Film about hero executed by Nazis faces accusations of abetting Christian nationalism

Almost 80 years after his untimely death during the final throes of WWII, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is back in the headlines again — but not everyone is happy about how the German pastor and critic of Hitler is being presented to contemporary audiences.

Bonhoeffer paid for his opposition to the Nazis with his life when he was executed in April 1945 at age 39. By then he had written 34 books that had contributed greatly to the field of theology, but it’s his clandestine activities against a tyrannical government that have made him popular again.

Quite a few recent Bonhoeffer enthusiasts are on the far-right, which has sparked criticism from Bonhoeffer family descendants and scholars. They lament that a right-wing author, Eric Metaxas, made Bonhoeffer the subject of a 2011 book — “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” — and that Metaxas continues to use Bonhoeffer’s name in opposing “woke” policies from Democrats. And when a separate project was announced, a film by Angel Studios titled “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin,” they stood in opposition to that, too, as its title sounded similar to Metaxas’s book.

Released in theaters November 22 and currently streaming, the film is a spirited portrayal of Bonhoeffer, with Jonas Dassler in the title role and Todd Komarnicki pulling off triple duty as director, producer and writer. (A prior production of his also got some extended screen time this past holiday season: The 2003 Will Ferrell comedy hit “Elf.”) Distributed by Angel Studios, the production company that has backed such Christian-themed hits as “The Chosen” and “Sound of Freedom,” the film prioritizes deeds over words.

“His years of efforts, speaking and preaching did not do anything to stem the tide … he needed to activate his courage to the next level, stand in the way against darkness,” Komarnicki told The Times of Israel in a phone conversation. “Sometimes you have to go face-to-face with the devil.”

Consider a pivotal scene. Accustomed to giving sermons to packed audiences with light streaming in through stained-glass windows, pastor Bonhoeffer transitioned to a different milieu — a secluded, dark meeting space to join an assassination attempt against Hitler. The man of words became a man of action, outraged by the Nazification of the Protestant Church in Germany and by the Reich’s antisemitism.

Deeply religious, Bonhoeffer denounces Nazi attempts to place Hitler above Jesus in the church hierarchy and sees in Jesus a lesson against complacency toward evil. (Arguably Bonhoeffer’s best-known quote is “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil,” which he utters to a skeptical audience of British clergymen in the film while trying to persuade them of the validity of reports of Nazi persecution of the Jews.)

At Union Theological Seminary, the New York school where he studied earlier in life, he befriends Black classmate Frank Fisher and is moved by the worship style of the Black church, which he experiences through visiting the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.

No passive bystanders

The Angel Studios film website also promotes a separate initiative — the Bonhoeffer Declaration, an opportunity for Christians worldwide to denounce antisemitism and racism. The declaration was launched by evangelical Bishop Robert Stearns in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught on Israel in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered and 251 were taken hostage.

The declaration references October 7, contending that it “uncovered the antisemitism latent in our universities, government, and culture.”

Stearns is involved in multiple Christian Zionist initiatives, including the Eagles’ Wings organization that brings evangelicals on visits to Israel. On October 6, 2023, he had just concluded the largest-ever such mission. He and his family were staying three extra days.

“We woke up, as did all of Israel on the morning of the 7th, to the horrors Israel was experiencing,” Stearns said. Calling the last 15 months “such an unspeakable year,” he said, “I felt that the legacy of Bonhoeffer needed to be recaptured for this moment.”

The eponymous declaration launched on Bonhoeffer.org, “calling Christians to take a courageous stand and fight antisemitism in the spirit and legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.”

“Someone put us in touch with Angel Studios and we realized this was really a beshert moment, this was a holy coincidence, that Angel Studios was putting onscreen and in film what we were trying to get people to do in their streets and in their communities, and so it birthed just a wonderful synergistic relationship,” he said, using the Yiddish word for kismet.

“I believe the movie and the declaration are moving together, as a right hand and a left hand, strengthening one another and calling people to a place of ethical and moral response,” Stearns said.

The film promotes a message of Christians defending Jews. Planted in the Abwehr, or German military intelligence, Bonhoeffer uses a propaganda mission to transport seven imprisoned Jews to safety in Switzerland, aided by funds from foreign sympathizers to persuade the border guards.

“He talks to Jewish prisoners: ‘I worship the God of your fathers, Jacob and Moses,’” Komarnicki said. “There is no Christianity without Judaism … Anyone who says they’re Christian and spews hate and ‘others’ the Jews is steeped in darkness and 100% wrong. As antisemitism is on the rise, there’s never been a better time to stand up and say no to hatred and yes to love.”

Historical distortion?

That is not what the film’s opponents are focusing their criticism on, but rather connections to right-wing politics, including what they see as possible incitement to violence.

On October 18, an open letter signed by 86 of 100 Bonhoeffer family adult descendants was released. It condemned the film as a “history-distorting biopic” that makes its subject “an evangelical saint,” and called Angel Studios a “right-wing evangelical production company.” Of particular concern to the signatories was a promotional image on X, formerly Twitter, showing Bonhoeffer holding a gun, accompanied by the words “The battle against tyranny begins now.”

Although the descendants and scholars did not explicitly state which image this was, there’s a composite image that Angel Studios has used to market the production: a triple depiction of Bonhoeffer; Hitler, looking menacing; and Bonhoeffer’s loving mother, Paula Bonhoeffer. Yes, the pastor wields a gun, but it’s pointing downward, and the pastor’s in three-quarter profile, so the weapon is pretty small relative to the faces of the fuhrer and Paula.

“Angel Studios is undeniably a conservative Christian media company that reflects many core commitments of conservative evangelical (and sometimes Catholic) theology,” Katheryn Reklis, associate professor of modern Protestant theology at Fordham University, wrote in an email.

“It both makes media aimed at ‘insider’ Christian audiences… and media that has an apologetic bent — meant to attract viewers who might not be Christian or Christian in the same way. They also seem interested in historical dramas of often under-explored figures that can be held up as Christian heroes — like Bonhoeffer,” she said.

“I would not go so far as to say that all of these films are self-evidently Christian nationalist,” Reklis said. “I think some of them, if taken seriously on their own terms, can work against triumphalist narratives. They are clearly striving to produce ‘Hollywood’ quality media in terms of production values and writing (to greater or less success depending on the project).”

The Bonhoeffer family members criticized others they perceived as coopting Bonhoeffer for right-wing purposes. There’s Project 2025, an alleged blueprint for a second Trump administration by the conservative Washington, DC, think tank The Heritage Foundation: the document references Bonhoeffer in its foreword, describing his concept of “cheap grace” as “publicly promoting one’s own virtue without risking any personal inconvenience,” and finding examples in “Open-borders activism” and “the Left’s love affair with environmental extremism.”

Then there’s Metaxas, who recently likened the Biden administration to Hitler’s Germany in 1933-34, with the words, “See my Bonhoeffer book for details.”

Bonhoeffer’s descendants aren’t the only ones worried. A Change.org petition, “Stop Misusing Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Support Political Violence and Christian Nationalism,” has received thousands of signatures. Its first two signers are co-presidents of the International Bonhoeffer Society, which has included the petition on its website. The petition mentions the film, Metaxas and Project 2025 in its criticism of recent takes on Bonhoeffer.

Remember the man and his message

Nine cast members — including Dassler and Diehl — issued their own statement. Citing the Sermon on the Mount, it supports the project while denouncing right-wing attempts to claim Bonhoeffer.

“We believe in our movie, which to our belief tells a completely different story to what a radical few want to make out of it,” this statement reads.

“To us, the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer tells a tale about speaking up against totalitarian regimes and acting against systems of lies, bigotry, nationalism, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia. To defend our history and culture from appropriation and historical revisionism.”

The statement added that Bonhoeffer’s “legacy teaches us to always look out for the marginalized in our society; not to judge people for their race, gender, sexuality and class. Bonhoeffer would not judge how we find love, compassion, solidarity with one another. He would encourage us to find a way we can learn from each other and that our faith, whatever it may be, should never be taken away by extremist demagogues and always lead with love.”

A Religion News Service article on the Bonhoeffer dispute quoted Angel Studios’ chief distribution officer, Jared Geesey, as saying there is no link between the film and Metaxas’ book, and that the film’s messages included loving one’s neighbor and opposing antisemitism.

Director Komarnicki said he “could not be further from being a Christian nationalist.”

“The fact is, Bonhoeffer doesn’t belong to any group,” he said. “He is a singular voice of love, grace, justice and courage, and his voice is just as clarion now as it was during WWII. We should be listening to him (which our movie does) and not to all the voices trying to steal him for their own cultural grievances.”

Komarnicki sees his subject as both a man of faith and a man of love.

“Love, love, not sentimental … Valentine’s Day cards, but love in action,” the director said. “Strong, honest, sacrificial love, 100%.”

As for the message of the film?

“Unity,” Komarnicki said. “We’re all one. The ‘othering’ of people has to stop.”