Peace in No Time

I finished reading Metaxas’ biography of Bonhoeffer. The book is exhaustive, well-researched, well-written, and I would highly recommend it.

The only place the book falls short is in interpretation and analysis. There is very little exploration of what it all meant.

One question I am left wondering is the use of violent means to bring a peaceable end. Metaxas never addresses this issue of the pastor and theologian who is an active member of the plot to kill Hitler.

Bonhoeffer himself recognized that murder was sin and that to engage in these actions were sinful. Yet, he believed he was doing what God called him to do and trusted in God’s grace and forgiveness.

However, my question about the efficacy of violence comes in the aftermath of the failed assassination plots. After the failed attempt in 1944, in which Hitler was left charred and barely injured, Hitler saw his survival as validation of his actions. This caused him to increase the level of brutality and executions. When Hitler found out how deep the conspiracy ran, he struck back with a vengeance, killing members of some of the most notable families in Germany.

So, the attempt to kill Hitler resulted in more killing. The hope of using violence to bring a peaceable end brought more violence.

This leaves me wondering, can violence bring peace?

And yet, the problem is, what other recourse did Bonhoeffer and his friends have? They worked for a change in the German government in the 1930s and that failed. They reached out to Churchill for support in toppling Hitler and that failed. So, Bonhoeffer choose the only means left—violence. And violence only brought more violence.

Only days before the allied forces liberated concentration camps, Bonhoeffer was killed.

There are no easy answers to these questions. We continue to live in the struggle between hopes of peace and the reality of violence. Perhaps all we can do, is like Bonhoeffer, trust in God’s grace and forgiveness.