Götz Briefs (born 1 January 1889 in

Eschweiler Eschweiler (, Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ) is a municipality in the district of Aachen (district), Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Dutch-Belgian border, and about east of Aachen and w ...

; died 16 May 1974 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

social theorist, social ethicist, social philosopher and political economist, who together with Gustav Gundlach, SJ influenced the social teachings of

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

Biography

In 1908, Briefs began to study history and philosophy at the University of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. As it was customary in German academic circles at the time, he frequently switched universities, moving in 1909 to

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, and later in 1911 to

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. In Freiburg, he became a member of K.D.St. V. Wildenstein Freiburg im Breisgau, a Catholic student fraternity that belong to the

Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen The Union of Catholic German Student Fraternities ( or , CV) is a German umbrella organization of Catholic male student fraternities (). History Foundation During the period of 19th century in Germany called the , the Prussian state tried to ...

. In 1911, he completed his doctoral dissertation with an investigation of the influence of the alcoholic beverage industry on market price structures. He was awarded the highest honor

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

for his dissertation and continued on the topic of profits with his

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

on the effect of average profits on the economy in 1913. In 1919, he was named Professor for economics at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg. Two years later 1921 he accepted a professorship at the Julius-Maximilian-Universität in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. In 1923 he returned to Freiburg and in 1926 to Berlin at the

Technische Hochschule A ''Technische Hochschule'' (, plural: ''Technische Hochschulen'', abbreviated ''TH'') is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ) ...

., ''...At...conferences on 'The Workshop in a Changing Economic Environment,' to be presided over by Prof. Dr. Goetz Briefs. Leiter des Instituts fur Betriebssozioiogie und Soziaie Betriebsiehre an der Technischen Hochscule zu Berlin,..'' In 1928, he founded an Institute for

Industrial Sociology Industrial sociology, until recently a crucial research area within the field of sociology of work, examines "the direction and implications of trends in technological change, globalization, labour markets, work organization, managerial practic ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. After the

National Socialist Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

s won the elections in Germany and took over the government, he, like many other outspoken Catholics, lost his career and was forced to leave his native country. Göetz Briefs emigrated to the USA, where he found a teaching position as guest professor at the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

and later full professor at the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in Washington, D.C. After being widowed during the war years, he married Elinor Castendyk in 1951, who later became known for her work on and translations of

Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was an Italian, naturalized German Catholic priest, philosopher and theologian. Life Romano Michele Antonio Maria Guardini was born in Verona in 1885 and was baptized in the Church of San ...

. After his retirement, the couple lived in a mountain retreat near the

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monastery

Holy Cross Abbey Holy Cross Abbey ''(Mainistir na Croise Naofa)'' was a Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, situated on the River Suir. It takes its name from a relic of the True Cross or Holy Rood. History A supposed f ...

in Berryville in

Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,783. Its county seat is Berryville, Virginia, Berryville. Clarke County is inc ...

, which he visited with his wife on a daily basis. Briefs influenced the social teachings of the Catholic Church and was considered a ghost writer of the encyclical ''

Quadragesimo anno ''Quadragesimo anno'' () (Latin for "In the 40th Year") is an encyclical issued by Pope Pius XI on 15 May 1931, 40 years after Leo XIII's encyclical '' Rerum novarum'', further developing Catholic social teaching. Unlike Leo XIII, who addre ...

'' of

with his friend, the Jesuit Gustav Gundlach, with whom he spent his annual Summer vacations together. On 16 May 1974 Briefs died in Rome after a short illness. He is buried in the Vatican's

Campo Santo Teutonico The Teutonic Cemetery (, "Camposanto of the Teutons and the Flemish") is a burial site in Rome adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica. Burial is reserved for members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of the German Cemetery, which owns the cemetery. It ...

. With Gustav Gundlach, Theodor Brauer, Paul Jostock, Franz H. Mueller, Heinrich Rommen and Oswald von Nell-Breuning, he was a member of the "Königswinter Circle" at the

Königswinter Königswinter (; ; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at the foot of the ...

''"Institute for Society and Economy".'' Briefs received multiple scholarships and six honorary doctorates. In addition: * 1959 – The Distinguished Service Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany "Pour le merit" * 1968 – The Star to the Order of Merit Briefs published approximately 350 scientific articles. The road "Götz-Briefs-Weg" in his hometown was named after him in 1989.

References

External links

* *
The Mont Pèlerin Society Records
at the Hoover Institution Archives contains sound recordings of Briefs.

Dr. Gina Briefs-Elgin obituary with Briefs family information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briefs, Gotz 1889 births 1974 deaths People from Eschweiler University of Freiburg alumni Catholic University of America faculty Georgetown University faculty Academic staff of Technische Universität Berlin German emigrants to the United States German economists German libertarians Catholic social teaching Pope Pius XI Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany University of Bonn alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni German male non-fiction writers People from Berryville, Virginia 20th-century German philosophers Member of the Mont Pelerin Society