'Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace' to Air on PBS Stations June 14

NEW YORK (ELCA) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor and author who resisted the Nazi regime and was executed near the end of World War II, is the subject of a 90-minute dramatic film that will air in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) June 14 at 9:30 p.m. EDT. Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), a fraternal benefits organization based in Appleton, Wis., helped initiate and fund the film, "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace."
The U.S. premiere of the film was May 17 here at The German House, near the United Nations. The film, shot in the Czech Republic, Germany and Canada, has already been honored. It won "Best Film" at the Monte Carlo TV Festival 2000 in February. Ulrich Tukur, a German actor and musician, stars as Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer was educated in Germany and the United States. He returned to Germany in the late 1930s during the rise of the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer was forbidden to teach, preach or publish and was required to report regularly to the police. He joined the German resistance for the Allies. Bonhoeffer was later arrested after a failed plot to kill Adolf Hitler and was executed in 1945.
His writings include two manuscripts, "The Cost of Discipleship" and "Letters and Papers from Prison." That collection included his poem, "Who Am I?"
The May 17 showing was preceded by comments from people involved in making the film and by a panel of journalists and Lutheran pastors who discussed Bonhoeffer and his impact on contemporary society. The invited audience of about 150 people included clergy, historians, people involved in the film's production and journalists. AAL, the German Information Center and the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod sponsored the event.
Augsburg College, Minneapolis, provided a Bonhoeffer photo exhibit. Augsburg is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.
"Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" should encourage people to learn more about the man and explore his "complex thinking," said Eric Till, director and co-writer of the film, in opening the program. Till said it was "an enormous privilege' to make the film.
Panelists included the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod; David Gergen, editor-at-large, U.S. News and World Report, Washington, D.C.; the Rev. Martin E. Marty, ELCA pastor and professor emeritus, University of Chicago; and Gustav Niebuhr, religion editor, New York Times. Mary Alice Williams, journalist, The Odyssey Network, was panel moderator.
Bonhoeffer was a man who practiced "radical compassion," Bouman said. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed the community called the church was accountable."
"Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" begins with scenes of Bonhoeffer in the New York borough of Harlem, Bouman noted. His solidarity with Harlem is an inspiration to Lutherans, he said, adding that in New York today, Lutheran worship is conducted in as many as 18 languages.
"The basis of this movie is incarnation," Bouman said. "God became human and God walked in our lives."
The film shows how Bonhoeffer was challenged by themes such as authority, freedom and truth, all of which "are important struggles in the new millennium," Marty said. Bonhoeffer is being rediscovered by a new generation, he said. Marty said he would like to see the film in the company of high-school-age people and discuss what they learned from it.
"What I like about him is that he lived most of his life in comfort, and he constantly tries to separate himself from that," Marty added.
The film not only helps new audiences become acquainted with Bonhoeffer, but it also brings back memories of other 20th century heroes, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., Gergen said. Each was a victim of oppression, but Bonhoeffer was different, he said.
"He chose to serve others who became victims and himself became a victim," Gergen said. Bonhoeffer confronted evil with "moral rigor," he added.
Niebuhr, the grand nephew of Reinhold Niebuhr, one of Bonhoeffer's professors here at Union Theological Seminary, said the film will provoke a wider curiosity about Bonhoeffer. He cited several ways people might remember Bonhoeffer today. They include physical remembrances, such as a special room dedicated to him at Union Seminary; through photographs; through his writings which some people may use as a guide for their own lives; and through his vision for the future of Christianity, he said.
Oregon Public Broadcasting and Wisconsin Public Television worked with AAL to present "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" in the United States.
AAL will distribute copies of the film to its 10,000 local volunteer groups, known as "branches," as part of a branch educational program, said Dennis Clauss, AAL church relations, Appleton.
A second showing of "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" was held May 17 for New York-area clergy and other guests at the Interchurch Center. The event was hosted by AAL and Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA, Minneapolis. Augsburg Fortress has exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the film after it airs on PBS June 14.
On June 6 in Washington, D.C., there will be a private showing of "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace," for members of Congress. Sponsors include AAL, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, The Luther Institute, PBS and its local affiliate, WETA-TV, and The Trinity Forum. -----------
Photographic images from the film are available at www.wpt.org/presspics. Premiering in June is a Web site for "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" at www.pbs.org/opb/bonhoeffer.

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