Personal reflections on the movie Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin – From resisting Hitler to resisting Trump

“The church is the church only when it exists for others. To make a start, it should give away all its property to those in need. The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell people of every calling what it means to live in Christ, to exist for others. It will have to take the field against the vices of hubris, power-worship, envy, and humbug, as the roots of all evil. It must not underestimate the importance of human example (which has its origin in the humanity of Jesus); it is not abstract argument, but example, that gives the word emphasis and power.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Last night I watched the new movie Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy Assassin. The movie resonated with me on many levels, partly because I used to identify as a Christian, but more importantly, the film centered on the issue of how to confront evil.

The film’s construction jumps back and forth between the time that Bonhoeffer was a prisoner of the Nazis, to critical moments in his life, moments that formed the person who would eventually be seen as a threat to the Nazi Party. In all of the scenes where Bonhoeffer was in prison, he was always writing in a notebook he had with him. What Bonhoeffer was writing was what eventually became one of his most famous books, Letters and Papers from Prison.

There are beautiful scenes with his family, particularly as a boy, where he is playing with siblings, but then his older brother has to join the German army and fight in WWI. Dietrich’s brother doesn’t come back, as he was killed in the war.

Another critical section of the film deals with the years Bonhoeffer spent in the US, specifically at Union Theological Seminary, where he met an African American named Albert Fisher. Fisher introduces Bonhoeffer to a jazz club in Harlem and then to a Black church. Bonhoeffer was deeply transformed by these experiences, which are captured in an excellent article entitled, BONHOEFFER’S HARLEM RENAISSANCE.

With a rejuvenated faith, Bonhoeffer returns to Germany just as the Nazi Party has begun to gain massive national support. There is an interesting scene, where Bonhoeffer’s bishop is preaching and is referring to the church as the Nazi Church, the Reich Kirche. Bonhoeffer is shocked by this and confronts his bishop.

Shortly after this scene Bonhoeffer is now delivering a sermon in the same church, with several Nazi officers present and he preaches the the beatitudes, but Luke’s version, which also includes phrases like, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.”

The film does a fairly good job of looking at the complicity of the Christian Churches, with the majority being either silent or taking an active part in the Nazi Party. 

Woe to you, from Luke’s beatitudes – clergy and Nazi officers get up and walk out because of what Bonhoeffer is saying, which is to denounce the church’s allegiance to the State. If you want to explore in more detail how the German Church was complicit with the Nazi Party, see Betrayal: German Churches and the Holocaust, and The Third Reich and the Christian Churches. 

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy Assassin also includes the formation of what became known as the Confessing Church. The Confessing Church brought together clergy and regular Christians to take a clear stance against the Nazi Party and Adolph Hitler. They did this with what is know as the Barmen Declaration. 

Bonhoeffer was identified as a threat to the Nazi Party with his endorsement of the Barmen Declaration, as were many other Germans. Because of this, several seminarians joined Bonhoeffer in a somewhat clandestine school that was created, known as the Finkenwalde seminary, which lasted from 1935 – 1937, when it was burned to the ground by the Nazi Party. 

With his life being threatened Bonhoeffer is encouraged by other members of the Confessing Church to go to back to the US, to tell them what is happening under the Nazi Party. Bonhoeffer goes, but is only in the US for a brief time, since he decides to go back to Germany and be part of the resistance.

Shortly after Bonhoeffer returns, he is arrested and imprisoned by the Nazi’s because of his role of raising funds that were used in the plot to assassinated Hitler. In his last days in prison, which was bombed, the Nazis moved Bonhoeffer and the other prisoners to a different sight, where they hang him. 

Overall the film is good, even though it was not totally historic, plus in some areas I wish they would have focused more on the larger Confessing Church movement, which Bonhoeffer was a part of. I would encourage people to watch this excellent documentary about Bonhoeffer, which will help fill many of the gaps that the Hollywood film doesn’t address sufficiently. 

What is past is present

It was hard for me to not think about the courage of Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church, which was a clear reaction to the horrors of the Nazi policies. At the same time it is hard for me not to think about current political climate in the US, especially with the incoming Trump Administration. Now, I don’t equate Trump with Hitler. However, I do recognize the authoritarian aspects of Trump and the people around him. 

When I look around my own community of Grand Rapids, I think about the kinds of draconian policies being adopted in this city and the possibility of it becoming much worse. Then I think about whether or not there is anything resembling the Confessing Church in Grand Rapids. In my estimate, there isn’t, even with some of “progressive” churches. 

There are movements and movement groups in GR, that have both a moral and political framework that is comparable to the resistance of authoritarian structures and systems in this community. 

If we think about the possible mass deportation promises of the Trump Administration, then Grand Rapids will be faced with some serious choices. The church community currently does little to resist the the white supremacist practices that impact Black and Brown communities. There are few churches that dare to question or publicly challenge the US role in the current Israeli genocide of Palestinians. In fact, one could argue that the religious communities in Grand Rapids have, by enlarge, been silent on state violence, the growing wealth gap, the current climate crisis, the housing crisis and the blatant transphobia within this city. 

It will be very interesting to see if Grand Rapids will respond to the impending mass deportation plan of the Trump Administration. How many churches will declare themselves a sanctuary, how many of them will join Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to in mobilizing people to resist any and all anti-immigration practices of the incoming Trump Administration and the likely cooperation of Grand Rapids and Kent County officials. 

Or will we, like Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church resist authoritarianism in this community? Will people in this city participate in the upcoming training by GR Rapid Response to ICE being held on January 18th at Fountain St. Church? Will people in Grand Rapids come to the march that Movimiento Cosecha is having on January 20th, the same day as Trump’s Inauguration? Let us look upon these moments and realize that we have to act or we could regret for the rest of our lives that we were silent and complicit in the harm that could be done against our fellow community members in Grand Rapids.