Chapters 20, 21 and 22 Summary and Analysis

"Mars Ascending, 1938"

In this chapter, the author focuses on Hitler's 1938 drive to power - the forced resignation of one highly placed general, the removal of another on trumped-up charges of moral corruption, the annexation of Austria, and Hitler's plans to overrun Czechoslovakia. Perhaps the most infamous of all these events is Kristallnacht, a raid on Jewish communities in Germany in which "homes and businesses were destroyed, synagogues were set aflame, and Jews were beaten and killed." In the middle of all this, Bonhoeffer's sister Sabine, her Jewish husband and their children escaped into Switzerland, while Bonhoeffer himself lectured what remained of his Finkenwalde students on how Christ's love extended to all his people, even Jews. Also at this time, the author contends, Bonhoeffer became more significantly involved in the ongoing conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. One of the conspiracy's leaders...