Albrecht Goes (22 March 1908 – 23 February 2000) was a German

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Life

Albrecht Goes was born in 1908 in the Protestant

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

in Langenbeutingen. He spent his childhood there, but his mother died in 1911 and in 1915 he went to live with his grandmother in Berlin-Steglitz. He went to school there until 1919, when he moved to a school in Göppingen. In 1922 he entered the theological

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in Urach, and from 1922–1923 he attended the seminary in

Schöntal Schöntal is a municipality in the district of Hohenlohe in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is principally known as the location of Schöntal Abbey. Subdivisions The munisipality consists of the following districts. * Aschhausen * Berlichin ...

. His room-mate there was Gerd Gaiser. He passed his university exams and in 1924 entered the advanced seminary in Urach. In 1926 he read

German studies German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

and History in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

, then switched to Theology. In 1928 he went to Berlin to continue his Theology studies, and there he met and was influenced by

Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was a German Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the 20th century. Life and work Guardini was born in Verona, I ...

. In 1930 Goes was ordained for the Evangelical Church in Württemberg as a

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...

in Tuttlingen's main church, and in 1931 became a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

at the Martinskirche in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. In 1933 he began his first rectorate in Unterbalzheim in

Illertissen Illertissen () is a town in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria. It is situated approximately 20 km south from Ulm nearby the river Iller. Coat of arms The coat of arms lent by Erhard Vöhlin in the year 1530 shows an upright standing li ...

. In the same year he married Elisabeth Schneider, with whom he had three daughters: Christin, Brigitte and Rose. In 1938 he took up a rectorate in Gebersheim (which today is a part of the city of

Leonberg Leonberg (; swg, Leaberg) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district (''Landkr ...

). His involvement with the

German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began when he was conscripted in 1940. He was trained as a radio operator and sent to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. From 1942 to 1945 he was a clergyman in hospitals and prisons in Russia, Poland, Hungary and Austria. After the war he returned to his ministry in Gebersheim, and he stayed there until he quit the Church in 1953 to become a full-time writer; from then on he preached twice a month. In 1954 he moved back to Stuttgart-Rohr. He campaigned against the rearmament of Germany by, for example, adding his signature to the 'German Manifesto' of the Paul's Church Movement (along with, among others,

Gustav Heinemann Gustav Walter Heinemann (; 23 July 1899 – 7 July 1976) was a German politician who was President of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He served as mayor of Essen from 1946 to 1949, West German Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1950, and Mini ...

). In 1958 he was inaugurated into the

Berlin Academy of Arts The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

. Goes's first volumes of poetry were ''Verse'' in 1932 and ''Der Hirte'' (''The Herdsman'') in 1934. The story ''Unruhige Nacht'' (''Restless Night'') was published in 1950. The novel ''Das Brandopfer'' (''The Burnt Offering'') examined the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

from the perspective of an ordinary butcher's wife, who eventually tries to find

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

sacrificing Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly ex ...

herself. The book, written in simple language, is considered a significant contribution to the dialogue and reconciliation between

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

in the post-Third Reich era. This was recognised in 1978 when Goes was awarded the

Buber-Rosenzweig Medal The Buber-Rosenzweig-Medaille is an annual prize awarded since 1968 by the Deutscher Koordinierungsrat der Gesellschaften für Christlich-Jüdische Zusammenarbeit (DKR; German Coordinating Council of Societies for Christian-Jewish Cooperation) to i ...

. Both ''Unruhige Nacht'' and ''Das Brandopfer'' were turned into films. ''Unruhige Nacht'' was translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as ''

Arrow to the Heart "Arrow to the Heart" is a British television drama, broadcast live twice by BBC Television in 1952, four days apart, and again in 1956. It was adapted from the 1950 German novel ''Unruhige Nacht'' by Albrecht Goes. It was the first collaboration ...

'' and adapted for broadcast by

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1952. Albrecht Goes's work is often compared with that of

Albrecht Haushofer Albrecht Georg Haushofer (7 January 1903 – 23 April 1945) was a German geographer, diplomat, author and member of the German Resistance to Nazism. Life Haushofer was born in Munich, the son of the retired World War I general and geographer K ...

Reinhold Schneider Reinhold Schneider (Baden-Baden, May 13, 1903 – Freiburg im Breisgau, April 6, 1958) was a German poet who also wrote novels. Initially his works were less religious, but later his poetry had a Christian and specifically Catholic influence ...

, Rudolf Alexander Schröder and

Gertrud von Le Fort The Baroness Gertrud von Le Fort (full name ''Gertrud Auguste Lina Elsbeth Mathilde Petrea Freiherr, Freiin von Le Fort''; 11 October 1876 – 1 November 1971) was a German writer of novels, poems and essays. Life Le Fort was born in the city ...

. His 100th birthday was celebrated with new scholarly books and editions of his works, and an extensive programme of events. Albrecht Goes was buried at the Prag Cemetery in Stuttgart on 28 February 2000.

Works

* ''Verse''; Stuttgart 1932 * ''Der Hirte. Gedichte''; Leipzig 1934 * ''Heimat ist gut. Zehn Gedichte''; Hamburg 1935 * ''Lob des Lebens. Betrachtungen und Gedichte''; Stuttgart 1936 * ''Vergebung''; 1937 * ''Der Zaungast''; 1938 * ''Der Nachbar. Gedichte''; Berlin 1940 * ''Gelöbnis''; Nachtwache, Fleckfieberlazarett, Frühling 1943 * ''Die guten Gefährten''. Begegnungen; 1942 * ''Die Begegnung. Zehn Gedichte''; (Privatdruck) 1944 * ''Der Weg zum Stall''; 1946 * ''Die Herberge. Gedichte''; Berlin 1947 * ''Unruhige Nacht''; 1950 * ''Das Brandopfer. Erzählung'', 1954 * ''Der Gastfreund. Prosa und Verse''; Berlin (Ost) 1958 * ''Das Sankt Galler Spiel von der Kindheit Jesu, erneuert''; 1959 * ''Zehn Gedichte''; Frankfurt a.M. 1961 * ''Die Gabe und der Auftrag''; Berlin (Ost) 1962 * ''Aber im Winde das Wort. Prosa und Verse aus zwanzig Jahren''; Frankfurt a.M. 1963 * ''Das Löffelchen''; 1965 * ''Tagwerk. Prosa und Verse''; Frankfurt a.M. 1976 * ''Lichtschatten du. Gedichte aus fünfzig Jahren''; Frankfurt a.M. 1978 * ''Erzählungen, Gedichte, Betrachtungen''; Frankfurt a.M. 1986 * ''Keine Stunde schwindet. Eine Auswahl''; Berlin (Ost) 1988 * ''Mit Mörike und Mozart. Studien aus fünfzig Jahren''; 1991 * ''Dunkle Tür, angelehnt. Gedanken an der Grenze des Lebens''; 1997 * ''Das Erstaunen. Begegnung mit dem Wunderbaren''; 1998 * ''Lebensspur. Gedichte von Albrecht Goes und Aquarelle von Andreas Felger''; Präsenz Kunst & Buch, 2007

Honours

* 1958: Willibald Tirkheimer-Medaille for services to culture and literature * 1959:

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

awarded by

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...

* 1962: Heinrich-Stahl-Preis from the Jewish community of Berlin * 1972: Guest of Honour at the

Villa Massimo Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo ( it, Accademia Tedesca Roma Villa Massimo), is a German cultural institution in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo. The fellowship of the German Academy in Rom ...

in Rome * 1974:

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the Evangelisch Theologische Universität Mainz * 1977: Order of Merit of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

* 1978: Buber-Rosenzweig Medal (for the novel ''Das Brandopfer'') * 1979: Professorship awarded by

Lothar Späth Lothar Späth (16 November 1937 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), CDU. Life Späth was born in Sigmaringen. From 30 August 1978 to 13 January 1991 Späth was the 5th Minister President of ...

, the minister-president of Baden-Württemberg * 1981: Albrecht-Goes-Straße was named after him in Langenbeutingen * 1983: Citizen's Medal for special services to the city of Stuttgart * 1991: Otto-Hirsch Medal from the city of Stuttgart * 1994: Literature Prize from the city of Stuttgart * 1998: Honours from the cities of Stuttgart and Leonberg, the Protestant Academy of Bad Boll, and the monastery in Schöntal to mark his 90th birthday * 2000: Albrecht-Goes-Platz was named after him in Stuttgart, and there were celebrations of his life and work in Marbach and Leonberg * 2001: A memorial stone was placed in front of the house in which he was born in Langenbeutingen, inscribed with lines from his poem ''Die Schritte'' (''The Steps'') * 2004: Albrecht-Goes-Stube (The Albrecht Goes Room), a small museum, was opened in Langenbeutingen * Bas-relief of Goes by Hermann Koziol is unveiled in the Place of Remembrance for the Fallen at Bretzfeld cemetery * 2008: A series of events take place at around twenty locations in Baden-Württemberg and Leipzig to mark Goes's one hundredth birthday * 2008: Commemorative plaque unveiled in the Protestant diocese of Tübingen

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goes, Albrecht 1908 births 2000 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German-language poets