Emil Fuchs

Who was Emil Fuchs?

Emil Fuchs was a German theologian.

A religious socialist, Fuchs was one of the first Lutheran pastors to join the Social Democratic Party of Germany. As a devoted pacifist, he later joined the Religious Society of Friends. He was a Fellowship holder at Woodbrooke College, Selly Oak, Birmingham during 1934-5.

Fuchs was both a committed Christian and socialist and wrote numerous books on the relationship of Marxism and christianity. In 1958 Fuchs became honorary member of the East German CDU, that was part of the East German government and pursued a pro-communist course. On 9 February 1961 Fuchs was member of a Christian commission that was charged with discussing the issues of state and church with the GDR leader Walter Ulbricht. Since then Emil Fuchs engaged for normalisation of relations between the state and church in East Germany. Though a loyal GDR supporter Fuchs occasionally opposed the party line: he was against the persecution of the Young Congregations in 1950s and when conscription was introduced in East Germany, he managed to persuade the communist leadership to allow an alternative for armed service.