Helmut Gollwitzer

Helmut Gollwitzer (1908-1993) was a Protestant (Lutheran) theologian and author.

Related Topics:
1908 - 1993

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Born on December 29, 1908 in Pappenheim in Bavaria, he studied protestant theology in Munich, Erlangen, Jena and Bonn (1928-1932); he later completed a doctorate under Karl Barth in Basel (1937).

Related Topics:
December 29 - 1908 - Bavaria - Karl Barth

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During the period of the Nazi-regime in Germany, Gollwitzer was a well-known member of the Confessing Church movement which resisted the regimes' attempt to control the churches. He took over as the pastor of the congregation at Berlin-Dahlem after the arrest of Martin Niemöller.

Related Topics:
Confessing Church - Martin Niemöller

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During World War II, Gollwitzer served as a medic at the Eastern Front, and was a Prisoner of War in the Soviet Union from 1945-1949. He wrote a book about his experience of being a POW which became a bestseller in Germany in 1950.

Related Topics:
World War II - Soviet Union

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Gollwitzer was appointed Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Bonn (1950-1957), and then as Professor of Protestant Theology at the Free University of Berlin (1960-1975); he retired in 1975.

Related Topics:
University of Bonn - Free University of Berlin

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Known as a friend of Rudi Dutschke and a pastor to Ulrike Meinhof, he was prominently involved in the social and political debates ensuing in the late 1960's. Gollwitzer was a well-known opponent of the war in Vietnam and the arms race, and a staunch critic of capitalism.

Related Topics:
Rudi Dutschke - Ulrike Meinhof

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Helmut Gollwitzer died on October 17, 1993.

Related Topics:
October 17 - 1993

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