The Ghost of Bonhoeffer

 Last night, before my wife and I headed for bed, I listened to 15 minutes or so of the gibberish President Trump loosed on the folks at Charlotte, NC for the opening of the Republican National Convention.  Then I let the dog out, brushed my teeth, hopped into bed and picked up my copy of "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" by Eric Metaxas.

 

Yes, I'm still reading it. Yes, I am slow.  I keep telling y'all I'm slow but you don't believe me.  Take a lesson from Maya Angelou:  “When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.”

Anyway, I joined Mr. Metaxas in 1938 Germany.  I think it important to remember Hitler was elected (and rose to power) in 1933.  So he's already spent 5 years at the height of German politics.  And yet, normal people still don't know how to handle him.  They still don't see the danger.

"For four hours the megalomaniac scrawled a recipe of how he would soon have the world agog at his military genius."

"The generals left this meeting in various states of shock and fury.  What they had just heard was distilled madness."

"They had begun to describe him as "mentally ill" and "bloodthirsty".  What he was planning was nothing short of national suicide."

Hitler had just outlined his plan to conquer all of Europe. It was nuts. It was crazy.  If there's one thing the Germans know, it's how to wage war.  (Speaking of which, I was supposed to write a blog about Alaric the Goth sacking Rome yesterday -- one thousand, six hundred and ten years ago. August 24, 410.  Alas.)  These generals knew it couldn't be done.  And yet...

"But these gentlemen from the Prussian officer tradition were all too well-bred to know how to deal with someone as vulgar as Hitler.  On the one hand, he was an uncouth embarrassment, a feral clod hardly to be taken seriously.  On the  other hand, he was the legal head of their beloved Germany, to whom they had sworn oaths.  For most of these men he presented some kind of obscene Chinese puzzle."

A word right here. Just in case you're a member of the U.S. Military or Civil Service: Beware of being rushed onto parade field to swear a new oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America...and its President.  In a nutshell, that's how Hitler did it.  Yeah, I know it won't happen here in America.  Yeah, that is the same thing the German people told themselves about the German Army. (Back to 1938 Germany.) 

"Beck (Chief of the German General Staff) did all he could to influence the generals to stage a coup d'etat.  Finally to make as bold a pubic statement as possible, he resigned.  This ought to have shaken the nation to its roots -- and to have defenestrated the Nazis en masse."

"He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself, for that would have been unseemly, so he departed with such nobility that hardly anyone heard him go."

Naw. That couldn't happen here.

As I see it, the thing to remember about all this is that Hitler had help.  I'd never heard of the Fritsch Affair.  You probably haven't either.  But I bet General James Mattis had.  After all, he was known as the "Warrior Monk".  (Along with the nickname "Mad Dog" Mattis.)

"Göring had known he (Field Marshal Blomberg) would (resign), with these men of honor, it didn't take much to embarrass them and send them packing.  Could it work again?  But this time Göring had no facts to work with."

Who needs facts?  Certainly not Donald J. Trump.  Or Junior.  How about Attorney General Bill Barr?  Do you think he needs facts to tell a tale?  (Back to the book.)

"The guilt of the Gestapo and the SS was such that it seemed the whole thing might drive Hitler from office.  And if Hitler tired to suppress the evidence, the army was ready to act."

"But as we know, none of this happened.  Like some Houdini from hell, Hitler again wriggled free.  But how? As usual, it was the fumfering inaction of the German army officer corps, bound and gagged by  their misplaced scruples. In time the bloodthirsty devils with whom they were playing patty-cake would strangle them with the guts of their quaint scruples."

I don't know about you but I need to surface for some air.  This isn't a book about the Nazis.  This is a book about the Reverend Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a pastor.  He helped found a new branch of the Lutheran Church (the Confessing Church) because Hitler was co-opting the German Church.  The Church of Martin Luther.  Not MLK Jr. -- THE Martin Luther. The original Protestant.  The radical that started the Reformation.

Bonhoeffer's early life reads like a fairy tale. His parents were German elites.  Just below nobility. His father was a psychiatrist. Head of the University department in Berlin, he butted heads with Sigmund Freud.  Bonhoeffer's mother was just as formidable. Bonhoeffer was a talented musician, a good athlete, charming, educated, well-traveled and a gifted young preacher. He traveled to Harlem to hear Adam Clayton Powell.  Senior.  He had a trip lined up to meet Gandhi.  (I don't know if he  got to go, I'm only halfway through the book.  What part of "slow" don't you understand?)  

Out of all those talents -- at the ripe old age of 13 -- Bonhoeffer chose to be a theologian.  He graduated from college so young that he had to wait a year or so to be ordained because of the age requirement.  And he was one of the very few that saw Hitler for what he was -- right from the very beginning.

Do you see Trump for what he is?  It's not 1933.  It is not even 1938.  And Trump is not Hitler.  Trump is not the chancellor of Germany nor is he der Führer.  It's 2020 and Donald J. Trump is President of the United States of America.

The hour is late. Do you see him for what he is?  Do you see the people with which he has surrounded himself for what they are?  Do you think a mere election will stop them?

“When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.”

Are you thinking this through?  Are you preparing?  Are you screwing up your courage?  Not everybody has the courage of John Lewis -- to stand up and take a beating.  Some people do.   

But I have the courage to write this blog. I have the courage to put a bumper sticker on my truck.  And I have the courage to put a sign in my yard.  If nothing else, find the courage to write a check.  Because a "mere election" can change things.  

You've probably imagined Trump being re-elected.  But have you imagined him being re-elected with a Senate and a House controlled by Democrats?  Who is the Democrat running in your district/State?  Is their sign in your yard?  Is their bumper sticker on your car?  Have you written them a check? Why not? Find something you have to courage to do.  No matter how small.  And do it.  You might be surprised to find out how much courage you have -- once you get used to using it. Find out. Because -- trust me on this -- courage counts.

Don Brown
August 25, 2020