Welcome to "boundless hope"
Commemorative events of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Bavaria on the occasion of the 80th Anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Death in Flossenbürg
"As surely as one believes, so surely one hopes. And it is no shame to hope, to hope without borders."
These words by Bonhoeffer, spoken in the face of the Nazi regime—when few dared to hope for better times—resonate deeply.
Bonhoeffer polarizes: as a witness of faith, as an advocate for the persecuted.
Whether during the Nazi regime, when he considered it the Church's duty not only to bind the wounds of those crushed under the wheels of societal order but also to "jam a spoke into the wheel itself," or in the present day, with the release of the U.S. film drama "Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin" (premiering in Germany on March 6, 2025).
In the first case, it is about taking a stand for the persecuted in God's name; in the debate surrounding the Bonhoeffer film, it is about his role in contemporary political discussions.
The life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born in Breslau in 1906, was brief. On April 9, 1945, he was executed alongside others who resisted the Nazi regime.
His life and work are uniquely intertwined and captivating, perhaps because many of his profound and forward-looking theological concepts remain unfinished. This leaves room for interpretations and projections from various perspectives. Bonhoeffer is often co-opted for diverse causes, as it seems that where his name is invoked, people rally for what they believe to be good.
Yet, attempts to instrumentalize Bonhoeffer are glaringly obvious—something his family, the descendants of his seven siblings, actively oppose.
Nonetheless, Bonhoeffer invites identification. His words from "Letters and Papers from Prison" feel as relevant today as ever:
"We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds; we know all the tricks; we have learned the arts of equivocation and ambiguous speech; through experience, we have become distrustful of others and have often been unable to say the truth and speak freely; we have become weary or even cynical through unbearable conflicts—are we still of any use?"
What sustained Bonhoeffer through it all was his hope grounded in faith, which also serves as the guiding theme of this commemorative week marking the 80th anniversary of his death in Flossenbürg.
This active hope is encapsulated in his well-known statement:
"Our being Christians today will consist only in two things: in praying and in doing what is right among people."
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria warmly invites you to Flossenbürg to reflect on our faith and actions today through the lens of Bonhoeffer's life and legacy.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 -1945) was a Protestant theologian of the 20th century who had a profound influence on the church and society.
On April 9, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was murdered in the Flossenbürg concentration camp along with other resistance fighters against the Nazi regime.
His violent death will be commemorated 80 years ago on April 9, 2025. The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Bavaria is commemorating the great theologian with a series of events at the Flossenbürg concentration camp memorial from April 3 to 10, 2025.
We remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a person, as a theologian and as a resistance fighter. He had a hope without limits. That is why the ELKB's 2025 commemorative year will have this motto: #boundlesshope
Bishop Christian Kopp
If we remember and commemorate responsibly, we can help to ensure that Nazi crimes are no longer committed. And we carry forward the hope that Dietrich Bonhoeffer formulated in his theology and in his texts of faith while in captivity and distress.:
#boundlesshope
A faith that does not hope is sick.
It is like a hungry child that does not eat, or like a tired person that does not want to sleep.
As surely as a person believes, he hopes.
And there is no shame in hoping, in hoping without limits. Who would want to talk about God without hoping?
Who would want to talk about God without hoping to see him one day? Who would want to talk about peace and love among people without wanting to experience them once in eternity?
Who would want to talk about a new world and a new humanity without hoping that they will take part in it? And why should we be ashamed of our hope?
One day we will not be ashamed of our hope, but of our poor and fearful hopelessness, which does not trust God, which in false humility does not grasp where God's promises are made, which is resigned to this life and cannot look forward to God's eternal power and glory.
The more a person dares to hope, the greater his hope becomes: Man grows with his hope - if it is only hope in God and his sole power. Hope remains. *
(Source: London 1933-1935, DBW Volume 13, page 401f)
