Christine von Dohnanyi

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Christine "Christel" von Dohnanyi , née Bonhoeffer (born October 26, 1903 in Koenigsberg , † February 2, 1965 in Kassel ), was a German who was active in the resistance against National Socialism .

Life

Christine Bonhoeffer was born as the fifth child of Karl Bonhoeffer and his wife Paula, née von Hase, and was thus the sister of Dietrich Bonhoeffer . She attended the Grunewald High School . In September 1921 she got engaged to Hans von Dohnanyi . In 1924 she broke off her studies in zoology, and in 1925 they married. Their daughter Barbara was born in 1926, the first son Klaus was born in 1928, the second son Christoph in 1929. The couple had three children in total.

Christine von Dohnanyi took part in all resistance activities of her husband Hans von Dohnanyi and supported them. He had informed her about all activities and was in lively exchange with her.

In addition to her husband and brother Dietrich Bonhoeffer, she was arrested by the Gestapo in the house in Sacrow on April 5, 1943 on suspicion of high treason and treason . For a long time Hans von Dohnanyi did not know about the arrest of his wife and her brother and tried to send letters to the wife from prison. Christine von Dohnanyi, still bruised by a stomach operation in early 1943, was first taken to the Charlottenburger Kaiserdamm police prison and then imprisoned together with Josef Müller's wife and secretary at the Alexanderplatz police headquarters . She also tried to exonerate members of the resistance while in prison. She was released after a few weeks. After her release, she tried to obtain the release of her husband and brother as well. She smuggled diphtheria bacilli on several occasions to enable him to avoid being questioned, but also to smuggle secret messages into her husband's prison. All contact went through the examining magistrate Manfred Roeder , who significantly influenced the visiting and writing options.

Grave site in the Dorotheenstadt cemetery

After Berlin surrendered on June 27, 1945, the Allies granted her the status of a “ Victim of Fascism ”. Desperate, she continued to try to find out something about her husband's whereabouts and urged the Allies to properly appreciate the resistance.

Her grave is in the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof . Son Klaus von Dohnanyi founded the foundation "civil courage Hans and Christine von Dohnanyi".

Quotes

“Do not have any hatred in your heart for the power that has done this to us. Do not embitter your young souls, it will take revenge and take the most beautiful thing there is, your trust. "

- Christiane Dohnanyi on Easter Sunday, April 26, 1943, in a letter from prison to her children.

literature

  • Marikje Smid: Hans von Dohnanyi - Christine Bonhoeffer. A marriage in the resistance against Hitler. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2002. ISBN 3-579-0538-2-5
  • Jochen Thies : The Dohnanyis. A family biography. Propylaea, Berlin 2004. ISBN 3-549-07190-6
  • Elisabeth Chowaniec: The "Dohnanyi Case" 1943–1945. Resistance, military justice, SS-Wilkür. Walter de Gruyter, 2010. ISBN 3-486-70318-8

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dohnanyi, Christine von. In: German biography . Retrieved April 6, 2019 . Christine von Dohnanyi. In: persondaten.org . Retrieved April 6, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Hans von Dohnanyi: "God has not given me a tank around my heart": Letters from the military prison and Gestapo-Hadt 1943 - 1945. Ed. By Winfried Meyer. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Munich, 2015, ISBN = 978-3-421-04711-3, pp. 17–18 (pdf, 7.6 MB)
  3. ↑ a b Dohnanyi, Christine von (1903-1965). Calliope network , accessed April 6, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Björn Mensing, Heinrich Rathke : Mithenschlichkeit, civil courage, trust in God. Evangelical victims of National Socialism and Stalinism. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2003, ISBN 3-374-02057-7 , p. 160.
  5. ^ Christiane Tietz : Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologe in the resistance. CH Beck, 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-64509-9 , p. 102.
  6. ↑ a b Christine von Dohnanyi. In: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Portal. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Winfried Meyer: Hans von Dohnanyi in the resistance against Hitler. (pdf, 559 kB) In: Memory of Hans von Dohnanyi. November 2002, pp. 19–31, here p. 27 , accessed on April 6, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Elisabeth Chowaniec: The "Dohnanyi Case" 1943–1945. P. 111.
  9. ^ Margot Käßmann ; Anke Silomon: God wants to see action. Christian resistance against Hitler. A reader. Verlag CH, Beck, Munich 2013, p. 112. ISBN 3-406644546 .
  10. ↑ Klaus von Dohnanyi honored in the town hall. In: Welt am Sonntag . October 26, 2008, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Felix Zimmermann: Klaus von Dohnanyi on Nazi resistance: “I admire this courage”. In: The daily newspaper (taz). October 27, 2015, accessed April 6, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Dohnanyi, Christine von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dohnanyi, Christel von (nickname); Bonhoeffer, Christine (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German resistance against National Socialism; Sister of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and wife of Hans von Dohnanyi
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Koenigsberg
DATE OF DEATH February 2, 1965
Place of death kassel