“Forcing Every Thought and Action into Responsibility”: An Unpublished Curriculum Vitae from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Fiancé Maria von Wedemeyer. Edited with an Introduction and Commentary by Jutta Koslowski

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is well-known both among theologians and the general public and enjoys still increasing popularity postum. Far less is known about the members of his large family—although many of them were also involved in the Christian church and in the resistance movement against Hitler. ¹ This is particularly true of the women of the Bonhoeffer family, who have only recently received a little more of the attention they deserve. ² Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis at the age of 39, was not married—after his death, people would have liked to know more about his fiancé, Maria von Wedemeyer; ³ but she kept silent. There were very few occasions when she spoke up. The only article she wrote was significant: “The Other Letters from Prison,” published in the Union Seminary Quarterly Review in 1967. ⁴ This title is an allusion to the English edition of the world-famous book Widerstand und Ergebung, ⁵ which appeared in English translation under the title Letters and Papers from Prison. ⁶ Letters and Papers from Prison contains the eminent correspondence between Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his confidant Eberhard Bethge from Tegel prison between November 1943 and August 1944 (when he had befriended his guard Mr. Knobloch, and the latter was willing, at the risk of his life, to smuggle uncensored letters out of prison and back in again). Maria von Wedemeyer's so-called “Other Letters” contain material of a completely different nature: no theological reflections, but personal expressions that testify to the love and longing between the two fiancés Dietrich and Maria. They help us to better understand Dietrich Bonhoeffer's personality. These letters and the memories attached to them were so precious to Maria that she kept them to herself throughout her life and only gave permission to publish them to her sister Ruth-Alice on her deathbed at her untimely decease. ⁷

It is therefore all the more significant that a primary source is made accessible here in which Maria von Wedemeyer reports on herself. It is a four-page typewritten text entitled curriculum vitae—a document that Maria wrote in the year 1948, when she was about to complete her studies in mathematics in Göttingen and applied for a scholarship in the USA. This application is written in German. At the very top of the first page is an entry stamp with the words

“THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

RECEIVED

APR 5 1948.”

In the top-left corner, a handwritten note is added, whose author can be identified by comparison of handwriting. It originates from Eberhard Bethge, who tirelessly collected Dietrich Bonhoeffer's estate and made it accessible to posterity. It reads: “From the files of Bryn Mawr.”

Apparently, Maria von Wedemeyer was successful with her application at this institution, because from the year 1948 onwards, she studied mathematics at the private Bryn Mawr College near Philadelphia (in the state of Pennsylvania)—a program from which she graduated with a Master of Arts in 1950. She then made a career in the upcoming computer industry—until she succumbed to a short and incurable cancer in 1977 at the age of only 53 and died in a hospital in Boston. After 1948, she never returned to Germany, except for short visits.

A year after leaving for the USA, Maria von Wedemeyer married the German lawyer and banker Paul-Werner Schniewind, son of the well-known Protestant theology professor Julius Schniewind. They had two sons, Christopher and Paul, before they divorced six years later. In 1959, Maria married the American entrepreneur Barton Weller. This marriage also ended in divorce after six years. Family members report that Maria wanted to leave behind the deep bond with her youthful love Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but could never forget him. According to her sister Ruth-Alice, her last words on her deathbed were: “Did they bring my wedding gown?” ⁸

What does Marias von Wedemeyer write in her curriculum vitae as a young woman at the age of 23—almost exactly three years after the collapse of Germany at the end of the Second World War and after the murder of her former fiancé Dietrich Bonhoeffer? She speaks of her birth on her parents’ estate Pätzig in what was then Mark Brandenburg and of her beloved father Hans, about whom she writes, “He was constantly active in politics in a conservative sense until Hitler came to power. In 1933 he withdrew from all political activity.” ⁹ She reports about her childhood,

For us siblings, it was above all the strong Christian ties of my parents that were decisive. They introduced us to the Christian faith as a matter of course and allowed us to grow roots in it; these have remained very firm and secure to this day, despite all experiences and doubts. From this Christian atmosphere, long before political reasons and points of view were accessible to us, we learned to recognize and reject National Socialism in its unchristian and inhuman basic tendencies. ¹⁰

After being taught by home teachers during her first years of school, she later attended boarding schools—initially the Magdalenenstift in Altenburg, Thuringia, and then the Evangelisches Landeserziehungsheim in Wieblingen near Heidelberg. Maria reports about its leader Elisabeth von Thadden: “She was one of the few women who actively participated in the German resistance movement. She paid for this with a year's imprisonment and finally execution.” ¹¹ Maria was elected head girl at this boarding school, and her experiences led to the decision to become a teacher (an intention she did not realize later on). She also discovered her great “love of mathematics” ¹² during this time. Maria's education was interrupted by the events of the war. She reports briefly about the following years: “In March 1942, I got my Baccalaureate. Afterwards, I became a Red Cross nurse to avoid being drafted into a munitions factory. In the autumn of that year, my father and my older brother were killed in Russia.—In January 1943, I became engaged to the pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” ¹³ This passage is followed by a larger section in which Maria von Wedemeyer talks about Dietrich—the longest coherent thread of thought in this piece of writing. It makes up about a quarter of the entire text. Finally, Maria returns to her desire to study mathematics, physics, and history in order to become a teacher. She substantiates her choice with political and ethical considerations: “In my opinion, the teaching profession is the one that most directly contributes to the reconstruction of Germany. It is just as important that people have a roof over their heads as it is that they find a spiritual and moral home again. … It is necessary to develop a genuine moral consciousness that forces every action and thought into responsibility; I believe, this is given to us in Christianity alone.” ¹⁴

If the Christian faith is emphasized throughout the whole document as being decisive for Maria von Wedemeyer and her family of origin, it should be noted that this curriculum vitae is an occasional text. It was written for the purpose of supporting Maria's application for a place on a scholarship at Bryn Mawr College (an objective which was achieved). Bryn Mawr College was founded in 1885 by Quakers as a private college for women—it was an institution marked by religion (possibly even more in Maria von Wedemeyer's imagination than in reality). The strong emphasis on Maria's affiliation with the opposition to Hitler (through her parental home as well as her association with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was already internationally recognized at the time) could have had the same motivation—as well as the emphasis on her educational skills and interests (since she applied to study in the USA to be a teacher). Nevertheless, this is the only known text in which Maria von Wedemeyer gives a detailed account of herself, and the way in which she does so certainly allows conclusions to be drawn about her personality.

What is the occasion for publishing this document here? I came across it when I served as Dietrich Bonhoeffer Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York in Spring semester 2022. “Union” is the theological seminary where Dietrich Bonhoeffer stayed twice: First in the academic year 1930/31, when he spent two semesters as a “Sloane Fellow” to gain some more international experience and to bridge the time until his 25th birthday (the prescribed age for his ordination as a pastor in the Protestant Church of the altpreussische Union). In 1939 Dietrich returned once again to Union Theological Seminary—this time to escape from the Nazis. He had decided to refuse to serve at arms in the event of war, for which he faced the death penalty. Therefore, family and friends were relieved when they managed to get him to safety in America. It was precisely this safety that caused Dietrich such trouble of conscience that he returned to Germany just three weeks later—on the last ship connection across the Atlantic, just before the start of the Second World War. At Union Theological Seminary, the memory of the famous theologian is cherished, and the world-renowned Burke Library there preserves (in addition to a Dietrich Bonhoeffer “Special Collection”) an extensive Bonhoeffer “Microfiche Collection.” This contains the only complete set of Bonhoeffer microfiches available in North America, which can be viewed in the reading room of the neighboring Butler Library at Columbia University. These microfiches contain a photographic copy of the complete archive material that has been collected in “Nachlass 299” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) at the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin (at the time these photographs were taken). ¹⁵ There are 159 envelopes, each containing at least one microfiche with up to 6×14 pages (often, these envelopes contain considerably more microfiches, so that a total of ten thousands of pages of archive material are stored on this medium). The material is—just like the archival records in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin—more or less systematically arranged in four sections, of which Part A (envelopes 1 to 90) contains letters of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from the year 1909 (when he was just four years of age) and extends up to the trial of Walter Huppenkothen (who had passed the death sentence in the Stand Court trial against Dietrich Bonhoeffer). Part B of the microfiche series contains transcripts from lectures by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 26 envelopes. Part C contains letters written to Dietrich Bonhoeffer in another set of 26 envelopes. Part D (entitled “Materialien zur D. Bonhoeffer-Forschung”) contains further, unclassified material, for example, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's personal file at the Evangelische Kirche der altpreussischen Union or the guest book of the Finkenwalde Predigerseminar. In addition, there are numerous appendices with varia. In the penultimate of these appendices, C 4–6 (number C 1–3 does not exist) there is folder C 6 with the heading

“Anhang C 6

Briefe von Maria von Wedemeyer

an Dietrich Bonhoeffer und Familie

1943–45 (1948)”.

This folder C 6 contains a total of nine documents—the last in this series is the curriculum vitae of Maria von Wedemeyer. So, when this text is published here, this is not newly discovered material, as it is available in photocopy in the archives of the Staatsbibliothek Berlin ¹⁶ (the original is probably still in the university archives of Bryn Mawr College). However, this document is hardly accessible at the place where it is maintained, and to my knowledge it has never been used or cited in connection with Maria von Wedemeyer or the Bonhoeffer family. This is the reason why it shall be published here in full length and made available in an English translation for further research.

curriculum vitae ¹⁷

Maria von Wedemeyer, stud. math.

I was born on 23. 4. [19]24 on my parents’ estate Pätzig—in the Mark Brandenburg. My father's family has been resident in the Land of Hanover since the seventeenth century. My father studied law, but had become a farmer out of obligation to the inherited land after World War I. His interests, outside of his agricultural activities, lay mainly in the political and ecclesiastical spheres. He was constantly active in politics in a conservative sense—until Hitler came to power. In 1933 he withdrew from all political activity, without, however, being able to prevent the fact that he was often sharply attacked because of his anti-National Socialist views, of which he never made a secret. My mother comes from a family of Silesian lawyers.

I am the 3rd child of 7 siblings. We were taught by a home teacher in our first years at school. This not only gave us a head start over the public schools in terms of character, but also left us plenty of time for sports and hunting, which my father in particular guided and encouraged. My love was dealing with horses. I rode in my first tournaments shortly after my 15th birthday. For us siblings, it was above all the strong Christian commitment of my parents that was decisive. They introduced us to the Christian faith as a matter of course and let us put down roots in it; these have remained very firm and secure to this day, despite all experiences and doubts. From this Christian atmosphere, long before political reasons and points of view were accessible to us, we learned to recognize and reject National Socialism in its unchristian and inhuman basic tendencies. And we did this not only with words, but my parents demanded consistent behavior from us. At that time, this meant that we were not allowed to become members of the Hitlerjugend. ¹⁸ We recognized this as right and necessary, although later, when we were the only ones in the class not to join them, it often became bitterly difficult for us.

From the age of 11, I spent my school years in boarding schools. From 1935–[19]38 in a very old, strictly conservative boarding school (Altenburg/Thür[ingen]), ¹⁹ which in its Prussian strict upbringing may well have polished off myself as a quite liberally educated child in many necessary ways, but at the same time revealed to me very clearly how much of this kind of education was outdated and constricting.

The Landerziehungsheim Wieblingen (in Heidelberg), ²⁰ on the other hand, which I attended from 1938–1942, was a modern, college-type boarding school for girls. It was run by Elisabeth von Thadden, ²¹ an outstanding educator and an incorruptibly clear character. She was one of the few women who took an active part in the German resistance movement. She paid for this with a year's imprisonment and finally execution. Elisabeth von Thadden was a person who had a very strong influence on my development during my school years. Although I was not a member of the Hitlerjugend, I was able to be elected first as class representative and then as head girl at the time of her school leadership. Learning was very easy for me throughout my school years. My interest was above all in history; I enjoyed working on historical papers and elaborations. In Heidelberg, however, I made the discovery not only of a mathematical talent in me, but also of a great love for mathematics. In my free time, I dealt thoroughly with it and thus very soon attracted the attention of my teachers. When a mathematics teacher was absent for a quarter due to illness, I was allowed to take over the teaching of the younger students. The success of this attempt made me believe my teachers’ assurances that I had pedagogical skills, and I decided to become a teacher.—Another experience supported this decision: After the arrest of Elisabeth von Thadden by the Gestapo, the school was handed over to a National Socialist management. As I was one year away from taking my A-levels, a change of school was inadvisable. So I witnessed how a boarding school could take on a completely new character within a few months and how—this experience particularly shocked me and made me very thoughtful—the intellectual development of the girls in this boarding school was steered in an astonishingly fast and seductive way in the direction of National Socialism.

In March 1942, I got my Baccalaureate. I then became a Red Cross nurse to avoid being drafted into a munitions factory. In the autumn of that year, my father ²² and my older brother ²³ fell in Russia.—In January 1943, I got engaged to the pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born in 1906, was a lecturer in Protestant theology at the University of Berlin until 1934. It was clear to him from the day Hitler seized power [that] as a clergyman and as a human being he had to come into open opposition to National Socialism and its rulers. Despite being banned from speaking and writing, he worked in the leadership of the Confessing Church and was in permanent contact with the men of the German resistance movement from all denominational and political directions from 1933 onwards. Before the war and also during the war, he had the opportunity during numerous foreign trips to get in touch with clergy and politicians from Europe and the USA, not only with academic tasks but also with important missions of the German resistance movement.

In April 1943, three months after our engagement began, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo in Berlin. I left my job as a nurse and moved to Berlin to be able to care for my fiancé as much as possible. Until the summer of [19]44, this care consisted of seeing my fiancé once a month for 20 min in the presence of an SS-man, washing his clothes and occasionally smuggling food and messages into his cell. After the plot against Hitler of 20 July 1944, my fiancé's active participation in the resistance movement also became fully apparent to the Gestapo. He was placed in the strictest custody and from then on it was no longer possible for me to visit him, write to him or even receive any news from him. His whereabouts were concealed from me by the Gestapo. So, in order to see him, I went to the concentration camps [Bergen-]Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau and Flossenbürg, ²⁴ but in all these camps I was deliberately denied any information about my fiancé. So I had to give up my search at the beginning of April, when the American troops marched into southern Germany. It was only six months after the German surrender that I learned that Dietrich Bonhoeffer had been hanged in Flossenbürg concentration camp on 9 April 1945.

In February 1945, my family had to leave the estate due to the invasion of the Soviet army and lost property and assets. I fled with my 4 little brothers and sisters on a horse-drawn cart about 600 km to West Germany in February [1945]. ²⁵

After the war, I first took over the post of a home teacher in Bavaria. I taught 6 children in 3 classes. After the universities reopened, I began my studies in Göttingen in April 1946. I studied mathematics, physics and history. I chose these subjects because they were of particular interest to me and I felt I could cope with them. In the course of my two years of study, I realized with increasing joy and certainty the perfectness of this choice of my profession, namely to become a teacher and educator. ²⁶ In my opinion, the teaching profession is the one that most directly contributes to the reconstruction of Germany. It is just as important that people have a roof over their heads as it is that they find a spiritual and moral home again. The rich visual material of history on the one hand, and the formal education of mathematics on the other, seem to me to be particularly suitable for providing young people with the intellectual means for freedom of thought. However, the ability to think rationally and knowledge of the past alone is not enough. It is necessary to develop a genuine moral consciousness that forces every action and thought into responsibility; I believe this is given to us in Christianity alone.

However, I deem that one only becomes fully aware of one's own mistakes and also possibilities in a foreign environment. My desire to study in America is based on the realization of America's great importance not only in political but also in intellectual development.