On this day in 1943,

Nazis Hang Lutheran Theologian Dietrich Boenhoeffer For Treason

On this day in 1943, Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Boenhoeffer was hanged by the Nazis, only a month before the end of WWII.  Boenhoeffer had opposed Hitler from the time of his ascension to power and, unlike many pastors, had opposed the Nazis’ effort to take over the church.  Although he could have avoided his fate by continuing his visits to either England or America, Boenhoeffer believed he had to return to Germany in order to play a role in the rehabilitation of the church after the war.  A few years after his return, Bonhoeffer was convicted of being party to a conspiracy to kill Hitler.  Although an eyewitness says Boenhoeffer died bravely and quickly, others familiar with Nazi executions of those convicted of treason say it is likely Boenhoeffer was hanged, revived, hanged, and revived over a long period of time to prolong the agony of his death.