Chapter 28 Summary and Analysis

"Cell 92 at Tegel Prison"

This lengthy chapter documents Bonhoeffer's eighteen month imprisonment. His first few months were particularly hard, in that he was treated as a typical criminal. As time passed, however, as his interrogators became more convinced he knew less than they thought, and as the influence of his uncle, the commandant of the prison, came to bear, Bonhoeffer's living conditions improved. During that time he wrote a large number of letters (coded ones to his parents and Bethge, romantic ones to Maria), all of which were written with the eyes of the censor also in his mind (see "Quotes," p. 441). For their part, the letters of his correspondents varied in their content. His parents sent coded information about the outside world, Maria discussed plans for their wedding, and Bethge sent analysis of Bonhoeffer's religious writings. There was also correspondence...