Karl Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum

Abstract

In 2008, the letters between Charlotte von Kirschbaum and Karl Barth from 1925–1935 were published in German. They reveal the love between them, but also the conflicts between Barth, von Kirschbaum, and Barth’s wife Nelly Barth and how much all three suffered from this constellation. The paper first discusses if and how we are allowed to read these letters and then describes their love relation as well as the conflicts and the importance this experience had for Barth’s theology.