“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS”: DIETRICH BONHOEFFER’S UNDERSTANDING OF CHRISTIAN ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN WARTIME AND THE ROLE OF PEACEMAKERS
“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS”: DIETRICH BONHOEFFER’S UNDERSTANDING OF CHRISTIAN ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN WARTIME AND THE ROLE OF PEACEMAKERS

Summary/Abstract: “Blessed Are the Peacemakers”: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Understanding of Christian Ethical Responsibility in Wartime and the Role of Peacemakers. In the final years of his life, Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived through an extraordinarily difficult period: the Second World War (1939–1945). The atrocities committed against the Jewish people during this time are almost unimaginable—over six million Jews were systematically murdered in the Holocaust. Although Bonhoeffer was actively involved in the resistance against Adolf Hitler, including participating in plots to overthrow the Nazi regime, he consistently remained a proponent of peace. His ethical and theological reflections reveal a deep struggle between resistance and nonviolence. Today, as the world witnesses renewed conflict and moral crisis, Bonhoeffer’s understanding of war and the role of peacemakers remains profoundly relevant. This article seeks to explore his perspective on war and peace, and to reflect on how his thought speaks to the challenges of our own time.

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