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Inventory of the Gustav Schultz Sanctuary Collection, 1971-72, 1981-90
GTU 90-5-01
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Title: Gustav Schultz Sanctuary Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1971-72, 1981-90
Accession number: GTU 90-5-01
Shelf location: 2/G/3 - 4
Creator:
Schultz, Gustav H., 1935-
Size: 3 boxes, 1 folio
3 1/2 ft.
3 1/2 ft.
Type of material: Correspondence; working, events, and task files; published material
Repository: The
Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, California
Language:
English.
Gustav Schultz, 1990
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Graduate Theological Union. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the
Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Graduate Theological
Union as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Gustav Schultz Sanctuary Collection, GTU 90-5-01, The Graduate
Theological Union Archives, Berkeley, CA.
Sanctuary Movement --United States
Refugees, political --Central America
Church work with refugees --United States
Christianity and justice --United States
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 --Moral and ethical aspects
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 --Religious aspects
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 --Desertions --United States
Schultz, Gustav H., 1935-
Gustav H. Schultz was born 1935 in Foley, Alabama, receiving his education at Concordia
Theological Seminary and Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He served pastorates in
Georgia and Illinois before becoming pastor of the University Lutheran Chapel, Berkeley,
California in 1969. This period saw a growing movement against participation in the
Vietnam Conflict as an immoral, illegal, and undeclared war, and the increasing identity
of the church with the moral and ethical issues of choice within the individual
conscience. Responding to this, the University Lutheran Chapel, under Schultz's
leadership, with the support of other churches in the area and the city of Berkeley,
declared a formal resolution of sanctuary. Sanctuary offered "the availability of shelter
and sustenance to military personnel who are conscientiously unable to continue their
participation in the armed forces or in combat duties." (Resolution, Nov. 7, 1971: See,
Box 1 ff 9)
A similar movement for sanctuary emerged a decade later due to the civil and economic
instability in Central America, particularly El Salvador, exacerbated in part by historic
and current U.S. policies in the area. In the early 1980's there was a large displacement
of peoples from civil war, military aggression and terror, and subsequent personal and
economic hardship. Refugees began to travel north to camps, and further through Mexico to
the United States. The U.S., due to its policies in Central America and concerning
asylum, did not recognize Central Americans, or El Salvadorans, as qualifying for refugee
status. Those caught were deported and returned to their countries. Becoming aware of the
complexities of the situation, churches began to respond to the needs of the refugees.
Again, the idea and use of the concept of sanctuary became the impetus for a movement
among churches in the United States.
While work was being done and the movement taking form in the Tucson area, Gus Schultz
had helped form the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant from among the Sather Gate Churches in
Berkeley. March 24, 1982 was the second anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop
Oscar Romero, a key figure in El Salvador murdered by the military as he was saying mass.
That day, reminded "of our obligation to our religious heritage, to each other, and to
you", formal sanctuary was declared by the University Lutheran Chapel giving "support,
protection and advocacy for undocumented Central American refugees who were fleeing for
their lives." (Reaffirmation, March 24, 1988: See, Box 1 ff 9)
Schultz worked in many capacities within the Sanctuary Movement, making trips to Central
America, assisting with sanctuary for refugees in the Bay Area, and helping to found, or
being a member of, several sanctuary-related organizations including the National
Sanctuary Defense Fund, SHARE, Salvadoran Humanitarian Aid, Research and Education, and
others.
The Sanctuary Movement included those who sought to offer humanitarian aid seeing this as
a part of one's religious sensibilities. The Movement also included those who perceived
this as a political opportunity to expose and work against U.S. policies in Central
America, a position also informed by religious sensibilities. No matter the emphases of
the Movement, the U.S. government saw it as subversive and illegal. The government
carried out surveillance of involved persons, churches, and organizations resulting in
indictments, trials, and convictions in 1985-86.
The
majority of the collection concerns the sanctuary movement for Central American refugees.
Sanctuary for military personnel is a small, though significant, part of the collection. This collection was obtained from
the donor's office. Material was received in 3-ring
binders, file folders, and loose. See container listing for arrangement notations.
Recommended Background Reading
- God and Caesar at the Rio Grande: Sanctuary and the Politics of Religion, Hilary Cunningham (Univ. of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, 1995). BV4466.C86 1995
- Sanctuary: A Story of American Conscience and the Law in Collision, Ann Crittenden (Weidenfeld & Nicolson: NY, 1988). HV645.C75 1988
- Women in the Sanctuary Movement, Robin Lorentzen (Temple Univ. Press: Philadelphia, 1991). BV4466.L67 1991