Who exactly was Bonhoeffer?

Abstract

That Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) was an exceptional person and theologian, I always knew. During my studies in Bonn (1981–1983) this man was often discussed in our student residence (das Adolf Clarenbach Haus). Many of us wrote papers on his work and Bonhoeffer’s friend, Eberhard Betghe was even invited to address us. That he was considered to be a Protestant saint, over and above the prominent place he holds in the German Evangelical Church, I did not know.