London, 1933-1935 (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 13)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's pastoral sojourn in England from October 1933 to April of 1935, which he initially viewed as a withdrawal from the church clashes in Germany, marked instead a new phase in his intensive participation in that struggle. This enlightening volume provides an almost daily documentation of his deepening engagement against the placid backdrop of his two London pastorates. Detailing Bonhoeffer's extensive contacts with German expatriates, ecumenical partners and allies, and friends and family, London: 1933-1935 impressively records both Bonhoeffer's involvement in the rapidly developing clash with the deutsche Christen and the means by which he pursued it. The bulk of the material consists of his wide correspondence but also includes records and minutes of his congregational meetings, excerpts from the diaries of Bonhoeffer's friend and London colleague Julius Rieger, reports from international conferences from 1934, and more than twenty sermons he preached to his London congregations. The wealth of this material, says editor Keith Clements, allows us to experience a dramatic slice of this history and see the many and complex facets of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's personality.