Start your Sunday morning with good company, great coffee, and delicious German cake at the GAI Café, held on the third Sunday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Germanic-American Institute. Savor homemade and specialty German cakes alongside strong, aromatic coffee, all available for purchase. Whether you come for the cake, the presentation, or simply to catch up with friends, we can’t wait to see you at the GAI Café!
January GAI Café: The Effect of Bonhoeffer’s 1930 Harlem Experience on His Resistance to Nazi Racism
Join Rev. John Matthews as we honor the remarkable life and legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This presentation will highlight Bonhoeffer’s formative year (1930–31) at Union Theological Seminary and his transformative experiences in Harlem, exploring how these encounters shaped his theological understanding of justice and his later resistance to Nazi racism.
German Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed on April 9, 1945, at Flossenbürg concentration camp—one of Hitler’s final acts of retaliation against those connected to the July 1944 plot on his life. Prior to his arrest, Bonhoeffer played a significant role in the Confessing Church, which was suppressed in 1937 for its opposition to the Nazi regime. Through his brother-in-law’s connections in the Abwehr, he later worked covertly within the German resistance, ultimately giving his life for his convictions.
Rev. John Matthews has been engaged with the International Bonhoeffer Society for fifty years, serving as its President from 2005 to 2010. He has authored two books on Bonhoeffer and was personally acquainted with some of Bonhoeffer’s family members and close friends. Pastor Matthews will also have books available for purchase at the event.
The presentation will include a brief biographical overview, followed by reflections and a discussion on how Bonhoeffer’s life and legacy continue to speak powerfully into our world today.
Kaffee and Kuchen $8
