August Landmesser was a Hamburg shipyard worker who refused
to salute Hitler. Reportedly he was not identified until one of his children
saw the photo in a 1991 German newspaper. You can read the full account and the
speculations surrounding his reasons for not saluting all over the Internet.
While the photo has nothing to do with Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
it’s a reminder of what Bonhoeffer did
not do that leads me to make a reflection. On June 14, 1940, Bonhoeffer and
best friend Eberhard Bethge were in a small café when news of the French
surrender to Germany was heard on a public radio. As all were prompted to stand
and perform the perfunctory Nazi salute, Bethge hesitated, telling his friend
that they should do no such thing. Bonhoeffer responded sternly that it would
be foolish to make such a public spectacle of themselves, even if it was right,
and that an appropriate time was coming for their resistance.
This is no condemnation of Bonhoeffer’s actions as
cowardice, but perhaps a commentary on the terrible penalty that would have
been incurred for making such a tremendous statement. Bonhoeffer simply knew
that at that time his effectiveness in his present role required the utmost
secrecy.
Perhaps there are times when courage is reckless and then
there are times when no one else is taking a stand so that one needs to stand.
The latter reminds me of the famous photo in Tiananmen Square, when the Chinese
student stood in front of the army tanks, or the burning Buddhist monk.
In the Biblical book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego stand up to the Persian mandate by remaining seated. Imagine someone
in the U.S. not standing for the National Anthem as a form of protest! For some
diehard patriots whose country can do no wrong, it would be too much to watch!
Individual acts of courage can inspire and agitate the
listlessness of the masses. Unfortunately, we do not always have a roadmap or
guide to tell us which ones will have the greatest effect, if any.
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