Christian Götz (25 January 1940 – 25 July 2000) was a German trade unionist and politician. He was an executive board member of the

Trade, Banking and Insurance Union The Trade, Banking and Insurance Union (german: Gewerkschaft Handel, Banken und Versicherungen, HBV) was a trade union representing workers in commerce and finance in Germany. During 1947 and 1948, German trade unionists were regrouping and the ma ...

(HBV; now

Ver.di (''Verdi'' (stylized as ''ver.di''; �vɛʁdiː; German: ''United Services Trade Union'') is a German trade union based in Berlin, Germany. It was established on 19 March 2001 as the result of a merger of five individual unions and is a memb ...

) from 1980 to 1992.

Biography

Götz was born on 25 January 1940 in Leer. His father was a

lock keeper A lock keeper, lock tender, or lock operator looks after a canal or river lock, operating it and if necessary maintaining it or organizing its maintenance. Traditionally, lock keepers lived on-site, often in small purpose-built cottages. A lock ke ...

. He attended schools in Leer and Ostfriesland from 1946 to 1954. He then worked in Leer's

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

from 1954 to 1959. Götz volunteered for the

German Trade Union Confederation The German Trade Union Confederation (german: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people ...

(DGB) and

Young Socialists in the SPD Working Group of Young Socialists in the SPD (german: Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Jungsozialistinnen und Jungsozialisten in der SPD, Jusos) is a volunteer youth organization of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). As of 2021, there are over ...

, becoming chairman in 1958 and a federal committee member. He performed military service from 1960 to 1963. He then served as a consultant in the SPD parliament assisted by

Fritz Erler Fritz Erler (15 December 1868 – 11 December 1940) was a German painter, graphic designer and scenic designer. Although most talented as an interior designer, he is perhaps best remembered for several propaganda posters he produced during W ...

. He answered questions about the Bundeswehr's "Inner guidance". Götz served as Federal Youth Secretary of the Trade, Banking, and Insurance Union in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

from 1963 to 1971. He generated controversy within the DGB's Federal Youth Committee because he was a Bundeswehr advocate. At the 3rd Federal Youth Conference in 1968, he strongly supported the union's position on political issues and advocated for more intensive political education work as well as the involvement of youth organizations in trade unions. Götz's political views supported friendly relations between

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

as well as declarations of the Federal Youth Conference against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and Greece's military dictatorship. From 1972 to 1980 Götz served as a contributing editor and spokesperson. Due to his change of attitude regarding the involvement of former Bundeswehr propaganda in the peace movement, he was criticized by the DGB. He supported the union awarding the "War prize" to writer

Heinz Konsalik Heinz G. Konsalik, pseudonym of Heinz Günther (28 May 1921 – 2 October 1999) was a German novelist. Konsalik was his mother's maiden name. During the Second World War he was a war correspondent, which provided many experiences for his nov ...

at the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...

. Its alternative award, Peace Prize, was intended to expose peace-threatening content in books while books without peace-threatening tendencies were branded. Götz then served as a member of the union's main executive board from 1980 to 1992. He was responsible for youth, participation, educational and cultural work, tariff policy in the housing industry and in travel agencies, and other policies. He simultaneously served as a supervisory board member with

Horten AG Horten AG (Aktiengesellschaft) was a German department store chain founded by Helmut Horten in 1936 and headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. With up to 80 stores throughout Germany, Horten ranked fourth-largest among German department store ch ...

and

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

and several other companies from 1980 to 1993. From 1993, Götz worked as a freelance journalist and author for

Verband deutscher Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftsteller The Verband deutscher Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftsteller (Association of German Writers) represents the interests of professional authors and writers in Germany and is part of the service sector trade union ver.di (former Printing and Paper ...

(VS; English: German Writer's Association). He wrote biographies on former DGB chairman

Heinz Oskar Vetter Heinz Oskar Vetter (21 October 1917 – 18 October 1990) was a German trade union leader and politician. Born in Bochum, Vetter completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith, before becoming a machinist at a coal mine. He served in the Luftwaff ...

and author

Bertha von Suttner Bertha Sophie Felicitas Freifrau von Suttner (; ; 9 June 184321 June 1914) was an Austrian-Bohemian pacifist and novelist. In 1905, she became the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie in 1903), the first woman to be awarded the Nobel ...

. He also published books on socio-political topics and two volumes of aphorisms. Götz and his wife were killed in the crash of

Air France Flight 4590 On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde passenger jet on an international charter flight from Paris to New York, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. It was the only fatal Concorde a ...

on 25 July 2000 near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Awards

* 1993:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 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 ...

Works and publications

* With

: ''Christian Götz befragt den Vorsitzenden des deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes.'' Köln 1978, . * ''Nicht Atomwaffen – nicht Völkermord, sondern Abrüstung und Völkerfrieden.'' In: ''Friedensbroschüre, Gewerkschafter fordern: Frieden durch Abrüstung.'' Düsseldorf 1981, . * ''Für eine Wende zur sozialen Demokratie. Einschätzung und Materialien aus gewerkschaftlicher Sicht''. Köln 1984, . * ''Macher und Methoden : Apparate - Funktionäre - Bürger''; ein satirisches Lesebuch, Köln 1988, * ''Bundesrepublik im Widerspruch''. Arbeits- und Lesebuch für eine fortschrittliche Gesellschafts- und Gewerkschaftspolitik, Hamburg 1991, VSA-Verlag, * ''Die Rebellin Bertha von Suttner – Botschaften für unsere Zeit''. Dortmund 1996, . ; Editorials * ''Der ganze Unterschied ist in den Röcken. Frauen, Männer und der ewige Kampf der Geschlechter''. Dortmund 1998,

References

External links

Biography of Christian Götz
Archive of Social Democracy, website of the

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...

, retrieved 4 August 2015 *
Nachruf von Dieter Schmidt, Gewerkschaftliche Monatshefte (GMH) 10/2000, S. 597–500

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz, Christian 2000 deaths 1940 births Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Pacifists Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2000