Gender and post-conflict self-representation: Autobiographical writings of German theologians after 1945

A critical male gender analysis is rarely employed in contemporary church history for the post-1945 German situation. This article argues that the genderedness of male practices, performances, and texts related to activities and theologies of the Kirchenkampf deserve to be explored and theorized. It will make a modest contribution to this inquiry by investigating male gender in relation to the question of retrospective self-representation in post-conflict society. Focusing on post-war narrative strategies of select autobiographical writings of German theologians, the issue of gender and complicity will be illustrated by analyzing the memoirs of Walter Künneth, Helmut Thielicke, Walter Birnbaum, and Wolfgang Trillhaas.