Path to Protest: A Historical Investigation into the Experiences and Influences that Led to Dietrich Bonhoeffer Protesting the Aryan Clause in 1933

Abstract

<p>Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German pastor and theologian involved with the Confessing church as part of the German church struggle in the 1930's. A central concern for Bonhoeffer was the Ayran clause that was introduced by the National Socialists and implemented by their supporters within the Protestant church. The Aryan clause was designed to remove anyone of Jewish heritage from the civil service, which affected the Protestant church since its pastors were paid by the state. Bonhoeffer rejected the Aryan clause due to the various influences and experiences leading up to 1933. These life experiences were rooted in Bonhoeffer's family life, his university years, his year in America, and in his vocational work in the years preceding the rise of National Socialism. These four epochs contain the key influences experience that enable Bonhoeffer to resist the implementation of the Aryan clause within the German Protestant church in 1933.</p>