Letters & Papers from Prison

This new, greatly expanded version of Letters and Papers from Prison, while omitting nothing found in the earlier edition, shifts the emphasis of earlier editions on Deitrich Bonhoeffer's theological reflections to the private sphere of his life. Bonhoeffer's letters now appear in far greater detail, and show his daily concerns and the enormous warmth and humanity of the young German pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his part in the "officers' plot." References to Bonhoeffer's fiancee and their plans for marriage, omitted in earlier editions, are now included as is her recent article containing excerpts from his personal letters. Letters fro Bonhoeffer's parents, brothers, sisters, and other relatives have been added. The book also contains hitherto inaccessible letters and legal papers referring to Bonhoeffer's trial, a reminiscence of Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer of the time spent in prison by members of his family, and a new introduction by Dietrich Bonhoeffer's close friend Eberhard Bethge. These and other pieces--when combined with the historical and theological passages--give aspects of Bonhoeffer's experience a new setting in the context of the war years.