Letters to London: Bonhoeffer's Previously Unpublished Correspondence with Ernst Cromwell, 1935-1936

In the autumn of 1933 the twenty-seven-year-old Bonhoeffer accepted a two-year appointment as a pastor of two German-speaking Protestant churches in London. It was during this time that he began his friendship with Ernst Cromwell, one of his confirmands--a friendship that is now documented in these letters published for the first time here in this book (most of which are dated between March 20,1935 and March 27, 1936). Seventy-five years later, the publication of these letters throws light on several aspects of Bonhoeffer's life and thought, including: the development of his views on the practice of silence; his practice of catechesis and confirmation; the impact on his personal relationships of his involvement in the Church struggle; his understanding of friendship, and in particular friendship that values the potential contribution of young people to living out the "truth-telling" of Jesus Christ.