“A Swissman in the Middle of Germany”

In the summer semester of 1930, Barth moved to Bonn. He was soon drawn into a conflict with German nationalists about the German pacifist and theologian Günther Dehn, whom Barth defended. A few months after Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Reich Chancellor in 1933, Barth wrote Theological Existence Today!, declaring that church and theology constitute a boundary for every state, even a totalitarian one. At the same time, Barth’s domestic situation grew more difficult, leading him to consider divorce. In 1934 Barth co-authored the Barmen Theological Declaration of the Confessing Church. Barth didn’t conform with even minor regulations at the university and refused to swear the loyalty oath to Hitler without an addendum. This led to Barth’s suspension as professor, followed by a disciplinary criminal process, in which Barth protested that Hitler was treated as a second God. The process led to Barth’s compulsory retirement in 1935.

“The Red Pastor”

The social circumstances in Barth’s new parish in Safenwil were shaped by the poor working conditions at the town’s two textile factories. Barth soon took public positions on behalf of the workers, what led to the public accusation of a “red Messiah”. He was convinced of the continuity between Jesus’s teachings and the goals of social democracy, becoming a member of the Swiss Socialist Party. During these years Barth’s friendship with Eduard Thurneysen deepened and their joint theological work began. Barth got to know Hermann Kutter and Leonhard Ragaz, the important Swiss religious socialists. The First World War and the support for that war among German theologians, including several of his professors, was a decisive turning point, leading Barth to conclude theologically that human beings should not identify any human cause with God’s will. In 1913, Barth married Nelly Hoffmann. During their time in Safenwil, they had four children.

“A Book for Those Who Were Also Concerned”

The support of prominent theologians for the First World War made Barth understand that their premises were false. How instead could a pastor rightly speak of God? Barth returned anew to the biblical text, becoming convinced that it can still speak to people today. The result was Barth’s first Epistle to the Romans (1919), a commentary to Paul’s letter. Barth stresses that the kingdom of God comes about solely through God, while all human activities, including religion, belong to the world. Barth’s cultural critique reflects the spiritual situation of the wartime and postwar period, yet without any hope on cultural renewal. In his 1919 Tambach lecture, Barth further developed his insights of the difference between God and religion. For God one can only wait. Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the wholly other. Therefore theology needs to think dialectically. Barth’s new ideas found great resonance, but he was also accused of arbitrary exegesis.

“To Always Work Somewhat Faster”

Barth’s first commentary on the Epistle to the Romans led to the invitation to become honorary professor for Reformed theology in Göttingen. Barth began his teaching by giving exegetic lectures and lectures on the Reformed tradition to become acquainted with its great texts. He found teaching burdensome and frequently complained to Swiss friends about his inability to master the academic challenges. His lectures on “Instruction in the Christian Religion” became his first attempt to delineate his own dogmatics. Barth quickly developed a good rapport with his students, but the relationships to his colleagues proved to be difficult. He travelled frequently to give lectures throughout Germany, and many interested in his theology visited him in Göttingen. Barth was moved by the tense economic situation in Germany, but troubled by German nationalism.

“The Need for Thinking Further”

Barth moved to the theological faculty of Münster in 1925 where he had an easier relationship with his colleagues than in Göttingen. While at the beginning he again suffered under the burdens of teaching, he gradually came to enjoy it. In Münster, Barth began work on a new cycle on dogmatics and published it in 1927 as “Christian Dogmatics in Outline” considering it as “the attempt of a beginner in this area.” He made friends with many Catholics and met the Catholic philosopher of religion Erich Przywara for the first time. Barth traveled nationally and internationally for lectures which gave him a large following, which would subsequently become important for his role as a leading figure in the German Church Struggle.

“We Who Can Still Speak”

In July 1935 Barth returned to Basel as professor. He retained his ties to the Confessing Church. In the 1938 Sudeten crisis, Barth wrote to the Czech professor Hromádka, encouraging the Czech to violent resistance against Hitler’s aggressive policies. In Nazi Germany Barth’s stand was viewed as treasonous and the Confessing Church withdrew from Barth. In the following years Barth’s engagement focused on refugees. He criticized how National Socialist ideology and antisemitism spread also in Switzerland and how Switzerland understood its neutrality. Barth’s texts were censored in his home country, and his phone was under surveillance. In 1941, Barth’s son Matthias died at age twenty in a tragic accident in the Alps. As the defeat of Germany became foreseeable, Barth called upon his compatriots to adopt a postwar attitude toward the Germans that combined friendship and criticism.

“Stumbling up the Steps to Calvin’s Pulpit”

Barth started his time as vicar in the German Reformed congregation in Geneva in the spirit of his Marburg professor Wilhelm Herrmann. He was disappointed that his sermons and other offerings found only little resonance. In his first confirmation instruction Barth tried to demonstrate to the youth the experience of the inner life of Jesus. He started evenings for the confirmed to help them deepen their knowledge about Christianity. In this context he discovered major gaps in his knowledge of the theology of the Reformers and the older theological tradition. He became more open for the societal aspects of religious life. In one of the pastoral conferences of the German-speaking pastors in French Switzerland, which he found dreadfully pious, Barth lectured on “Christian Faith and History,” critically engaging with Ernst Troeltsch. 1911 was the year of Barth’s engagement with Nelly Hoffmann who had been in his first confirmation class.

“This Obscure Desire toward a Better Understanding”

Barth studied theology because of his confirmation instruction which introduced him to theological topics. He went to Bern, Berlin, Tübingen and Marburg, preferring liberal approaches over conservative ones. But in his autobiographical notes, he later overstated things when he stressed that at that time he preferred a very different theology than his father. Adolf von Harnack, Wilhelm Herrmann, and Martin Rade became his most important teachers. Kantian and Neo-Kantian philosophy interested him, and he enthusiastically read Schleiermacher’s speeches On Religion. In Bern Barth joined the Zofingia student fraternity (where he became known for his views on “the social questions”) and experienced his first great love. After finishing his studies he worked as editorial assistant for the journal Die Christliche Welt in Marburg, where his outspokenness soon became evident.

“All Things Considered, a Little Tired”

After his retirement, Barth traveled for the first time to give lectures and public discussion in the United States, where the public interest was enormous. He also received several international honors, including an honorary doctorate from Sorbonne University. In September 1966, Barth traveled to Rome, where he met with the Curia and the Pope. Barth reconciled with Emil Brunner and became friends with the Catholic writer Carl Zuckmayer. During his final years, Barth experienced a steady decline in health. Charlotte von Kirschbaum developed dementia and in 1966 was moved to a clinic; after that the relationship between Karl and Nelly Barth eased. In 1967, Barth decided to end the work on his Church Dogmatics and published the fragments of CD IV/4. Barth died on December 10, 1968, in his sleep at his home in Basel.

A Troubled “Ménage à Trois”

The closeness of the relationship between Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum remained publicly unknown for a long time. Only the third volume the Barth-Thurneysen correspondence (published 2000) and the first volume of the letters between Barth and Kirschbaum (published 2008) revealed the love between Barth and Kirschbaum as well as the conflicts this generated in Barth’s marriage. Barth met Kirschbaum in August 1925, and they soon fell in love with each other. Barth wrestled with the implications of the relationship for his family, feeling particularly guilty toward his wife. But after a few years in which Kirschbaum started to work with Barth, he felt he could not live without her. In October 1929, Kirschbaum moved into the Barth household, the beginning of an almost forty-year long “Notgemeinschaft”.