This particular video is entitled “The Theory of Stupidity”,
which was written by the German Lutheran Pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer in
March/April 1945 while sitting in a Nazi prison awaiting execution (he was
hanged shortly after finishing his paper, just two weeks before the camp was
liberated by American troops).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4,1906 in Breslau,
Silesia, Germany (aka Prussia which is
now a part of Poland). He was born into a rather large upper middle class
family (he had seven brothers and sisters, including a twin sister, Sabine).
His father, Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer, was a neurologist
and psychiatrist as well as a noted critic of Sigmund Freud. His mother, Paula,
was a school teacher and the granddaughter of Protestant theologian Karl von
Hase and the landscape painter, Stanislav von Kalckreuth.
Like Martin Luther, the principal founder of the Protestant
Reformation, Dietrich had originally intended on attending law school as his
brother Klaus had done but ended up majoring in theology. He studied at the University
of Tubingen before transferring to the University of Berlin where he graduated summa
cum laude. He went on to graduate with a Doctorate in Theology from Humboldt
University of Berlin at the ripe old age of 21.
From birth until 1933, Bonhoeffer belonged to the Evangelical
Church of the Old Prussian Union (also called the Prussian Union of Churches, a
decree by King Frederick William III of Prussia to unite the Lutheran and
Reform churches), which still exists in Germany today. In 1933, that all
changed and Bonhoeffer decided to leave.
How, in a society which produced some of the greatest theological and philosophical minds in the world, with individuals like Luther,
Mann, Arndt, Hegel, Kant, Schopenhauer,
and Nietzsche, could this happen? Beginning in the late 1920’s, the post-Putsch
Nazi party slowly began united the various conservative political parties,
groups, and media. Among these was a special interest group within the Evangelical
Church who self-identified as the “German Christians” which was ultimately led
by Dr. Ludwig Muller.
These individuals were extremely socially conservative, very
devout, pro-military, and held to a Pan-German ideology. They were also anti-Semitic. In addition, they
didn’t care much for Roma gypsies, gays, Slavs, Negros, mixed marriages, and
the “degenerate” society of the Weimar Republic in general.
They didn’t have much use for other religions too like the
Quakers, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists, or Mormons. Like most other Germans, they opposed the
Versailles Treaty and the notion of reparations. Lastly, they tended to be well
connected. Perfect fodder for the Nazis
and their ilk.
The collapse of the German economy post-WWI with its hyperinflation
and high unemployment, the social unrest triggered mainly by the Communists and
others on the Far Left just made things worse (in November 1923, because of
hyperinflation, 42 billion marks was worth exactly one U.S. penny). Overwhelmingly,
Germans were really for a serious change. It was a time to return to a strong
Germany. No more government corruption. No more high taxes. No more social welfare, and no more crime.
It was time to restore discipline and academic competence in
schools and Germany’s status as a world leader in higher education. In short,
it was time to restore traditional German family values of “Kinder, Kuche,
Kirche” (Children, Kitchen, and Church).
This then were the core of the German Christians who would
made up the Reich Church which would become the semi-official church of the
Nazi Protestants (much has already been written about the Catholic Church, who
relationship ran from appeasement to pro-Fascist and outright cooperation). This
was the church Bonhoeffer left.
Starting in 1933 until the end of his life on April 4, 1945,
standing on a Nazi scaffold at the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp, Bonhoeffer would
be an outspoken leader of the Confessing Church which he helped to found along
with other leading pastors such as fellow Lutheran ministers, Martin Niemoller,
author of “First They Came…”.
For those who’ve never heard of the Flossenbürg
Concentration Camp, it was located in Bavaria and began operations in 1938. It
housed primarily political prisoners, criminals, aristocrats, and Jews of
course. Approximately 100,000 unfortunate individuals passed through its gates,
of which around 30,000 died, mostly of starvation, disease, and physical exhaustion.
Prisoners were engaged in building various projects such as roads, bridges, buildings,
and so forth. Later they were used in the production of Messerschmitt BF 109
fighter planes. The camp was liberated on April 23, 1945 by the U.S. Army.
That left the majority of Protestant ministers, some 12,000,
trying to avoid “taking sides” between the Nazis and those who opposed Fascism.
I wonder how they tried to justify that position later on in life…and
afterwards. From 1935 until the end of the war, some 700 pastors were arrested,
including Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
What landed Bonhoeffer in the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp
was his willingness to speak out (he was also accused of taking part in or know
about the “20 July Plot” to assassinate Hitler in 1944 at his Wolfsschanze or “Wolf’s
Lair” headquarters in Poland). He saw what was happening around him and decided
that he must do something. So, he spoke out whenever he could. He wrote pamphlets,
and he actively took part in numerous protests (while it was still possible).
He openly discouraged his friends, family, parishioners, and students from
attending Nazi events or from joining Nazis organizations (especially the
Hitler Youth aka “HJ” or the BDM for young girls), which, at the time, was
illegal.
Bonhoeffer opposed the anti-authoritarianism of Fascism and
its efforts to stifle democracy. While he (along with most Germans) supported
reclaiming land lost at the end of the First World War and the penalties imposed
by the Versailles Treaty, he opposed the invasion of Poland and the war which
followed. Bonhoeffer was willing to step outside the bubble and challenge the
Status Quo. Very few people are, then or now.
It should be mentioned that although Germany wasn’t at fault
for starting WWI, the treaty forced it to accept the blame. It was stripped of
all its colonies as well as its industrial heart, the Ruhr Valley, which
included 48% of its iron ore and 10% of its coal, and 15% of its agricultural
base. In total, Germany lost 13% of its territory in Europe (about 27,000
square miles) and about 12% of its total population (roughly 7 million
citizens), in addition to paying reparations amounting to 132 billion gold
marks or about $500 billion dollars in today’s money (it would have taken Germany
91 years to pay off).
It was while awaiting his execution that Bonhoeffer wrote about
this. He called it his “Theory of Stupidity”, but it was so much more than
that. It was a firsthand account of human psychology and whether we have the
moral courage to speak out against what we know to be wrong when others support
it. History has shown that most of us don’t. We quietly go along. We won’t
check our sources. We don’t go outside of our comfort zone.
The ”Theory of Stupidity”, despite its name, wasn’t intended
to demean anyone. It was a message and warning from someone facing his imminent
death who experienced the banality of evil and what happens to those, even the
most intelligent among us, when we refuse to think for ourselves.
The video below is just under six minutes (I’ve included a
slightly longer version at 20:35 minutes if you want to see how deep the rabbit
hole really goes and how it applies to us today). I urge you to check either video
out and see whether it resonates with you.
Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the
Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle". Here at
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the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you.
Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity (5:58)
The Terrifying Theory of Stupidity You Were Never Meant toHear---Dietrich Bonhoeffer (20:35)
Territorial evolution of Germany
The Role of German Clergy and Church Leaders
The Brutal Execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer---Resisting theNazis
Flossenbürg Concentration Camp
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