Gereon Goldmann
Encyclopedia
Fr. Gereon Karl Goldmann, OFM
(1916–2003) was a German Franciscan priest
, a World War II
veteran of the Wehrmacht
, and a member of the German Resistance
against Adolf Hitler
.
, Hesse
) as one of seven children of the veterinarian Karl Goldmann and Margarethe Goldmann. Following Margarethe Goldmann's death in 1924, Karl Goldmann re-married, and the family moved to Cologne
. There, Gereon Goldmann joined the Bund Neudeutschland, a Catholic youth association run by the Jesuits. This group spent time doing charitable works in the city and countryside. Often they were engaged in vicious street battles against the Hitler Youth
group. After a good education Goldmann entered a Franciscan seminary
on 10 October 1935.
following the completion of his seminary education in philosophy
, and was commissioned as a lieutenant
. When World War II
began, he was transferred to a Waffen SS training unit in Occupied Poland. In his memoirs, he vividly describes the Anti-Christianity rampant in the Waffen SS and the brutal hazing wreaked on his fellow Catholic recruits.
Goldmann sent a protest directly to SS chief Heinrich Himmler
, and in early 1942, he was transferred back to the Wehrmacht in disgrace. He spoke openly of his hatred for Nazism
, and September 1942 he charged with high treason
. He was court martialed at Kassel
, but was acquitted, escaping the death penalty. He was then transferred to the Eastern front. Goldmann was soon arrested again and spent the winter of 1943 in prison; he was then sent to Occupied France, and later to Sicily
.
, a career diplomat
and member of the Kreisau Circle
. To Goldmann's horror, von Trott zu Solz identified himself as a member of a secret organization formed to assassinate Hitler and dismantle Nazi Germany
. In a deliberate attempt to recruit him, von Trott zu Solz told Goldmann, "You can help us to save Germany from its disgrace." The jurist also informed Goldmann that his acquittal by the court-martial was due to the influence of the German Resistance
.
Goldmann responded that he had taken the soldier's oath and could not, as a Christian, go back on his word. Von Trott zu Solz responded, "I am also a Christian, as are those who are with me. We have prayed before the crucifix
and have agreed that since we are Christians, we cannot violate the allegiance we owe [God. We must therefore break our word given to him who has broken so many agreements and still is doing it. If only you knew what I know, Goldmann! There is no other way! Since we are Germans and Christians we must act, and if not soon, then it will be too late. Think it over till tonight."
The next day, Goldmann informed von Trott zu Solz that his terms were acceptable. He then joined the 20 July Plot as a carrier of secret dispatches. One such assignment led him to Rome in January 1944. Baron Ernst von Weizsäcker
, the German Ambassador to the Vatican
, was sympathetic to the Resistance, and arranged an audience for Goldmann with Pope Pius XII
. The Pope granted Goldmann special dispensation to be ordained to the priesthood without the customary three years of theology
studies.
following the Battle of Monte Cassino
, and sent to a POW camp in Morocco
, and then later in French Algeria
. On 24 June 1944, he was ordained a priest in the church of Notre Dame de Rivet, near the POW camp in Algeria. From August 1944 until the end of 1945, he served as chaplain in a camp at Ksar es Souk, Morocco.
According to Goldmann's memoirs, many of the inmates at Ksar es Souk remained convinced Nazis and therefore regarded their chaplain as a traitor. They falsely accused him of being the former commandant of Dachau concentration camp, alleging that he had attempted to evade prosecution by becoming a priest.
The French authorities believed this accusation, and arrested Goldmann at the end of 1945. At Meknes
he was court-martialed by the French Army
, and sentenced to death by firing squad. In February 1946, just before the scheduled execution, Pope Pius XII and several others interceded on Goldmann's behalf, declaring that the charges were false. As a result, Goldmann's execution was delayed and eventually his conviction was overturned altogether.
. He was again investigated for war crimes by the United States Army
, but the charges were dropped after he revealed his involvement in the 20 July Plot. He studied theology for a year before turning to work with youth.
to head the parish of St. Elizabeth in the poverty-ridden Itabashi district of Tokyo
. Between 1954 and 1961, he turned to rag-picking to sustain his parish, but eventually collected enough money to establish a foundation for education. He built two churches, numerous houses, hospitals, a vacation center for families, and a community center. For his efforts, in 1965 he was honored by Emperor Hirohito
and business executive Tadashi Adachi with the Order of Good Deeds, the highest award bestowed by the state for social work. He continued his charitable works in Japan, but eventually extended these to India
as well.
in 1994, where he remained until his death. Fr. Goldmann died on 26 July 2003 at the Franciscan monastery in Fulda. He was 87 years old.
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
(1916–2003) was a German Franciscan priest
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
, a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, and a member of the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
against Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Early life
Gereon Karl Goldmann was born on 25 October 1916 in Ziegenhain (now part of SchwalmstadtSchwalmstadt
Schwalmstadt is the largest town in the Schwalm-Eder district, in northern Hesse, Germany. It was established only in 1970 with the amalgamation of the towns of Treysa and Ziegenhain together with some outlying villages to form the town of Schwalmstadt.-Location:Schwalmstadt lies in the Schwalm...
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
) as one of seven children of the veterinarian Karl Goldmann and Margarethe Goldmann. Following Margarethe Goldmann's death in 1924, Karl Goldmann re-married, and the family moved to Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. There, Gereon Goldmann joined the Bund Neudeutschland, a Catholic youth association run by the Jesuits. This group spent time doing charitable works in the city and countryside. Often they were engaged in vicious street battles against the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
group. After a good education Goldmann entered a Franciscan seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
on 10 October 1935.
Military career
Goldmann was drafted into the WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
following the completion of his seminary education in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and was commissioned as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began, he was transferred to a Waffen SS training unit in Occupied Poland. In his memoirs, he vividly describes the Anti-Christianity rampant in the Waffen SS and the brutal hazing wreaked on his fellow Catholic recruits.
Goldmann sent a protest directly to SS chief Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, and in early 1942, he was transferred back to the Wehrmacht in disgrace. He spoke openly of his hatred for Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, and September 1942 he charged with high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. He was court martialed at Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, but was acquitted, escaping the death penalty. He was then transferred to the Eastern front. Goldmann was soon arrested again and spent the winter of 1943 in prison; he was then sent to Occupied France, and later to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
The German Resistance
On a home leave in Germany, he was approached by Adam von Trott zu SolzAdam von Trott zu Solz
Adam von Trott zu Solz was a German lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative opposition to the Nazi regime, and who played a central part in the 20 July Plot...
, a career diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and member of the Kreisau Circle
Kreisau Circle
The Kreisau Circle was the name the Nazi Gestapo gave to a group of German dissidents centered on the Kreisau estate of Helmuth James Graf von Moltke. The Kreisauer Kreis is celebrated as one of the instances of German opposition to the Nazi regime...
. To Goldmann's horror, von Trott zu Solz identified himself as a member of a secret organization formed to assassinate Hitler and dismantle Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. In a deliberate attempt to recruit him, von Trott zu Solz told Goldmann, "You can help us to save Germany from its disgrace." The jurist also informed Goldmann that his acquittal by the court-martial was due to the influence of the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
.
Goldmann responded that he had taken the soldier's oath and could not, as a Christian, go back on his word. Von Trott zu Solz responded, "I am also a Christian, as are those who are with me. We have prayed before the crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
and have agreed that since we are Christians, we cannot violate the allegiance we owe [God. We must therefore break our word given to him who has broken so many agreements and still is doing it. If only you knew what I know, Goldmann! There is no other way! Since we are Germans and Christians we must act, and if not soon, then it will be too late. Think it over till tonight."
The next day, Goldmann informed von Trott zu Solz that his terms were acceptable. He then joined the 20 July Plot as a carrier of secret dispatches. One such assignment led him to Rome in January 1944. Baron Ernst von Weizsäcker
Ernst von Weizsäcker
Ernst Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German diplomat and politician. He served as State Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1938 to 1943, and as German Ambassador to the Holy See from 1943 to 1945...
, the German Ambassador to the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, was sympathetic to the Resistance, and arranged an audience for Goldmann with Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. The Pope granted Goldmann special dispensation to be ordained to the priesthood without the customary three years of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
studies.
Prisoner of war
Goldmann was captured by the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
following the Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, and sent to a POW camp in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and then later in French Algeria
French Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
. On 24 June 1944, he was ordained a priest in the church of Notre Dame de Rivet, near the POW camp in Algeria. From August 1944 until the end of 1945, he served as chaplain in a camp at Ksar es Souk, Morocco.
According to Goldmann's memoirs, many of the inmates at Ksar es Souk remained convinced Nazis and therefore regarded their chaplain as a traitor. They falsely accused him of being the former commandant of Dachau concentration camp, alleging that he had attempted to evade prosecution by becoming a priest.
The French authorities believed this accusation, and arrested Goldmann at the end of 1945. At Meknes
Meknes
Meknes is a city in northern Morocco, located from the capital Rabat and from Fes. It is served by the A2 expressway between those two cities and by the corresponding railway. Meknes was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail , before it was relocated to Marrakech. The...
he was court-martialed by the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, and sentenced to death by firing squad. In February 1946, just before the scheduled execution, Pope Pius XII and several others interceded on Goldmann's behalf, declaring that the charges were false. As a result, Goldmann's execution was delayed and eventually his conviction was overturned altogether.
Post war
After his release in 1947 he returned to FuldaFulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
. He was again investigated for war crimes by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, but the charges were dropped after he revealed his involvement in the 20 July Plot. He studied theology for a year before turning to work with youth.
Missionary
In early 1954, Goldmann went to JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to head the parish of St. Elizabeth in the poverty-ridden Itabashi district of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Between 1954 and 1961, he turned to rag-picking to sustain his parish, but eventually collected enough money to establish a foundation for education. He built two churches, numerous houses, hospitals, a vacation center for families, and a community center. For his efforts, in 1965 he was honored by Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
and business executive Tadashi Adachi with the Order of Good Deeds, the highest award bestowed by the state for social work. He continued his charitable works in Japan, but eventually extended these to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as well.
Later life and death
In poor health, precipitated by a chronic heart condition, Fr. Goldmann returned to GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1994, where he remained until his death. Fr. Goldmann died on 26 July 2003 at the Franciscan monastery in Fulda. He was 87 years old.