It is easy to look back from the twenty-first century and conclude that a seminary under the direction of Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to be the ideal environment for a seminary. Yet…

There was no lack of criticism and suspicion of the work going on at Finkenwalde. Bonhoeffer’s ideas were not everyone’s cup of tea. Many of his colleagues considered them “monkish”, and there were some strange rumours in circulation about the ministry. Not least among those whom expressed astonishment was Karl Barth.

But more and more candidates for ordination were asking to be assigned to Bonhoeffer’s seminary.

(Ferdinand Schlingensiepen, Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance, 182-183).