Karl Barth

Protestant theologian Karl Barth was born on May 10, 1886, in Basel, Switzerland, to theology professor and pastor Fritz Barth (1852–1912) and Anna Katharina (Sartorius) Barth.

Karl Barth 1956 By Bundesarchiv, Bild 194-1283-23A / Lachmann, Hans

Barth began his student career at the University of Bern, then studied at the University of Berlin and the University of Tübingen before finally in Marburg to study under Wilhelm Herrmann. 

Barth served as a Reformed pastor in the village of Safenwil in the canton of Aargau for ten years from 1911. He them moved to Germany where he served as professor of theology in Göttingen (1921–1925), Münster (1925–1930). In 1930, Barth was appointed professor of systematic theology at the University of Bonn.

Barth married Nelly Hoffmann, a talented violinist in 1913. They had a daughter and four sons.

After the First World War, Barth began working through the problems posed by war and the failure of liberal theology to account for such a dark episode in human history. The outcome of this was the Epistle To The Romans, which opened the way for a revival of orthodox Protestantism based on the Bible.

Karl Barth published the first volume of his monumental Church Dogmatics in 1932. In his tome, Barth, emphasized the limitations of man, and God's unquestionable authority and transcendence. After criticizing the prevailing liberal theology he developed an emphasis on revelation of the Father by the Son through the Spirit.

A socialist in his political views, Barth opposed the Nazi regime in Germany and supported church-sponsored movements against National Socialism; he was the chief author of the Barmen Declaration, six articles that defined Christian opposition to National Socialist ideology and practice. 

Barth was forced to resign from his professorship at the University of Bonn and deported to his native Switzerland in 1935 after he refused to sign (without modification) the Oath of Loyalty to Adolf Hitler.

In Switzerland, Barth pursued his literary and teaching work at the University of Basel, enjoying a special extension beyond the usual retirement age of 70. 

Barth was featured on the cover of Time magazine April 20, 1962.

Barth remained in Basel until his death on December 10, 1968.