had never appeared in English.) Bethge also collected and edited Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison (most of the which were addressed to him), as well as the unfinished effort Bonhoeffer considered his main life's work: Ethics. In 1995, Bethge edited Friendship and Resistance: Essays on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Given that Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazis at 39, a relatively young age, as well as the fact that Bonhoeffer's work was mostly "behind the scenes" rather than in the forefront of the Confessing Church movement, he was largely unknown in Germany and internationally. It was due to Bethge's untiring efforts that Bonhoeffer's theological and political legacy was preserved for future generations, and that Bonhoeffer became known as a key theologian of the 20th century. In 1991 Bethge wrote an article for Christian History titled "My Friend Dietrich." Reflecting on his former companion's work, he admitted that "the language, concepts, and thought paradigms of this man are a half century old and older... We find in him no answers to many of our most pressing questions... Even the world changed by half a century has not diminished, but rather expanded, the question of whether and how we are responsible citizens. Are we mature members of our society, states, corporations, and churches?... Unavoidably, we corrupt or renew the Christian claim and faith. Even in the nuclear, ecological, and feminist age, no one eludes the demands of citizenship with which Bonhoeffer struggled." Bethge died at Wachtberg, Rhein-Sieg-Kreis (District), of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was survived by his wife Renate (Dietrich Bonhoeffer's niece), as well as by a son and two daughters. He is buried at Bad Godesberg, a municipal district of Bonn, Germany. Works Eberhard Bethge (ed.), Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Letters and From Prison, New greatly enlarged edition. (New Y Papersork: Touchstone (Simon & Schuster), 1997). Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian, Christian, Man for His Times: A Biography. Rev. ed. (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2000). References Further reading John de Gruchy, Daring, Trusting Spirit: Bonhoeffer's Friend Eberhard Bethge. (London: SCM, 2005) Tobias Korenke, "Widerstand und Ergebung", in: Die Politische Meinung,'' No. 366, May 2000. External links Preview of Bethge's article in Christian History: My friend Dietrich "Zwischen Bekenntnis und Widerstand. Zur Erinnerung an Eberhard Bethge" 1909 births 2000 deaths German biographers Male biographers German editors 20th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians Protestants in the German Resistance Harvard Divinity School faculty People from the Province