Dietrich Bonhoeffer: His Life and his Work

Exhibition from March 12 – May 01 2023
Opening: Wednesday, March 08 2023, 19:00 hrs

The Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is considered one of the most important representatives of Christian resistance under National Socialism.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer became only 39 years old. He studied theology in Tübingen, Bonn and Rome and worked as a pastor in Berlin and London. As early as 1933, he criticized the outrages of the National Socialists against Jews. He belonged to the „Confessing Church,“ which tried to resist the assimilation of the churches to the Nazi regime, and became one of the leading theologians of this church opposition movement. As a member of the military-political resistance, Bonhoeffer made efforts to establish contacts abroad. As a result of the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, sensitive material was discovered that was also used against Bonhoeffer. The SS murdered him in Flossenbürg concentration camp on April 9, 1945, after he had spent time in various prisons.
The exhibition documents important stations in the life of the Protestant theologian, from his birth in Breslau and his travels to New York and South America to his imprisonment and execution. It contains numerous quotations, photographs and texts by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his companions – including the famous hymn „Von Guten Mächten“ („By Good Powers“). The traveling exhibition offers multimedia access: via QR codes, users can access further information on the Internet – including audio and video documents.