Hans Ehrenberg and Karl Barth


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Hans Ehrenberg was friends with Karl Barth. He had heard the Tambach Lecture in 1919 in which Barth had presented the basic program of “dialectical theology”.


Ehrenberg and Barth corresponded intensely. Ehrenberg had written in 1933 that he was dependent on support from leading theological and ecclesiastical intellects of the day. Ehrenberg asked Barth for support to no avail. The correspondence between the two broke off in 1934.


In the following years, Ehrenberg, who had Jewish ancestry, was supported almost exclusively by his congregation and a few fellow clergy in Bochum. The lack of support does not appear to have spoiled Ehrenberg’s relationship with Barth permanently. Ehrenberg is also represented with an essay in the Festschrift on Barth’s 70th birthday.


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  • © Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evangelischen Kirche von Westfalen, Bestand 3.17 II.I.51

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