Why did Dietrich Bonhoeffer criticize Nazi anti-Semitism?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s criticism of Nazi anti-Semitism was rooted in his theological convictions and his moral opposition to the regime's racial ideology.

He fiercely defended a nonracial definition of Jewish identity, arguing that individuals should not be defined by the religion of their grandparents. His resistance began early, as he insisted that Jews who had converted to Christianity were entitled to the same rights within the church as any other Christian, a stance that frequently put him at odds with other church leaders.1

As a leading spokesman for the Confessing Church, Bonhoeffer believed the church had a moral imperative to speak out against injustice. By 1940, he condemned the church's silence, asserting that it was guilty of the deaths of the "weakest and most defenseless brothers of Jesus Christ" because it failed to cry out when the blood of the innocent was being shed. Ultimately, his commitment to these ethical principles led him to move beyond protest; he and his brother-in-law actively helped Jews escape to neutral Switzerland and he joined the resistance movement to help overthrow the Nazi regime.1