Hans Joachim Iwand (; 11 July 1899 – 2 May 1960) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. Iwand's thought was considerably influenced by

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed 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 Decl ...

Early life

After finishing high school in 1917 in

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

, Iwand studied Protestant theology at the University of Breslau (modern Wrocław, Poland). A year later, towards the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was drafted for military service. After the war, he was stationed for six months on the Silesian border before continuing his studies in Breslau and studying for two semesters at

University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

in Halle. His teachers were Erich Schaeder (1861–1936), Hans von Soden (1881–1945), and Rudolf Hermann (1887–1962). After graduating in 1923 he was superintendent of studies at the Lutherheim in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

(now

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

) in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. Iwand earned his doctorate in 1924 and his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 1927, and he took his second theological examination in 1928. From 1927 to 1934 he was a ''

privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

'' (associate professor) at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...

.Iwand, Hans (1899-1960), Biographische Notiz
2005, Bundesarchiv Koblenz. Accessed 19 January 2013.

Family

Iwand was born in Schreibendorf,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

(modern Pisary, Lower Silesian Voivodeship), the son of pastor Otto Iwand and his wife Lydia née Herrmann. In 1927 Hans married Ilse Ehrhardt; the couple had five children. Hans Iwand is buried in the village of Beienrode, Königslutter. Iwand's youngest daughter, the Veronika Geyer-Iwand (1943-1997), a popular religion teacher and the mayor of Beienrode, married pastor Klaus Geyer (1941-2003). The son-in-law was convicted in 1998 of manslaughter in her brutal murder (July 25, 1997);Alice Schwarzer,
arme Mörder
' ("The poor murderer"), March 1998, '' EMMA''. Accessed 17 January 2013. Geyer was the only German theologian ever to have been jailed after committing such a crime.

Nazi period

In November 1934 Iwand became professor of

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

studies at the Herder Institute in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. Because of his participation in the ''

Kirchenkampf ''Kirchenkampf'' (, lit. 'church struggle') is a German term which pertains to the situation of the Christianity in Germany, Christian churches in Germany during the Nazi Germany, Nazi period (1933–1945). Sometimes used ambiguously, the term ma ...

'' struggle between the Nazi-backed so-called ''Deutsche Christen'' church and its oppositional ''Bekennende Kirche'' ("

confessing church The Confessing Church (, ) was a movement within German Protestantism in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all of the Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German Evangelical Church. See dro ...

") he was forced out of his teaching position and from 1935 to 1937 headed illegal seminaries for training pastors in Blöstau,

(modern Vishniovka, Guryevsk, in the Kaliningrad enclave of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

(now in Poland). In 1936 a ''Reichsredeverbot'' (prohibition of speech, i.e. a gag order) was imposed on him. Following the closure of these eastern seminaries he opened another one in January 1938 in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, an act for which he was imprisoned for four months. Upon his release he took over the parish of the

Marienkirche, Dortmund Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) is a church in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany, located in the inner city. Since the Protestant Reformation, Reformation, it has been a Lutheranism, Lutheran parish church of St. Marien. The church ...

, where he remained until the war ended.

Professorship in Göttingen and Bonn

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Iwand was professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, where he worked closely with Ernst Wolf. He was also at this time a council member of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed, and united and uniting churches, United Protestantism in Ger ...

and the principal author of '' Darmstädter Wort zum politischen Weg unseres Volkes'', a statement on relations between church and state after the end of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

and during the tensions of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. In 1952 he moved to the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, where he remained until his death. In Beienrode he founded the ''Haus der helfenden Hände'' ("house of helping hands") to ease the plight of refugees from the former

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, later working for mutual understanding among Germans and the peoples of Eastern Europe. The building is now used as a care facility for 80 senior citizens. His archived documents from this time are now kept in the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (, lit. "Federal Archive") are the national archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture ...

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

. In 1956 he was co-founder of the German

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

publication '' Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik'', a monthly magazine covering German and international politics, and in 1958, together with Werner Schmauch (1905–1964) and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

theologian

Josef Hromádka Josef Lukl Hromádka (8 June 1889 in Hodslavice – 26 December 1969 in Prague) was a Czech Protestant theologian. He was a founder of the Christian Peace Conference. Born into a Lutheran peasant family in a village in Moravia in the Austro-Hun ...

(1889–1969), Iwand was a co-founder of the ''Christliche Friedenskonferenz'' ( Christian Peace Conference) in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Teachings

Following Luther, Iwand's central starting point was: "How far can man 'decide' when it comes to the question of God?" , p. 295 under the constraints of human volition. Iwand believed: "Jesus Christ cannot be known as a saviour and redeemer without the spirit of God, who glorified him to us." bid.Therewith, however, the possibility of people's free choice of the people is removed, as both ideas "cannot stand on a single board." This position has far-reaching consequences. For Iwand it concerns God-given "true faith", a correct understanding of law and gospel, sin and grace, faith and works, and God's righteousness. "Gospel" is "God's grace today", while the primary function of "law" is to highlight sin. Christ is "life itself", the fulfilment of what the law commands, and the relationship of faith and works is that while man can do good, he is not himself good. Iwand here refers to the basic

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

positions ''Sola fide'' and ''Sola gratia''. The Reformation view is that man is justified not through works but by faith alone. Besides the efficacy of the God's word, there is also the certainty of faith. The truth of God is more certain than life and all experience , p. 316 The believer sees in Scripture the clarity of God himself, "which the face of Jesus Christ reflects" , p. 318 All the mysteries of the immanent God "lose their stings when we read between the lines to cognize God through the face of Jesus Christ, who through suffering and death has redeemed us to the eternal counsel of his father" , p. 303 Iwand inspired and later edited the much-used ''Göttinger Predigtmeditationen'' ("Göttingen sermon meditations"). Reflecting on God's word is the focus here. "We must with our work assist all those who now are knocking where once, by the grace of God, it will be opened, as the promise was given to us. The letter of Scripture is, naturally, this place where we should and must knock" , p. 94 as Iwand wrote in an early foreword.

Works

* 1924: ''Über die methodische Verwendung von Antinomien in der Religionsphilosophie'' ("On the methodical use of antinomies in the philosophy of religion"), unpublished first dissertation * 1930: ''Rechtfertigungslehre und Christusglaube: eine Untersuchung zur Systematik der Rechtfertigungslehre Luthers in ihren Anfängen'' ("Doctrine of justification and faith in Christ: an investigation of the original systematics of Luther's doctrine of justification"), habilitation thesis * 1939: ''Theologische Erläuterungen'' ("Theological explanations") for

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

's ''Vom unfreien Willen'' ('' On the Bondage of the Will''), Christian Kaiser Verlag, Munich, pp. 289–371 * 1941: ''Glaubensgerechtigkeit nach Luthers Lehre'' ("Luther's doctrine of justification by faith"), in ''Theologische Existenz heute'', Issue 75, translated to English as ''The Righteousness of Faith According to Luther'', Randi H. Lundell, trans.; Virgil F. Thompson, ed. June 2008. Wipf & Stock, 105 pages. * 1956: ''Vom Primat der Christologie'' ("On the primacy of Christology"), in ''Antwort'', a Festschrift in honour of

, pp. 172–189 * 1959: ''Um den rechten Glauben. Gesammelte Aufsätze'' ("Concerning true faith"). Collected essays edited by Karl Gerhard Steck * 1963: ''Predigt-Meditationen'' ("Sermon meditations"), V & R, Göttingen ;Posthumous Works (1962 to 1967)Iwand, Hans Joachim
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Frankfurt. Accessed 19 January 2013. Edited by Helmut Gollwitzer, Walter Kreck, Karl Gerhard Steck and Ernst Wolf, 6 volumes, Munich * Vol. 1: ''Glauben und Wissen'' ("Knowledge and Belief", 1962), 315 pp. * Vol. 2: ''Vorträge und Aufsätze'' ("Lectures and essays", 1966), 404 pp. * Vol. 3: ''Ausgewählte Predigten'' ("Selected sermons", 1967), 309 pp. * Vol. 4: ''Gesetz und Evangelium'' ("Law and gospel" ecture 1964), 456 pp. * Vol. 5: ''Luthers Theologie'' ("Luther's theology ecture 1964), 320 pp. * Vol. 6: ''Briefe an Rudolf Hermann'' ("Letters to Rudolf Hermann", edited by Karl Gerhard Steck, 1964), 356 pp. ;Posthumous Works (New series, 1998 to 2004) Edited by Hans-Iwand-Stiftung, 4 volumes, Gütersloh: Kaiser, Gütersloher Verl.-Haus * Vol. 1: ''Kirche und Gesellschaft'' ("Church and society", 1998), 349 pp. * Vol. 2: ''Christologie. Die Umkehrung des Menschen zur Menschlichkeit'' ("Christology: the return of man to humanity", 1999), 539 pp. * Vol. 3: ''Theologiegeschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts: Väter und Söhne'' ("Theological history of the 19th and 20th centuries: Fathers and sons", 2001), 560 pp. * Vol. 4 (not yet published; intended to contain Hans Iwand's letters) * Vol. 5: ''Predigten und Predigtlehre'' ("Sermons and preaching doctrine", 2004), 567 pp.

Bibliography

* Werner Führer: "Iwand, Hans Joachim," in: ''

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering deceased persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, the first volu ...

'' (BBKL). Vo. 14. Bautz, Herzberg 1998, pp. 1101–1104. * Carl-Jürgen Kaltenborn: ''Hans Joachim Iwand''. Union, Berlin 1971. * Manfred Koschorke, ed.: ''Allein das Wort hat's getan: Geschichte der Bekennenden Kirche in Ostpreußen 1933–1945'' ("The word alone did it: History of the Confessing Church in East Prussia from 1933 to 1945"). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1976, * Hermann Dembrowski: "H. J. Iwand (1899 - 1960)" in Dietrich Rauschning, Donata v. Nereé (eds.): ''Die Albertus-Universität zu Königsberg und ihre Professoren'' (" The Albertus University of Königsberg and their professors"). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1995, (Jahrbuch der Albertus-Universität zu Königsberg, Vol. 29, 1994, ISSN 0075-2177), pp. 811–825 * Ernst Burdach: ''Hans Joachim Iwand: Theologie zwischen den Zeiten'' ("Hans Joachim Iwand. Theology between the times"). Fragment, 1899–1937. Gütersloh 1999 * Jürgen Seim: ''Hans Joachim Iwand: Eine Biografie'' ("Hans Joachim Iwand: a biography"). Gütersloh 1999, * Ralph Meier: ''Gesetz und Evangelium bei Hans Joachim Iwand'' ("Law and gospel with Hans Joachim Iwand"). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997, 310 pp. * Gerard den Hertog: ''Bevrijdende kennis over "de leer van de onvrije wil" in de theologie van Hans Joachim Iwand.'' 's-Gravenhage, 1989. * Bertold Klappert, Manfred Schulze, eds.: ''Aus der Umkehr leben: Hans Joachim Iwand 1899–1999.'' Wuppertal 2001 * Frank Pritzke: ''Rechtfertigungslehre und Christologie. Eine Untersuchung zu ihrem Zusammenhang in der dogmatischen und homiletischen Arbeit und in den Predigten des jungen Iwand'' ("Doctrine of justification and Christology: A study of their relationship in the dogmatic and homiletic work and in the sermons of the younger Iwand"). Göttingen 2002. * Norbert Schwarz: ''Denn wenn ich schwach bin, bin ich stark: Rezeptivität und Produktivität des Glaubenssubjektes in der Homiletik Hans Joachim Iwands'' ("For when I am weak, I am strong: receptivity and productivity of faith topics in the homiletics of Hans Joachim Iwand"). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, 360 pp. * Byung-Yong Suh: ''Lex Spiritualis. Iwands Verständnis des Gebotes im Gespräch mit Luther, Calvin und Barth'' (''Lex Spiritualis. Iwands Understanding of the Law in Dialogue with Luther, Calvin and Barth''). Seoul 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwand, Hans Joachim 1899 births 1960 deaths German Lutheran theologians 20th-century German Protestant theologians Dogma Protestants in the German Resistance Christian Peace Conference members University of Breslau alumni Academic staff of the University of Königsberg Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the University of Bonn German male non-fiction writers 20th-century Lutherans