Review: Discipleship In a World Full of Nazis

Or, did Bonhoeffer try to kill Hitler?

The common assumption is that Dietrich Bonhoeffer participated in plots to assassinate Hitler. The story goes that Bonhoeffer pushed aside is pacifist leanings for a more realistic, Niebuhrian view in light of the Third Reich. The commonly told story is that it is Bonhoeffer's complicity in said assassination attempts led to his arrest, imprisonment, and ultimately is execution by hanging on April 9, 1945 at Flossenberg concentration camp.

Nation makes a convincing case against Bonhoeffer becoming a "realist" or ever participating in assassination attempts. Instead, Nation complexifies the story a bit using Bonhoeffer's own words and other historical letters. The result is a compelling case for Bonbhoeffer's Christocentric politics and commitment to what could be called pacifism.

I appreciate Nation's work here in clarifying these accounts and bravely contradicting the typical story. At the same time, Nation does not simply turn Bonhoeffer into a neo-Anabaptist or avoid facing Bonhoeffer's distain for turning ethics into abstract principles. Instead, Nation gives a well-documented and reasonable account of Bonhoeffer's influences and thinking, relying heavily on his own words.

Essays in the Appendices include contributions from Nation, Stanley Hauerwas, and Scot McKnight and all prove to be very helpful.

While I found the writing to become repetitive at times, I still think this book is excellent, needed, and timely. While so many popular accounts of Bonhoeffer tend to speak for Bonhoeffer (through multiple voices), it is refreshing to see an account that seeks to put Bonhoeffer's words together in order for him to speak for himself.