Gordon Zahn (born Gordon Charles Paul Roach; August 7, 1918, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

– December 9, 2007, in

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a p ...

) was an American sociologist, pacifist, professor, and author.

Early life

Born

out of wedlock Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

, Zahn took his stepfather's last name. During

World War II 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 opposing ...

, he was a conscientious objector, and served in a

Civilian Public Service The Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program of the United States government that provided conscientious objectors with an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947, nearly 12,000 draftees, willing to serve their ...

camp established by the

Catholic Worker Movement The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in the United States in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus ...

. Zahn later transferred to Rosewood State Training School in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, a school for the developmentally disabled. He worked there as a conscientious objector until April 1946. His experiences at Rosewood were published in the

Catholic Worker ''Catholic Worker'' is a newspaper published seven times a year by the flagship Catholic Worker community in New York City. The newspaper was started by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin to make people aware of church teaching on social justice. His ...

in the July and October 1946 issues, as a continuation of his attempt to reform Rosewood.

Education and career

In 1946 Zahn and a friend went to Saint John's University in

Collegeville, Minnesota Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, near St. Joseph. The community is located near the junction of Collegeville Road and Old Collegeville Road. Nearby is Saint John's Abb ...

. There they met Eugene McCarthy, who hired them when he became a U.S. Senator. Zahn received a PhD from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

and then a job at Loyola University Chicago. Cardinal

Augustin Bea Augustin Bea, S.J. (28 May 1881 – 16 November 1968), was a German Jesuit priest, cardinal, and scholar at the Pontifical Gregorian University, specialising in biblical studies and biblical archaeology. He also served as the personal confessor ...

unsuccessfully pressured both Loyola and a German publisher to stop Zahn's book ''

German Catholics and Hitler's Wars German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

''. Zahn was later hired away by the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

Second Vatican Council

Zahn was important in the debate over warfare in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

, specifically Schema 13. Through Richard Carbray and archbishop Thomas Roberts, Zahn was introduced to Abbot

Christopher Butler Christopher Butler (7 May 1902 – 20 September 1986), born Basil Butler, was a convert from the Church of England to the Roman Catholic Church, a Bishop, a scholar, and a Benedictine Monk. After his Solemn Profession as a Monk and his Or ...

. Zahn gave talks and wrote a speech for Butler. Gallagher implies this all led to Schema 13 supporting conscientious objectors and denouncing 'weapons of mass destruction'.

Authored works

Zahn was the author of several books and articles, often focusing on the topics of conscience and war. He wrote ''Military Chaplains'', based on interviews he did with RAF Chaplains who had served in the war. He then wrote ''

'', in which he argued priests had aided Hitler by telling Germans it was their religious duty to fight. He later wrote '' In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter'', about the Austrian conscientious objector who refused to fight in Hitler's army. Finding aid, ZHN 028 He was also the co-founder of

Pax Christi Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global insecurity." History ...

USA. In 1968, he signed the "

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse of ...

" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In 1982 he received the Pax Christi award from St John's.In 1992, Zahn was honored at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston with the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for his lifelong commitment to the ideals of non-violence and conscientious objection and for his work with the Second Vatican Council to make the Catholic Church a church of peace.

Books

* Zahn, Gordon. ''German Catholics and Hitler's Wars: A Study in Social Control'' 1964. * Zahn, Gordon. '' In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter'' 1964. * Zahn, Gordon. ''What is Society?'' 1964 Hawthorn Books. * Zahn, Gordon. ''Another Part of the War: The Camp Simon Story'' 1979

References

External links

Center on Conscience and War Records at the University of Notre DameCatholic Peace Fellowship ObitTimes Online ObitMilwaukee Journal Sentinel Obit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Gordon C. 1918 births 2007 deaths Catholic University of America alumni Loyola University Chicago faculty University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty American Christian pacifists American conscientious objectors American sociologists 20th-century American educators American Roman Catholics American tax resisters Neurological disease deaths in Wisconsin Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Scientists from Milwaukee Roman Catholic activists Writers from Milwaukee Members of the Civilian Public Service 20th-century American non-fiction writers Catholic pacifists Roman Catholic scholars