Radical Integrity: The Story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

You’ll be inspired by this story of a German pastor and theologian who gave his life to oppose Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Born into a prominent German family, Dietrich Bonhoeffer died in a Nazi prison camp, hanged for his plot against the man who’d plunged the world into war. Find out what made Dietrich Bonhoeffer the man he was—compassionate minister, brilliant thinker, opponent of the heresies of Nazism and Aryan superiority. This easy-to-read biography details both Bonhoeffer’s life and his powerful theology—of “cheap” versus “costly” grace.

In solitary confinement he found true freedom

Gestapo agents knocked heavily on the outside door. In an upstairs bedroom, a man wiped sweat from his face and dropped a match into the wastebasket. Only after seeing the contents burn did he calmly give each member of his family a brief hug and leave with the men in dark coats. It was April 1943 in Nazi Germany. The last time Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw his family as a free man.

            Pastor, professor, one of the twentieth-century’s most brilliant minds—Dietrich Bonhoeffer was soon to be a martyr. After struggling with the moral issues involved, he had joined the resistance to his country’s dictator, Adolf Hitler. In his solitary confinement, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was never truly alone—because his Lord was with him. Anchoring his daily life in the simple disciplines of Bible study and prayer, Bonhoeffer pondered and wrote on deep spiritual issues.

            In April 1945, just weeks before World War II ended in Europe, the Nazis hanged Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He had written of “the cost of discipleship”—and paid that cost with his life. But for those who follow his example, his investment continues to pay dividends today.