A horrifying spectacle for all those afraid of heights: This is how the most significant theologian of the 20th century described his theology. Christiane Tietz narrates in this first German-language biography in decades the fascinating life of Karl Barth in contradiction - against the theological mainstream, against National Socialism, and privately, under one roof with his wife and mistress, in conflict with himself. While German poets and thinkers reveled in the experience of community and transcendence during World War I, the Swiss theologian Karl Barth (1886 - 1968) resisted all attempts to find the divine in culture or personal feelings. It was precisely this stance that made him free for highly earthly engagement: he was known as a red pastor and played a leading role in the Theological Declaration of Barmen, the founding document.