Covenanted Solidarity: The Theological Basis of Karl Barth’s Opposition to Nazi Antisemitism and the Holocaust

This new work by Australian scholar Mark R. Lindsay explores the controversial issue of whether and how the Swiss theologian Karl Barth responded to the antisemitic policies of Nazi Germany. Drawing on, and arguing against, recent debates within the fields of Barthian, Holocaust, and Kirchenkampf literature, Lindsay argues that not only were Barth’s political actions in thoroughgoing opposition to both the Nazi regime and its inherent antisemitism, but that this stance was firmly based on his dogmatic theology, in particular, the Church Dogmatics. On the basis of his interpretation of Barth’s theology and its particular political expressions (such as the 1934 Barmen Declaration), Lindsay rejects the commonly held assumption that Barth was indifferent to the Jewish plight and suggests that his resistance was at least as comprehensive as Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s.