Bonhoeffer’s True Heroism in Film?: The Myth of the “Bonhoeffer Moment” and the Consistency Between His Theology and Political Resistance

Movie depictions of Bonhoeffer, like 2024’s Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. are problematic as they recreate certain events or snippets of dialog lending themselves to drama, excitement, or promotion of editorial biases. A “Bonhoeffer Moment” - where someone makes a decision at a crucial defining moment of life-changing and momentous importance – gets exaggerated. In the newest film, Bonhoeffer’s conspiratorial involvement is embellished with historical inaccuracies and exaggeration. The film portrays a Bonhoeffer enthusiastic about violence.  It is thus potentially dangerous as individuals or groups might be inclined to employ violence as they assign their “Bonhoeffer Moment” to present-day conflicts. A responsible portrait challenges the existence of any “Bonhoeffer Moment,” and tries to understand his conspiratorial activities more accurately by contextualizing them in terms of the theology-action dyad as his life progressed. Ultimately, Bonhoeffer’s heroism lies in the fact that his actions were consistent with his thought, not in any particular moment.