I just finished the book “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by Eric Metaxas. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a biography of a German man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer who lived from 1906-1945. Pastor Bonhoeffer was educated in theology and received a PhD in this field before he reached the age of 22 and then went on to earn a second. He is remembered because he acted as a spy and took part in plots to assassinate Hitler while performing his duties as a pastor.
This book documents the life of a German patriot who actively fought against the Nazis. The book is interesting in that it provides a fairly clear picture of how a civilized people could come to perpetrate the evils that Germany did. In general some Nazis were elected and then, using existing laws that were written for one thing but they used for another, were able to consolidate power. This was not lost on the people that were not Nazis but they, being law abiding, tried to use the law to remove the Nazis. The Nazis were not law abiding, however, and were able to stop all legal action to remove them from power. By the time law abiding citizens realized what it would take to remove the Nazis from power Hitler had started WWII and they were fighting. They did not necessarily support the Nazis but they did support Germany and were fighting for their homeland while trying not to lose it to the people who were in power.
The other interesting part of this book was watching how a government could take over a religion. It also covers why a government would want to and what happens when it actually happens. The other interesting thing the book did was debunk the common notion that Hitler was a Christian. The author shows how Hitler used “Christian” speech for his own advantages but how he looked with general disdain on Christians and all other religions except those who believed in merciless victory over his enemies.
This book was 542 pages long but once I started reading it I could not put it down. If you are looking for a great book for the new year I recommend you look for this one.
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