Alice Jeanette Herz (née Strauß, alternatively rendered Strauss; 25 May 1882 – 26 March 1965) was a German feminist, anti-fascist and peace activist. She was the first person in the United States known to have immolated herself in protest of the escalating Vietnam War, following the example of Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức who immolated himself in protest of the oppression of Buddhists under the South Vietnamese government of Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem.

Early life

Alice Jeanette Strauß was the first child of Rosalie Kramer (1858–1943) and Moritz Strauß (1850–1920), both of German-Jewish descent. She had six siblings, five younger sisters and a younger brother, who died at the age of two. She finished intermediate education and studied to become a teacher, but an eye disorder prevented Herz from completing her seminars and she instead found work as a secretary for a lawyer's office in Rostock. In 1907, Herz converted from Judaism to Protestantism.

Activism in Germany

During the early 1900s, Herz joined the feminist movement and became an advocate for women's rights, particularly for universal suffrage and cohabitation. She married Paul Herz, a chemist and the brother of Margarete Herz, a prominent suffragette. The couple moved to Güstrow in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, where she founded a regional chapter of Deutscher Verband für Frauenstimmrecht. Due to their escape, the Herz property was seized and sold off as Reich Flight Tax. Alice and Helga settled in Detroit, Michigan, where Helga became a librarian at the Detroit Public Library, and Alice worked for some time as an adjunct instructor of German at Wayne State University. Both Herz women became involved in several peace group, with Alice Herz also joining the Quakers Silence Meeting in 1946. In 1947, Herz and her daughter petitoned 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.

In 1951, Herz was ousted by the Quaker group after she was accused of being a communist, resulting in observation by the House Un-American Activities Committee for several years. Alice and Helga subsequently joined the Unitarian Universalists, though Alice reportedly still identified with Quaker beliefs. She maintained her work with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and also joined Women Strike for Peace. Throughout the early 1960s, Herz participated in several protest movements, in opposition to nuclear weapons, the embargo on Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis, and the 1964 use of the USS Biddle in the proposed Multilateral Force. She was also involved in the civil rights movement and took part in the Selma to Montgomery marches only days before her death. Herz initially planned to stage the self-immolation on the Wayne State University campus on 18 March, but she ended up the date two days ahead. 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.

See also

  • Norman Morrison
  • Roger Allen LaPorte
  • George Winne, Jr.
  • List of political self-immolations

References

Further reading

  • Coburn, Jon (2015). Making a difference: The History and Memory of Women Strike for Peace, 1961-1990. PhD Thesis, Northumbria University. pp. 117–128
  • Coburn, Jon (2018). "I Have Chosen the Flaming Death”: The Forgotten Self-Immolation of Alice Herz, Peace and Change 43 (1), 32-60
  • Seiler, Mark (2001). Alice Herz, in Feilchenfeldt, Konrad; Hawrylchak, Sandra H. (eds.): Deutschsprachige Exilliteratur seit 1933: USA (Studien zur deutschen Exilliteratur, 3, part 2), Bern/München, pp. 140–159
  • Shingo Shibata: Phoenix: Letters and Documents of Alice Herz. New York: Bruce Publishing 1969
  • Shor, Francis (2024), "Alice Herz: A Fiery Martyr for Peace" in Shor, Peace Advocacy in the Shadow of War (Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 39-50.
  • Speaking Out Against the Vietnam War