Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident. Born in Poland into an intellectual family, he pursued theology at the University of Berlin, earning a doctorate at just 21. His early work emphasized the importance of the Church in standing against injustice, a principle that would shape his resistance to Adolf Hitler’s regime.
In the 1930s, Bonhoeffer became a leading voice in the Confessing Church, a movement opposing Nazi influence in German Protestantism. He condemned the regime’s treatment of Jews and rejected the idea of a church subservient to state ideology. After the Nazis banned him from teaching and speaking publicly, he joined the German resistance, working secretly with military officers plotting to overthrow Hitler.
Arrested in 1943 for his role in the conspiracy, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for two years, during which he wrote some of his most profound theological works, including Letters and Papers from Prison. The quotes below are taken from this work.
On April 9, 1945, just weeks before Germany’s surrender, he was executed at Flossenbürg concentration camp. His legacy endures as a model of Christian resistance, moral courage, and faith in action.
Quotes from Letters and Papers from Prison
“The impression one gains is not so much that stupidity is a congenital defect, but that, under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or that they allow this to happen to them.”
“Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.”
“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Against stupidity we are defenseless.”
“Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental.”
“In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.”
The Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
By John Turley
On January 31, 2025
In Commentary, History
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident. Born in Poland into an intellectual family, he pursued theology at the University of Berlin, earning a doctorate at just 21. His early work emphasized the importance of the Church in standing against injustice, a principle that would shape his resistance to Adolf Hitler’s regime.
In the 1930s, Bonhoeffer became a leading voice in the Confessing Church, a movement opposing Nazi influence in German Protestantism. He condemned the regime’s treatment of Jews and rejected the idea of a church subservient to state ideology. After the Nazis banned him from teaching and speaking publicly, he joined the German resistance, working secretly with military officers plotting to overthrow Hitler.
Arrested in 1943 for his role in the conspiracy, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for two years, during which he wrote some of his most profound theological works, including Letters and Papers from Prison. The quotes below are taken from this work.
On April 9, 1945, just weeks before Germany’s surrender, he was executed at Flossenbürg concentration camp. His legacy endures as a model of Christian resistance, moral courage, and faith in action.
Quotes from Letters and Papers from Prison
“The impression one gains is not so much that stupidity is a congenital defect, but that, under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or that they allow this to happen to them.”
“Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.”
“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Against stupidity we are defenseless.”
“Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental.”
“In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.”