Jean Goss
Encyclopedia
Jean GossJean Goss (Caluire in France
November 20 1912 - Paris
April 3 1991) was a French nonviolent activist.
Mobilized in 1939, he participated to the Second World War. In June 1940, the night before his surrender to the German Army in Lille
, he lived a overwhelming experience of God love for him and for the whole humanity. It will be the beginning of a longlife commitment. War prisoner in camps in Germany until 1945, he has been sentenced to death and saved by a German officer moved by his testimony.
in France and sent back to the French Ministry his military papers and his war medals in support to the conscientious objectors. Living in Arcueil
, a city of Paris' suburd, he was activ in social movements for housing and also in the railway trade unions. He was one of the leader of the 1953 strikes.
He participated to several Peace meetings in East Europe (Budapest
1953, Warsow
1956, Moscow
1957, Prague
1958).
In 1958, he married Hildegard Mayr
. They have got two children, Etienne and Myriam. His life with Hildegard was now committed to promote Christian activ nonviolence. They were in Rome during the Council Vatican II lobbying for the recognition of the conscentious objection by the Roman Catholic Church. In the 60's and 70's, they lived for sometimes in South America, in Brasil (1964–1965) and in Mexico (1970–1971). They co-organized two continental conferences on non-violence (Montevideo 1966, Medellin 1974), from which was born the SERPAJ (Servizio Paz y Justizia). Its first coordinator was Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
, who received the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1980. They worked at that time with Don Hélder Câmara
, Mgr Leonidas Proaño
, Dom Antonio Fragoso
, Fredy Kunz.
They have also given a lot of trainings on nonviolence séminaires in many countries victimed of war or military conflicts : Ireland
(since 1963), Balkans
(since 1972), Austral Africa (since 1973), Lebanon
(1974-1975 et 1980), San Salvador
(1979). In 80's they were activ in Asia : Philippines
(since 1984), Thailand
, Bengladesh, Hong Kong
. One of the greastest sources of joy for Jean Goss was the Nonviolent revolution
in Philippines
in 1986, the People Power
movement he prepared and guided.
In his last years, he went to Central Africa. In 1990, he was in Zaïre
and, in April 1991, as he planned to go to Madagascar
the day after, he died in Paris.
With Hildegard Goss-Mayr
, he was for many years member of the international Board of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
and for some time its vice-president.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
November 20 1912 - Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
April 3 1991) was a French nonviolent activist.
Youth and conversion
Son of an Opera barytone, who lost his voice during the First World War, Jean Goss was forced to work since the age of de 12 in Paris, before to be hired in a French railway Company in 1937. At 15, he joined Trade Unions.Mobilized in 1939, he participated to the Second World War. In June 1940, the night before his surrender to the German Army in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, he lived a overwhelming experience of God love for him and for the whole humanity. It will be the beginning of a longlife commitment. War prisoner in camps in Germany until 1945, he has been sentenced to death and saved by a German officer moved by his testimony.
A longlife commitment for Nonviolence
At the end of the War, he was looking for clergymen in the Roman Catholic Church convinced of the absolute respect of Human life. In 1950 he forced the entrance of the Holy Office in Rome to meet Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani. In 1948, he met the International Fellowship of ReconciliationInternational Fellowship of Reconciliation
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation is an international faith-based nonviolent movement created shortly after the First World War, in 1919, to draw together national Fellowships of Reconciliation that had been founded during the war....
in France and sent back to the French Ministry his military papers and his war medals in support to the conscientious objectors. Living in Arcueil
Arcueil
Arcueil is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:The name Arcueil was recorded for the first time in 1119 as Arcoloï, and later in the 12th century as Arcoïalum, meaning "place of the arches" , in...
, a city of Paris' suburd, he was activ in social movements for housing and also in the railway trade unions. He was one of the leader of the 1953 strikes.
He participated to several Peace meetings in East Europe (Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
1953, Warsow
Warsow
Warsow is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
1956, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
1957, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
1958).
In 1958, he married Hildegard Mayr
Hildegard Goss-Mayr
Hildegard Goss-Mayr is an Austrian nonviolent activist and Christian theologian.-Life and commitment:Daughter of Kaspar Mayr, founder of the Austrian branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, she studyed Philosophy in Vienna and New Haven.In 1958, she married Jean Goss , a French...
. They have got two children, Etienne and Myriam. His life with Hildegard was now committed to promote Christian activ nonviolence. They were in Rome during the Council Vatican II lobbying for the recognition of the conscentious objection by the Roman Catholic Church. In the 60's and 70's, they lived for sometimes in South America, in Brasil (1964–1965) and in Mexico (1970–1971). They co-organized two continental conferences on non-violence (Montevideo 1966, Medellin 1974), from which was born the SERPAJ (Servizio Paz y Justizia). Its first coordinator was Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel is an Argentine sculptor, architect and pacifist. He was the recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize.-Biography:Pérez Esquivel was born in Buenos Aires to a Spanish fisherman who emigrated to Argentina...
, who received the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
in 1980. They worked at that time with Don Hélder Câmara
Hélder Câmara
Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife.He was known as the 'Bishop of Corum' and took a clear position with the urban poor....
, Mgr Leonidas Proaño
Leonidas Proaño
Leonidas Eduardo Proaño Villalba was an Ecuadorian priest and theologian. He served as the bishop of Riobamba from 1954 to 1985...
, Dom Antonio Fragoso
António Fragoso
António de Lima Fragoso was a Portuguese composer and pianist.-Biography:According to the Biblioteca Municipal de Cantanhede, Fragoso's earliest music lessons were given by his uncle, Dr...
, Fredy Kunz.
They have also given a lot of trainings on nonviolence séminaires in many countries victimed of war or military conflicts : Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(since 1963), Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
(since 1972), Austral Africa (since 1973), Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
(1974-1975 et 1980), San Salvador
San Salvador
The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...
(1979). In 80's they were activ in Asia : Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
(since 1984), Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Bengladesh, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. One of the greastest sources of joy for Jean Goss was the Nonviolent revolution
Nonviolent revolution
A nonviolent revolution is a revolution using mostly campaigns of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritarian...
in Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in 1986, the People Power
People Power
People Power names:* the Philippine People Power Revolution* political parties in several countries, see People Power Party...
movement he prepared and guided.
In his last years, he went to Central Africa. In 1990, he was in Zaïre
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
and, in April 1991, as he planned to go to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
the day after, he died in Paris.
With Hildegard Goss-Mayr
Hildegard Goss-Mayr
Hildegard Goss-Mayr is an Austrian nonviolent activist and Christian theologian.-Life and commitment:Daughter of Kaspar Mayr, founder of the Austrian branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, she studyed Philosophy in Vienna and New Haven.In 1958, she married Jean Goss , a French...
, he was for many years member of the international Board of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
International Fellowship of Reconciliation
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation is an international faith-based nonviolent movement created shortly after the First World War, in 1919, to draw together national Fellowships of Reconciliation that had been founded during the war....
and for some time its vice-president.
Distinctions
- 1976 - Peace Prize Xirinacs (Pax Christi Spain)
- 1979 - Bruno Kreisky AwardBruno Kreisky AwardThe Bruno Kreisky Award is a biennial award created in October 1976 on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Bruno Kreisky. The laureates are rewarded for their achievements in the field of human rights...
in Austria - 1986 - Pax Christi USA Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace AwardPax Christi USA Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace AwardThe Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace Award is given out annually by the organization Pax Christi USA, a Catholic peace organization, to an individual who has exemplified Pope Paul VI's World Day for Peace message: "To reach peace, teach peace."...
- 1990 - Prize Justicia y Paz a los valores humanos (Commission Justice and Peace Spain)
Publications
- Jean Goss, Hildegard Goss-Mayr and the MIR : Une autre révolution: violence des non-violents, Paris, Ed. Cerf, 1969, 185 p.
- Jean Goss, Hildegard Goss-Mayr and Jean Lasserre : Une révolution pour tous les hommes, Toulouse : Centre d'Information pour l'ouverture au tiers-monde, 1969, 55 p.
- Jean Goss et Hildegard Goss-Mayr : Évangile et luttes pour la paix : séminaire d'entrainement à la non-violence évangélique et ses méthodes d'engagement, Paris, Les Bergers et les Mages, 1989, 98 p.
- Jean Goss, témoin de la non-violence, Paris, MIR, 1993.
Biography
- Gérard Houver : Jean et Hildegarde Goss : la non-violence, c'est la vie, Paris, Ed. Cerf, 1981, 159 p.
- Jean-Louis Jadoulle : Colloque Jean Goss : Paris 30 octobre 1993 : Note relative aux lettres de Jean Goss conservées dans les papiers de Jean Van Lierde, Charleroi, MIR-IRG, 1993, 38 p. (Numéro spécial de "MIR-IRG Infos").
- Actes du Colloque Jean Goss du 30 oct. 1993, Paris, MIR, 1995, 127 p.
- Hildegard Goss-Mayr : Wie Feinde Freunde werden : mein Leben mit Jean Goss für Gewaltlosigkeit, Gerechtigkeit und Versöhnung, Freiburg im Breisgau, Verlag Herder, 1996, 253 p.
- Hildegard Goss-Mayr : Oser le combat non-violent : aux côtés de Jean Goss, Paris, Ed. Cerf, 1998, 247 p.
- Hildegard Goss-Mayr, Jo Hanssens : Jean Goss. Mystique et militant de la non-violence, Namur, Fidélité, 2010, 135 p., preface of Adolfo Pérez EsquivelAdolfo Pérez EsquivelAdolfo Pérez Esquivel is an Argentine sculptor, architect and pacifist. He was the recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize.-Biography:Pérez Esquivel was born in Buenos Aires to a Spanish fisherman who emigrated to Argentina...
.