation of the Nazis, which led to his arrest in 1943. Linked to the group of conspirators whose attempted assassination of Hitler failed, he was hanged in April 1945.
Other books by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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