WHAT DOES RESISTANCE MEAN TODAY?
He provokes, inspires, and divides: April 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the murder of theologian and resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer by the Nazis in the Flossenbürg concentration camp. Bonhoeffer was active in the Confessing Church and later in the conspiratorial resistance against the totalitarian Hitler state. As a Christian and theologian, he reflected on this commitment—in biblical interpretations, between the lines of his Ethics Fragments, and in letters. All of this—both theological texts and life testimonies—has been received in a wide variety of contexts around the world on a variety of occasions, particularly in countries where Christians are resisting authoritarian regimes. At the same time, supporters of these authoritarian regimes repeatedly invoke Bonhoeffer—the most recent example being the Trump movement in the USA. So, who owns Bonhoeffer? What does his resistance mean today? How can we learn responsibly and context-sensitively from his testimony? And how do we deal with the authoritarian appropriation of his legacy? We will discuss these and other questions during this international conference, to which we cordially invite you to the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial.
Rev. Udo Hahn , Director, Evangelical Academy Tutzing
Prof. Dr. Florian Höhne , International Bonhoeffer Society (1st Chairman)
PD Dr. Nadine Hamilton , International Bonhoeffer Society (2nd Chairman)
Prof. Dr. Jörg Skriebeleit , Director of the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial
Dean Thomas Guba , Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Association for Protestant Adult Education in Bavaria
The conference will be held in English.
The lecture on April 7, at 7:00 p.m., will be held in German. Simultaneous translation will be provided for the panel discussion on April 8, at 7:00 p.m.
Conference Program
Monday, April 7, 2025
| 10:00 a.m. | A NOTICE Before the conference begins, there is the opportunity to take part in a guided tour of the concentration camp memorial at 10:00 a.m. |
| . | |
| Arrival from 11.00 a.m. | |
| 12.30 p.m. | snack |
| 1:30 p.m. | Greetings Rev. Udo Hahn |
| Greetings Dr. Joachim Herrmann | |
| Dr. Jörg Skriebeleit | |
| Dean Thomas Guba | |
| Introduction Prof. Dr. Florian Höhne | |
| PD Dr. Nadine Hamilton | |
| 2:30 p.m. | On the Benefits and Disadvantages of Projections – Critique of Bonhoeffer’s Reception in Historical, Political and Confessional Discourses Prof. Dr. Peter Steinbach |
| 4:00 p.m. | coffee break |
| 4:30 p.m. | “Risk of Peace” – Bonhoeffer’s pacifism as inspiration and challenge Arnd Henze |
| 6:00 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7 p.m. | “…peace and social justice or actually Christ…” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s impulses for an ecumenical public theology of hope Prof. Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm |
| 9 p.m. | Transfer to the hotels |
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
| 8:30 a.m. | Travel to the conference venue |
| 9:00 a.m. | “The most attractive voices are not necessarily the ones to follow” – A South African reflection on Bonhoeffer, Botman and differentiated resistance Dr. Nadia Marais |
| 10:30 a.m. | coffee break |
| 11:00 a.m. | “For the sake of our common humanity” Prof. Dr. Christophe Chalamet |
| 12.30 p.m. | Lunch |
| 2 p.m. | Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Reconciliation and Peace: The Contextual Relevance for Post-Genocide Rwanda Rev. Dr. Pascal Bataringaya |
| 3:00 p.m. | Reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the Divided States of America Prof. Dr. Lori Brandt Hale |
| 4:00 p.m. | coffee break |
| 4:30 p.m. | Bonhoeffer Commemoration in Germany – Between Spirituality, Socialism and Scientific Research Prof. Dr. Florian Höhne |
| and PD Dr. Nadine Hamilton | |
| 6:00 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7 p.m. | Who owns Bonhoeffer? Panel discussion with the speakers |
| Moderation: Arnd Henze | |
| 9 p.m. | End of the conference and transfer to the hotels |
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
| 10:00 a.m. | A NOTICE At 10:00 a.m. there is the opportunity to attend the memorial service in the former detention yard 80 years after the murder of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and other resistance fighters. |
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| The conference will be held in English. The lecture on April 7, at 7:00 p.m., will be held in German. Simultaneous translation will be provided for the panel discussion on April 8, at 7:00 p.m. | |
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| The conference is part of the “Boundless Hope” event series organized by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. More information: https://grenzenloshoffen.de/ | |
| Information about the International Bonhoeffer Society: www.dietrich-bonhoeffer.net/ibg/ |