Renate Bethge, in his work, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Brief Life writes about how Dietrich Bonhoeffer developed a close relationship with the children in his confirmation class…

But mostly Bonhoeffer busied himself during this period with a confirmation group in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood.  The pastor had not been successful with this confirmation group.  So at the beginning, Bonhoeffer let the confirmands run wild; then he stood silently at the wall in front of them and began to speak very softly about the black children in Harlem.  The confirmands could not help but listen and soon were fascinated .

Gradually, Bonhoeffer developed closer contact with the children living in oppressive  situations.  He was concerned about them in a personal way, spending weekends with them, bringing them to his family’s vacation house in Friedrichsbrunn in the Harz region, and, with the help of his mother, provided each child with a confirmation suit (23).