Who was Klaus Bonhoeffer? Approaches to an Unknown Resistance Fighter

Abstract

This article discusses Klaus Bonhoeffer, the elder brother of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by five years. Whereas Dietrich has received worldwide recognition as a theologian and resistance fighter in Nazi Germany, his brother Klaus has so far gone almost unnoticed. Yet he preceded Dietrich on the path to conspiracy and was murdered by the Nazis two weeks after Dietrich, just a few days before the end of World War II (on 23 April 1945). Based on previously unpublished source material and interviews with Klaus Bonhoeffer’s three elderly children, the book Wer war Klaus Bonhoeffer? [Who was Klaus Bonhoeffer?] is the world’s first and only monograph on this person. It tells the impressive story of his life and opens up unexplored territory. Klaus Bonhoeffer performed a special function as a bridge builder of the resistance movement, because he maintained contact with different, even conflicting groups and managed to connect them (i.e., monarchical, conservative, ecclesiastical, socialist and military resistance). Though he was a lawyer by profession, the Christian value system was decisive and guiding for Klaus (no less than for Dietrich, the theologian). With his political alertness, his courage to resist and the willingness to pay the price of his life, he is an inspiring role model and can be considered as a kind of modern “saint for our time.”