It was April 5, 1943, and the Gestapo would arrive any minute. Dietrich Bonhoeffer had been expecting this day for a long time. He had put his papers in order--and left a few notes specifically for Hitler's men to see. Two SS agents climbed the stairs and told the boyish-looking Bonhoeffer to come with them. He calmly said good-bye to his parents, put his Bible under his arm, and left. Upstairs there was proof, in his own handwriting, that this quiet young minister was part of a conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler. This compelling, brilliantly researched account includes the remarkable discovery that Bonhoeffer was one of the first people to provide evidence to the Allies that Jews were being deported to death camps. It takes readers from his privileged early childhood to the studies and travel that would introduce him to peace activists around the world--eventually putting this gentle, scholarly pacifist on a deadly course to assassinate one of the most ruthless dictators in history.
A big, rambunctious family -- War breaks out -- Bonhoeffer seals his destiny -- Leaving home for the first time -- The trip that changed everything -- The men who would change Bonhoeffer's fate -- A new idea of what a church could be -- From faith to action -- Grappling with the existence of God -- A decisive experience: visiting the United States -- Heil, Hitler! -- Speaking out against the Führer -- The Aryan Paragraph -- Committing treason -- Bonfire of hatred -- A Nazi church -- A different kind of resistance -- Night of the Long Knives -- A breakaway church -- A conspiracy begins -- The war hits home -- A dark night of the soul -- From clergyman to courier -- Undercover -- Sounding the alarm -- Love in wartime -- The noose grows tighter -- Assassination attempts -- Caught -- Another attempt on Hitler's life -- Evidence of treason the end of the war -- Eternity at last.
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