Klaus Bonhoeffer (5 January 1901 – 23 April 1945) was a German jurist and

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

fighter against the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

régime who was executed after the July 1944 plot to kill Hitler.

Early life

Klaus Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, now

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, Poland, to Karl Bonhoeffer, a professor of psychiatry and neurology, and his wife Paula (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

von Hase), as the third son in the

Bonhoeffer family The Bonhoeffer family is a German family that, though originating in the city of Nijmegen, has been documented in the city of Schwäbisch Hall from 1513 onwards. Among the family's most notable members are Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Klaus Bonhoeffe ...

. His younger brother was the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945).

Education

As a child, he went to the ''Grunewald- Gymnasium'' in Berlin with Hans von Dohnanyi. He studied law at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and received a doctorate for his thesis, "Workers' Committees as an Organ of the Workers' Coöperative" (''Die Betriebsräte als Organ der Betriebsgenossenschaft''). He also had further training in Berlin, at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

, and in Amsterdam.

Marriage

On 3 September 1930, he wed Emmi Delbrück, who was Hans Delbrück's daughter, and

Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism, probably arrivin ...

and Max Delbrück's sister.

Career

He worked as a lawyer and from 1935 as a legal adviser for Deutsche Luft Hansa, serving from 1937 to 1944 as chief

syndic Syndic (Late Latin: '; Greek: ' – one who helps in a court of justice, an advocate, representative) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a universi ...

. This job took him on many business trips, even during the war.

World War II and death

In the years 1940–1944, he systematically forged contacts with various resistance groups working against the Nazi régime. Through his brother Dietrich, he had contacts with the church resistance, and through his brothers-in-law, Justus Delbrück, Dohnanyi and

Rüdiger Schleicher Rüdiger Schleicher (14 January 1895 – 23 April 1945) was a German legal academic and resistance fighter against the Nazi régime. Life Born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, Schleicher was married to Ursula Bonhoeffer (1902–1983), Karl B ...

, he had many contacts in the military resistance to Hitler, especially in the circle about Wilhelm Canaris in the

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. Through his wife's cousin

Ernst von Harnack Ernst Wolf Alexander Oskar Harnack (15 July 1888 – 5 March 1945), granted the title von Harnack in 1914, was an official of the Prussian provincial government, a German politician, and a German Resistance fighter. He was arrested, tried and ...

, he was connected to the social-democratic resistance. Klaus Bonhoeffer also led his colleague

Otto John Otto John (19 March 1909 – 26 March 1997) was a German lawyer and intelligence official. During World War Two, he was a conspirator in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Following the war, he became the first head of West Germ ...

, among others, into the resistance. He used his travel opportunities to further the cause against the Nazis. He was dedicated to the plan to assassinate Hitler on 20 July 1944 and overthrow the government. According to the detention book kept at the

Lehrter Straße The Lehrter Straße (also: ''Lehrter Strasse'', ''Lehrterstraße'', and ''Lehrterstrasse'') is a residential street in Moabit, a sub district of Mitte, one of Berlin's 12 boroughs of which the borders were redefined following the 1989 Fall o ...

prison in Berlin, where the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

had a special section for political prisoners, Bonhoeffer was arrested on 1 October 1944 and sentenced to death by the German "People's Court" ('' Volksgerichtshof'') on 2 February 1945. On the night of 22–23 April 1945, as

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

troops were already reaching Berlin's eastern outskirts, he along with Rüdiger Schleicher and other prisoners was taken by a special squad from the ''

RSHA The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and ''Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi ...

'' to the exhibition grounds near the Lehrter Straße prison and killed with a gunshot wound to the neck. The only eyewitness to these murders was Herbert Kosney, who managed to move his head at the last moment so that the shot meant for his neck missed.

References

External links

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
– younger brother was the theologian and martyr. *
German Historical Museum

Gedenkstätte Widerstand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonhoeffer, Klaus 1901 births 1945 deaths Lawyers from Wrocław People from the Province of Silesia Executed members of the 20 July plot German jurists People condemned by Nazi courts Protestants in the German Resistance Executed German people People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm German people executed by Nazi Germany Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lufthansa people