Appropriate for middle schoolers, with pictures to ease the heavy concepts of the text, this book is an interesting look at Christianity, history, and spirituality.

This is a fascinating book, easily accessible for everyone. I have read a lot of books about World War II and the holocaust and this book showed me a different side to it….what it was like to be a German Christian in Nazi Germany.

This book is written for students. It defines terms like “communism” or “holocaust.” It gives thoughtful explanations of the political climate in Germany and other areas of Europe. It showed the struggle that believers, like Bonhoeffer, had in how to respond to Hitler. As a Christian, are you called to submit to Hitler, or are you called to assassinate someone so evil, or something in between? It was fascinating. There were also some interesting asides about people who smuggled Jewish children out of Germany.

I feel this book gave a thoughtful, understandable look at the Christian German resistance, and in particular Bonhoeffer. It gave a pretty full picture of the climate. I enjoyed it and felt I learned a lot. I’d highly recommend it.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

I have found myself quite interested in Dietrich Bonhoeffer for a number of years. He is a very controversial figure, and I really don’t agree with the conclusions he came to about the Christian’s duty in times like World War II, but at the same time I have to admire him for acting on his convictions. When I came across this Student Edition of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas, I remembered hearing my daughter talking about the author, so I decided I’d read the book. I not only wanted to read about Bonhoeffer, but I wanted to find out if the author was someone I was interested in reading more from.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906, the fifth of seven children—his twin sister was only a few minutes younger than he was! As a young child, he experienced World War I, and learned that war was not glamorous when his older brother died. By the age of 15, the young man had decided that he wanted to become a theologian, and he never questioned his decision. Time in New York City among the African-American churches changed him forever, and he determined to infuse new life into what he saw as the dying Lutheran church in Germany.

A large part of this book talks about how Hitler became the Fuhrer of Germany, and how World War II began. I found that history very interesting. Of course, Bonhoeffer’s story is inextricably connected to the story of the Nazis and the war. Bonhoeffer struggled for a time with the ethics of resistance to the government but finally came to the conclusion that at times it was right to stand up for the right against corruption, even if it meant killing the leader. He joined a plot to assassinate Hitler—but unfortunately, was caught and imprisoned until nearly the end of the war. This is the point at which I differ from Bonhoeffer. From what I read in the New Testament, it is never right to kill anyone. Also, we are commanded to obey and pray for our government—and the person who wrote that, the Apostle Paul, was living under one of the worst of the Roman Emperors, Nero, who ended up killing him as well as thousands of other people. All the same, as I have said above, I do admire Bonhoeffer’s strength of conviction and his willingness to die for those convictions.

There are some features of this book that I felt really enhanced its usefulness. Each chapter begins with a timeline and ends with several questions to help you think about Bonhoeffer and how his story can apply to your life, as well as definitions of words and brief descriptions of people mentioned in the chapter. There are boxes of notes throughout the chapter to add more information and help you think about your life, as well. This is quite an educational book about World War II and Germany, although with my concern about Bonhoeffer’s theology, I would be careful about which children I handed this book to. They need to be well-grounded in their beliefs before reading this. Oh, and the original reason I wanted to read this book? I like Eric Metaxas’ way of writing history. He has written a very readable biography, and I would enjoy reading more of his books.

I received a free ecopy of this book from NetGalley and chose to write a review.

WARNING: As in paragraph 3.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 in Breslau, Germany as the youngest son of 8 children. His Father, Karl was an eminent psychologist, while his mother, Paula, was a certified teacher who taught the children until they went to public school. She taught a daily Bble study and sang hymns with the children .

The Bonhoeffer lost their oldest son Walter in WWI at the age of 18. His 2 older brothers had to go too, and he was only 15!
In 1921, at the age of 15 Dietrich decided he wanted to become a theologian, which was his lifelong occupation.
At the end of each chapter, the author asks the reader some thought provoking questions about the material he has read and how it could apply to their lives. That is a good way of making this book understandable and relevant to young people.

You will have to read the book for yourself to see what happens to Dietrich as he lived under Hitler, a man who hated Jews and "real" Christians!

It's impossible to read anything about the incredible life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and not be inspired by his faith, saddened by his suffering, and full of questions about your own beliefs and faith. Does my life reflect the kind of fearless faith that Bonhoeffer showed? Is my heart filled with joy in the midst of dark circumstances the way Bonhoeffer's was?
The answer is no. My faith looks rather puny next to his. My life looks pathetic next to his courage and generosity. One will always feel small when compared to giants, but at least we are looking up, striving for greatness, seeking to know God more intimately as they did.

I was surprised that this book was written for students in elementary school, and I suppose I was expecting something closer to a high school or middle school level. But then... if you're in high school, you might as well read the original version of Metaxas' book. As it is, it's a wonderful tool to introduce young children to the history and biography of a great spiritual warrior.

I loved that at the end of each chapter there are group questions about what Bonhoeffer's testimony means to us and how we can apply his example to our own lives. I thought it very helpful that many of the terms used to describe warfare, religion, and espionage are explained and defined in little aside boxes or in the glossary at the back. I can just imagine a family reading this together with their children and discussing the chapter questions at the dinner table.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

There were many martyrs of the Holocaust, but few have had the theological significance as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His life sets an example for old and young of how to live out ones convictions even in the most difficult of circumstances.



I will have my oldest daughter read this year as we study other literature written about the Holocaust. I think it is highly valuable to learn about many different perspectives when studying history, especially very difficult periods such as the Holocaust.



The book itself is geared towards the middle school reader. The historical information is provided in a clear and interesting way. Even if the reader has not been made familiar with the intricacies surrounding World War 2 prior to reading this, they will have no trouble understanding all that happened leading up to and during the war. It is especially insightful to understand how the everyday citizen felt about what Germany's leaders were doing.


Individuals are famous for their brief moment in history, but we cannot understand the individuals completely without first knowing what led them to those moments. This biography is an excellently written description of Bonhoeffer's early life and how he became who he was. The clear writing will engage readers fully and hopefully help them think critically about not only World War 2, but also be more aware of all that is going on around them politically and socially.


Now I do want to make it clear that I do not agree with all of Bonhoeffer's theological beliefs. That being said, I believe studying his life and his thoughts on Scripture are still very valuable. If you also have the opportunity to read the original book by Eric Metaxes written for adults I strongly encourage that. It is excellent and will fill in any of the gaps you may feel was missing in this title.

Not too long ago, I was playing a game of Taboo with a bunch of high schoolers. I received a card that said “Adolf Hitler,” and my taboo words were World War 2, Nazis, Holocaust, etc. This group of high schoolers had NO IDEA what I was talking about. The timer went off, and I then said the taboo words, hoping that would spark some connections. Alas, none. I was frankly appalled that this group of high schoolers had no idea what I was talking about. They knew there had been a world war, but two? Really? And the only reference they knew about Nazi was “soup Nazi.” My father fought in WW2, and this episode broke my heart.

That is why books like this one by Eric Metaxas are so necessary. It often helps to introduce difficult history subjects by holding up the “good guys” who fought for what was right. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is such a person to uphold to our children, and Mr. Metaxas’s concise and impeccably researched writing is an excellent way to do it. This book is packed full of great information without bogging down.

The oft-quoted and paraphrased line about those who do not understand history are condemned to repeat it is very true. We can see evidence of that daily in our current culture. Use this book to help combat the ignorance and apathy among the students you know. I highly recommend it for upper elementary (for advanced students) on up to adults (for a quick read).

I gratefully received this eARC from the author, publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.