Fiction from Tegel Prison (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 7) (v. 7) [Hardcover]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Author), Renate Bethge (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

Writing fiction---an incomplete drama, a novel fragment, and a short story---occupied much of Bonhoeffer's first year in Tegel prison, as well as writing to his family and his fiance and dealing with his interrogation. "There is a good deal of autobiography mixed in with it," he explained to his friend and biographer Eberhard Bethge. Richly annotated by German editors Renate Bethge and Ilse Todt and by Clifford Green, the writings in this book disclose a great deal of Bonhoeffer's family context, social world, and cultural milieu. Events from his life are recounted in a way that illuminate his theology. Characters and situations that represent Nazi types and attitudes became a form of social criticism and help to explain Bonhoeffer's participation in the resistance movement and the plot to kill Hitler.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906--45) studies in Berlin and at Union Theological Seminary in New York and played a central role in the Confessing Church during the Nazi period. He has become one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century. He was executed by the Nazis on April 9, 1945, for his role in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers; annotated edition edition (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800683072
• ISBN-13: 978-0800683078
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #501,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau in 1906. The son of a famous German psychiatrist, he studied in Berlin and New York City. He left the safety of America to return to Germany and continue his public repudiation of the Naz*s, which led to his arrest in 1943. Linked to the group of conspirators whose attempted assassination of Hitlerr failed, he was hanged in April 1945.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Theology in Fiction, April 2, 2001

By 

Lawson Saur (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fiction from Tegel Prison (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 7) (v. 7) (Hardcover)

This Book goes hand in hand with Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison. It consists of a few acts of a play dealing with a young intellectual man, as well as some chapters from a novel dealing with a family on a retreat. We see Bonhoeffers focus on the power struggle in theology in the form of two boys striving for power in a schoolyard, as well as many different aspects of German Bourgiouse Culture in a very easy to understand manner. It is truly a shame that these fictional works could not be finished before Bonhoeffer's death. Throughout the book we can see Bonhoeffer's theology and autobiography play through in the characters, though at times it is near impossible to figure which character relates to the author himself. However, it prooves very fun, and opens up insight to understand Letters and Papers from Prison. It is clearly a must have for anyone who truly desires to capture Bonhoeffers mind. Displaying insight into Bonhoeffers family background, lifestyle, and watching thoughts of death break through in the brief parts of the play we are shown.