The Kirchliche Hochschule Berlin (Church University Berlin) was a theological university in Berlin, Germany, from 1945 to 1992, a facility of the Protestant Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia.

History

The university dates back to 1935, when a ''Kirchliche Hochschule für reformatorische Theologie, Abteilung Dahlem'' (Church university for reformed theology, Dahlem) was founded, following the model of the in

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a docu ...

Hans Asmussen Hans Christian Asmussen (born 21 August 1898 in Flensburg — died 30 December 1968 in Speyer) was a German Evangelical and Lutheran theologian. Asmussen was a pastor in Altona, Hamburg. He was removed from office by the Nazis because of his ac ...

. The Berlin institution was founded by

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 18926 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem " First they ca ...

of the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...

, after many theological faculties at state universities had been closed by the Nazi government, especially the Bonn faculty with

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...

. The Kirchliche Hochschule Dahlem was banned by the Nazis in the year of its founding, but was run until 1941 illegally in

Berlin-Zehlendorf Zehlendorf () is a locality within the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin. Before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform Zehlendorf was a borough in its own right, consisting of the locality of Zehlendorf as well as Wannsee, Nikolassee and Dah ...

. After World War II, the institution was reopened. Professors of the Confessing Church included Hans Asmussen,

Martin Albertz Martin Albertz (7.5.1882, Halle, Saxony-Anhalt – 29.12.1956 in Berlin) was a German clergyman, resistance fighter, and teacher. As Superintendent of the deanery of Spandau () within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union he—clinging ...

, ,

Franz Hildebrandt Franz Hildebrandt (February 20, 1909, in Berlin – November 25, 1985, in Edinburgh) was a German-born Lutheran, and later Methodist, pastor and theologian, forced into exile during World War II, and subsequently active in the United Kingdom and th ...

, . Among the alumni were and .

Journals

* ''Theologia viatorum''. year book of the Kirchliche Hochschule Berlin, 1948–1982 * ''Berliner Theologische Zeitschrift'' (BThZ). from 1984,

Literature

* ''Aufgabe und Weg der Kirchlichen Hochschule Berlin 1939–1955''. Berlin 1956.

External links

Bibliotheksgebäude Teltower Damm 118
Denkmalamt {{Authority control Protestant universities and colleges in Europe 1935 establishments Schools in Berlin