Alfred Delp
Encyclopedia
Alfred Delp was a German
Jesuit priest who was executed for his resistance to the Nazi régime in Germany
.
, Grand Duchy of Baden
, to a Catholic
mother and a Protestant father. Although he was baptised as a Catholic, he attended a Protestant elementary school and was confirmed in the Lutheran church in 1921. Following a bitter argument with the Lutheran pastor, he requested and received the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation in the Catholic Church. His Catholic pastor recognized the boy's intelligence and love for learning and arranged for him to study at the Goetheschule in Dieburg
. Possibly because of the dual upbringing, he became later an ardent proponent of radically better relations between the Churches.
Thereafter, Delp's youth was moulded mainly by the Bund Neudeutschland Catholic
youth movement. Right after passing his Abitur
– in which he came out on top of his class – he joined the Society of Jesus
in 1926. Following philosophy studies at Pullach, he worked for 3 years as a prefect and sports teacher at Stella Matutina Kolleg
in Feldkirch
, Austria, where in 1933, he first experienced the Nazi regime, which forced an exodus of virtually all German students from Austria and thus the Stella Matutina
with a controversial 1000 Mark law, to be paid by everybody before entering into Austria. With his Director, Rev. Otto Faller
and Professor Alois Grimm
, he was among the first to arrive in the Black Forest
, where the Jesuits opened Kolleg St. Blasien
for some 300 students forced out of Austria. After St. Blasien, he completed his theology studies in Valkenburg, Holland (1934–1936), and in Frankfurt (1936–1937).
. In 1937, Delp was ordained a Catholic priest
in Munich
. Delp had wanted to study for a doctorate
in philosophy
at the University of Munich, but he was refused admission to the university for political reasons. From 1939 on, he worked on the editorial staff of the Jesuit publication Stimmen der Zeit
("Voices of the Times"), until the Nazis suppressed it in April 1941. He was then assigned as rector of St. Georg Church, part of Heilig-Blut Parish in the Munich
neighbourhood Bogenhausen. He preached both at Heilig-Blut and St. Georg, and also secretly helped Jews who were escaping to Switzerland
through the underground
.
It was Augustin Rösch who introduced Delp to the Kreisau Circle
. As of 1942, Delp met regularly with the clandestine group around Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
to develop a model for a new social order after the Third Reich came to an end. Delp's role was to explain Catholic social teaching
to the group, and to arrange contacts between Moltke and Catholic leaders, including Archbishop (later Cardinal) Preysing of Berlin.
to assassinate Hitler failed, a special Gestapo
commission arrested and interrogated all known members of the Resistance. Delp was arrested in Munich
on 28 July 1944 (eight days after Claus von Stauffenberg's attempt on Hitler's life), although he was not directly involved in the plot. He was transferred to Tegel Prison in Berlin
. While in prison, he secretly began to say Mass and wrote letters, reflections on Advent, on Christmas, and other spiritual subjects, which were smuggled out of the prison before his trial. On December 8, 1944, Delp received a visitor, Franz von Tattenbach SJ, sent by Rösch, to make his final vows to the Jesuit Order. This was supposedly forbidden, but the attending policemen did not understand what was going on. Delp wrote on the same day, It was too much, what a fulfillment, I prayed for it so much, I gave my life away. My chains are now without any meaning, because God found me worthy of the "Vincula amoris" (chains of love).
He was tried, together with Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
, Franz Sperr, and Eugen Gerstenmaier
, before the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) on 9–11 January 1945, with Roland Freisler
presiding. Alfred Delp, Helmuth von Moltke, and Franz Sperr were sentenced to death by hanging
for high treason
and treason
. The court
had dropped the charge against Delp of cognizance of the July 20 plot, but his dedication to the Kreisau Circle, his work as a Jesuit priest, and his Christian-social worldview were enough to seal his fate as a victim of the Nazi "system of justice".
, the Gestapo
offered Delp his freedom in return for his leaving the Jesuits, but he rejected it. Delp, like all prisoners connected with July 20, was required to wear handcuffs day and night. Prisoners being taken to execution were handcuffed with their hands behind their backs. The sentence was carried out on 2 February 1945 at Plötzensee Prison
in Berlin. The very next day, Roland Freisler was killed in an air-raid
. A special order by Heinrich Himmler
required that the remains of all prisoners executed in connection with the July 20 Plot be cremated, and their ashes scattered over the sewage fields. Accordingly, the body of Alfred Delp was cremated and his ashes disposed of somewhere near Berlin; nobody knows where.
at Kolleg St. Blasien
unveiled memorial plaques for two former educators and teachers slain by the Nazis, Alfred Delp and Alois Grimm
, whose ashes were buried there. Some thirty years later, Kolleg St. Blasien
named its new theatre hall after Alfred Delp.
The Alfred Delp Memorial Chapel was built in Lampertheim
in 1965. Many schools in Germany are named after Alfred Delp, among them one in Bremerhaven
. In Mannheim
, a Catholic student residence is named for him. The guesthouse on the campus of the Canisius College in Berlin also bears his name. In Dieburg
, the uppermost level at the Gymnasium
, the Alfred Delp School, the Catholic community centre, the Father Delp House, and a street are named after him. The Bundeswehr
named its barracks
in Donauwörth
the Alfred-Delp-Kaserne.
German sources
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jesuit priest who was executed for his resistance to the Nazi régime in Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Early life and education
Alfred Delp was born in MannheimMannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Grand Duchy of Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...
, to a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
mother and a Protestant father. Although he was baptised as a Catholic, he attended a Protestant elementary school and was confirmed in the Lutheran church in 1921. Following a bitter argument with the Lutheran pastor, he requested and received the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation in the Catholic Church. His Catholic pastor recognized the boy's intelligence and love for learning and arranged for him to study at the Goetheschule in Dieburg
Dieburg
Dieburg is a town in southern Hessen, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district of Dieburg, but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg.-History:...
. Possibly because of the dual upbringing, he became later an ardent proponent of radically better relations between the Churches.
Thereafter, Delp's youth was moulded mainly by the Bund Neudeutschland Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
youth movement. Right after passing his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
– in which he came out on top of his class – he joined the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
in 1926. Following philosophy studies at Pullach, he worked for 3 years as a prefect and sports teacher at Stella Matutina Kolleg
Stella Matutina (Jesuit school)
Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria, was a Jesuit school from 1651–1773 and from 1856-1979.- Short history:The “Kolleg” began in 1649 but opened formally in 1651. In 1773, when Pope Clement XIV discontinued the order of the Society of Jesus, the school closed...
in Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
, Austria, where in 1933, he first experienced the Nazi regime, which forced an exodus of virtually all German students from Austria and thus the Stella Matutina
Stella Matutina (Jesuit school)
Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria, was a Jesuit school from 1651–1773 and from 1856-1979.- Short history:The “Kolleg” began in 1649 but opened formally in 1651. In 1773, when Pope Clement XIV discontinued the order of the Society of Jesus, the school closed...
with a controversial 1000 Mark law, to be paid by everybody before entering into Austria. With his Director, Rev. Otto Faller
Otto Faller
Rev.Otto Faller SJ was Provincial Superior of the Jesuit order in Germany, educator, teacher and Dean at Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria and Kolleg St. Blasien in Germany, professor of patristic studies at the Gregorian University. He was life-long editor of the works of St. Ambrose...
and Professor Alois Grimm
Alois Grimm
Alois Grimm was a Jesuit priest, Patristic scholar, educator, and victim of Nazi religious hostility.-Early years:...
, he was among the first to arrive in the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
, where the Jesuits opened Kolleg St. Blasien
Kolleg St. Blasien
The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order...
for some 300 students forced out of Austria. After St. Blasien, he completed his theology studies in Valkenburg, Holland (1934–1936), and in Frankfurt (1936–1937).
Ministry
In 1935, Delp published his Tragic Existence, propagating a God-based humanism and reviewing the existentialism of Martin HeideggerMartin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
. In 1937, Delp was ordained a Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. Delp had wanted to study for a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Munich, but he was refused admission to the university for political reasons. From 1939 on, he worked on the editorial staff of the Jesuit publication Stimmen der Zeit
Stimmen der Zeit
Stimmen der Zeit is a monthly German magazine published since 1865 by Herder publishers. Its subtitle is Zeitschrift für christliche Kultur, and it publishes articles on Christian culture in the broad sense of the word...
("Voices of the Times"), until the Nazis suppressed it in April 1941. He was then assigned as rector of St. Georg Church, part of Heilig-Blut Parish in the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
neighbourhood Bogenhausen. He preached both at Heilig-Blut and St. Georg, and also secretly helped Jews who were escaping to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
through the underground
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
.
Resistance
Outspoken opposition to the Nazis by individual Jesuits resulted in harsh response from government officials, including imprisonment of priests in concentration camps. The government takeover of church property, "Klostersturm", resulted in the loss of valuable properties such as that of 'Stimmen der Zeit', and limited the work of the Jesuits in Germany. The Jesuit provincial, Augustin Rösch, Father Delp's superior in Munich, became active in the underground resistance to Hitler.It was Augustin Rösch who introduced Delp to the Kreisau Circle
Kreisau Circle
The Kreisau Circle was the name the Nazi Gestapo gave to a group of German dissidents centered on the Kreisau estate of Helmuth James Graf von Moltke. The Kreisauer Kreis is celebrated as one of the instances of German opposition to the Nazi regime...
. As of 1942, Delp met regularly with the clandestine group around Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke was a German jurist who, as a draftee in the German Abwehr, acted to subvert German human-rights abuses of people in territories occupied by Germany during World War II and subsequently became a founding member of the Kreisau Circle resistance group, whose members...
to develop a model for a new social order after the Third Reich came to an end. Delp's role was to explain Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...
to the group, and to arrange contacts between Moltke and Catholic leaders, including Archbishop (later Cardinal) Preysing of Berlin.
Arrest and trial
After the July 20 plotJuly 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
to assassinate Hitler failed, a special Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
commission arrested and interrogated all known members of the Resistance. Delp was arrested in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on 28 July 1944 (eight days after Claus von Stauffenberg's attempt on Hitler's life), although he was not directly involved in the plot. He was transferred to Tegel Prison in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. While in prison, he secretly began to say Mass and wrote letters, reflections on Advent, on Christmas, and other spiritual subjects, which were smuggled out of the prison before his trial. On December 8, 1944, Delp received a visitor, Franz von Tattenbach SJ, sent by Rösch, to make his final vows to the Jesuit Order. This was supposedly forbidden, but the attending policemen did not understand what was going on. Delp wrote on the same day, It was too much, what a fulfillment, I prayed for it so much, I gave my life away. My chains are now without any meaning, because God found me worthy of the "Vincula amoris" (chains of love).
He was tried, together with Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke was a German jurist who, as a draftee in the German Abwehr, acted to subvert German human-rights abuses of people in territories occupied by Germany during World War II and subsequently became a founding member of the Kreisau Circle resistance group, whose members...
, Franz Sperr, and Eugen Gerstenmaier
Eugen Gerstenmaier
Eugen Karl Albrecht Gerstenmaier was a German Evangelical theologian, resistance fighter in the Third Reich, and a CDU politician...
, before the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) on 9–11 January 1945, with Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
presiding. Alfred Delp, Helmuth von Moltke, and Franz Sperr were sentenced to death by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
and treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
. The court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
had dropped the charge against Delp of cognizance of the July 20 plot, but his dedication to the Kreisau Circle, his work as a Jesuit priest, and his Christian-social worldview were enough to seal his fate as a victim of the Nazi "system of justice".
Execution
While he was in prisonPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
offered Delp his freedom in return for his leaving the Jesuits, but he rejected it. Delp, like all prisoners connected with July 20, was required to wear handcuffs day and night. Prisoners being taken to execution were handcuffed with their hands behind their backs. The sentence was carried out on 2 February 1945 at Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
in Berlin. The very next day, Roland Freisler was killed in an air-raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
. A special order by Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
required that the remains of all prisoners executed in connection with the July 20 Plot be cremated, and their ashes scattered over the sewage fields. Accordingly, the body of Alfred Delp was cremated and his ashes disposed of somewhere near Berlin; nobody knows where.
Posthumous honours
In September 1949, Rev. Superior Otto FallerOtto Faller
Rev.Otto Faller SJ was Provincial Superior of the Jesuit order in Germany, educator, teacher and Dean at Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria and Kolleg St. Blasien in Germany, professor of patristic studies at the Gregorian University. He was life-long editor of the works of St. Ambrose...
at Kolleg St. Blasien
Kolleg St. Blasien
The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order...
unveiled memorial plaques for two former educators and teachers slain by the Nazis, Alfred Delp and Alois Grimm
Alois Grimm
Alois Grimm was a Jesuit priest, Patristic scholar, educator, and victim of Nazi religious hostility.-Early years:...
, whose ashes were buried there. Some thirty years later, Kolleg St. Blasien
Kolleg St. Blasien
The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order...
named its new theatre hall after Alfred Delp.
The Alfred Delp Memorial Chapel was built in Lampertheim
Lampertheim
Lampertheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Lampertheim lies in the southwest corner of Hesse in the Rhine rift at the Biedensand Conservation Area and borders on Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate...
in 1965. Many schools in Germany are named after Alfred Delp, among them one in Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
. In Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, a Catholic student residence is named for him. The guesthouse on the campus of the Canisius College in Berlin also bears his name. In Dieburg
Dieburg
Dieburg is a town in southern Hessen, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district of Dieburg, but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg.-History:...
, the uppermost level at the Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, the Alfred Delp School, the Catholic community centre, the Father Delp House, and a street are named after him. The Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
named its barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
in Donauwörth
Donauwörth
Donauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
the Alfred-Delp-Kaserne.
Alfred Delp in his own words
-
- God does not need great pathos or great works. He needs greatness of hearts. He cannot calculate with zeroes
-
- It is the time of sowing, not of harvesting. God is sowing; one day He will harvest again. I will try to do one thing. I will try to at least be a healthy and fruitful seed, falling into the soil. And into the Lord God's hand.
-
- Whoever does not have the courage to make history, becomes its poor object. Let's do it!
-
- When we get out of here, we will show, that (ecumenicism) is more than personal friendship. We will continue to carry the historical burden of our separated churches, as baggage and inheritance. But never again shall it became shameful to Christ. Like you, I do not believe in the utopia of complete unity stews. But the one Christ is undivided, and when undivided love leads to him, we will do better than our fighting predecessors and contemporaries.
-
- If there was a little more light and truth in the world through one human being, his life has had meaning.
-
- In half an hour, I'll know more than you do. These were the last words of Alfred Delp. He whispered them jokingly, to the Prison Chaplain Rev. Peter Buchholz, who accompanied him to his execution.
-
- Someday, others shall be able to live better and happier lifes because we died Written after the death penalty was passed.
Literature
English sources- Coady, Mary Frances, With Bound Hands: A Jesuit in Nazi Germany, Loyola Press,Chicago,2003, ISBN 0-8294-1794-X.
- Alfred Delp, Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings 1941-1944, Ignatius Press,San Francisco 2006, ISBN 1-58617-081-3. Biographical information pp. 13–19 and pp. 173–189.
- Anton Gill, An Honourable Defeat, Henry Holt, New York, 1994.
- Kreuser Interview, personal memories of Father Delp as pastor in Munich
- Biography at GDW-Berlin, the center for remembrance of the German Resistance
- Delp honored by Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (regarding Alfred Delp's assistance to Jews)
German sources
- Roman Bleistein, "Alfred Delp - Geschichte eines Zeugen" ("Alfred Delp – A Witness's Story"), Knecht Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-7820-0598-8
- Günther Saltin, Durchkreutztes Leben, Schlüssler, Mannheim 2004 (2), ISBN 3-00-012687-2
- Elke Endraß, Gemeinsam gegen Hitler. Pater Alfred Delp und Helmuth James Graf von Moltke,Kreuz Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-7831-2881-9
- Rita Haub/ Heinrich Schreiber, "Alfred Delp - Held gegen Hitler" ("Alfred Delp – Hero Against Hitler"), Echter Verlag Würzburg 2005, ISBN 3-429-02665-2
- Christian Feldmann, "Alfred Delp.Leben gegen den Strom" ("Alfred Delp: Life Against the Current"), Herder Freiburg 2005, ISBN 3-451-28569-X
- Glaube als Widerstandskraft. Edith Stein - Alfred Delp - Dietrich Bonhoeffer" ("Belief as Resistance Force: Edith Stein - Alfred Delp - Dietrich Bonhoeffer"), 1987, ISBN 3-7820-0523-6
External links
- Translation of a Delp sermon about his ordination as priest
- Delp honored by Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (in English)
- Biography at GDW-Berlin, the center for remembrance of the German Resistance (in English)
- Biography at the German Historical Museum
- An Anglican meditation on Delp's Advent sermons from Anglicans OnlineAnglicans onlineAnglicans Online is an unofficial weekly news magazine of the Anglican Communion. Its editorial staff is private and unaffiliated. A project of the Society of Archbishop Justus founded in 1994, AO includes more than 30,000 links and has more than 250,000 readers. calls it 'a kind voice in what...
(in English) - Biography at Jesuiten-Online (in German)
- Article on the 60th anniversary of Alfred Delp's death, with a biography (in German)