Research projects
Biography: Representative Hermann Kunst (1909-1999)
For almost three decades (1949 to 1977) Hermann Kunst ensured the influence of the EKD in German politics as “the representative of the EKD Council at the seat of the Federal Government in Bonn. ” His political scope ranged from personnel policy in favour of Protestant personalities in political Bonn, to the defence of church privileges, to the control of prisoner release from the GDR. The social-political work of art encompassed both the struggle against the liberalisation of sexual criminal law and the support of a global, anti-colonial and anti-capitalist development policy. At the same time, as military bishop of the EKD, he influenced its fundamental positions on issues of war and peace. In retrospect, this church official acted as a “parliamentary” between all political fronts. He was guided by the objective of guaranteeing the state cohesion of the Federal Republic and of safeguarding it Christian-moral.
Against this backdrop, it is time to dedicate a critical biography to Hermann Kunst. It is intended to investigate the basic motives of his political actions and self-image, from his time as a nationalist war priest in the Second World War to his years as a political virtuoso of the EKD in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Author: Dagmar Pöpping
