Religious Figure. A miner, political activist, publisher, anti-Nazi organizer and martyr, he was born in Niederwenigern, Germany. He became a miner and was active in a Catholic worker's union. He served on the staff of the union newspaper. He married Elizabeth Koch, and they had seven children. In addition to his family life, he had a special concern for helping the poor and sick. He became a fierce opponent of Nazism and worked to expose Nazi propaganda, urging citizens to resist Hitler. He spoke out against Hitler whenever possible, and argued that Christians must have enough conscience and strength to oppose Nazism. He was declared an enemy of the state and was ordered to stop publishing, but continued to publish anyway. After an assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944, Gross was arrested for treason (although he played no part in the assassination attempt) and sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging on January 23, 1945 at the Berlin-Plotzensee prison. Denied a Christian burial by local authorities, his body was cremated, and the ashes scattered across a sewage facility. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 7, 2001.
Religious Figure. A miner, political activist, publisher, anti-Nazi organizer and martyr, he was born in Niederwenigern, Germany. He became a miner and was active in a Catholic worker's union. He served on the staff of the union newspaper. He married Elizabeth Koch, and they had seven children. In addition to his family life, he had a special concern for helping the poor and sick. He became a fierce opponent of Nazism and worked to expose Nazi propaganda, urging citizens to resist Hitler. He spoke out against Hitler whenever possible, and argued that Christians must have enough conscience and strength to oppose Nazism. He was declared an enemy of the state and was ordered to stop publishing, but continued to publish anyway. After an assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944, Gross was arrested for treason (although he played no part in the assassination attempt) and sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging on January 23, 1945 at the Berlin-Plotzensee prison. Denied a Christian burial by local authorities, his body was cremated, and the ashes scattered across a sewage facility. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 7, 2001.
Bio by: pacifica
Advertisement
See more Gross memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
