Alice Herz (née Straus; May 25, 1882 – March 26, 1965) was a longtime

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

who was the first person in the United States known to have

immolated ''Immolated'' is the first album by the Polish death metal band Dies Irae released in 2000 by Metal Blade Records. A video was filmed for the track "Lion Of Knowledge". Track listing Credits * Marcin "Novy" Nowak - bass, vocals * Maurycy " ...

herself in protest of the escalating

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 ...

, following the example of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monk

Thích Quảng Đức Thích Quảng Đức (; vi-hantu, , 1897 – 11 June 1963; born Lâm Văn Túc) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Quảng Đức was protesting the pers ...

who immolated himself in protest of the oppression of Buddhists under the South Vietnamese government of Catholic President

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of ...

.Charles Francis Howlett, "Alice Herz", in: Human Sacrifice Is Dead of Burns, ''Detroit Free Press'', 27 March 1965

Life

Of German Jewish ancestry, Herz was a widow who left

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with her daughter, Helga, in 1933, saying that she anticipated the advent of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

long before it arrived. Alice and Helga Herz were living in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

when Germany invaded in 1940. After spending time in an

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

camp,

Camp Gurs Gurs internment camp was an internment camp and prisoner of war camp constructed in 1939 in Gurs, a site in southwestern France, not far from Pau. The camp was originally set up by the French government after the fall of Catalonia at the en ...

, near the Spanish border, Alice and Helga eventually came to the United States in 1942. They settled in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, where Helga became a librarian at the

Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the 21st-largest library system (and the fourth-largest public library system) in the Uni ...

, and Alice worked for some time as an adjunct instructor of German at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. The pair petitioned for, but were denied, U.S. citizenship due to their refusal to vow to defend the nation by arms. Helga later reapplied and was granted citizenship in 1954, but it is not clear if Alice ever did so. Alice and Helga joined the Unitarians, and both became involved in the activities of several peace groups. Herz wrote an open letter, which she distributed to several friends and fellow activists before her death. In her letter, she accused President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

of using his military power "to wipe out whole countries of his choosing". She appealed to the American people to “awake and take action” against war, and explained her self-immolation as an attempt "to make myself heard".

Self-immolation

Herz set fire to herself on a street in Detroit on March 16, 1965, at the age of 82.Howlett, Charles Francis, "Alice Herz", in: A motorist and his two sons were driving by and saw her burning and put out the flames. She died of her injuries ten days later. According to Taylor Branch's ''At Canaan's Edge'' (2006), it was President Johnson's address to Congress in support of a

Voting Rights Act The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...

that led her to believe the moment was propitious to protest the Vietnam War. The war continued for another ten years following her death.

Legacy

Confiding to a friend before her death, Herz remarked that she had used all of the accepted protest methods available to activists—including marching, protesting, and writing countless articles and letters—and she wondered what else she could do. Japanese author and philosopher Shingo Shibata established the Alice Herz Peace Fund shortly after her death. A square in Berlin (Alice Herz Platz) was named in her honor in 2003.Alice-Herz-Platz wird eingeweiht
(in German), ''Berliner Kurier'', Montag, 27 January 2003

References

External links

*
Speaking Out Against the Vietnam War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herz, Alice 1882 births 1965 suicides American anti–Vietnam War activists Self-immolations in protest of the Vietnam War Jewish activists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Wayne State University faculty Suicides in Michigan Deaths from fire in the United States Place of birth missing Converts to Quakerism American Quakers German Quakers American pacifists 20th-century Quakers Gurs internment camp survivors 1965 deaths American women academics 20th-century American women

Life

Self-immolation

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links