In Eric Yanagi’s book "Waikiki 73," a photo of an old man is captioned, "the philosopher" Otto Preis. Sue Brimeyer emailed that it’s Gottfried Seitz. "He was a good friend of my family from the early 40’s until he passed away. Gottfried was a self-proclaimed ombudsman for all human rights!"
A 1955 letter written on a portrait of himself to Honolulu Star-Bulletin Editor Reily Allen indicated Seitz had lived in Hawaii since 1933. Social Security records and a 1940 census gave his age as 44 and Germany as his birthplace. That census put his place of residence on Kaimuki Avenue where he lived with his sister Freda Seitz. Both were unmarried with no children.
Gottfried was a teacher and a mentor to children. Jeff Yamashita wrote to say that Seitz was a substitute teacher at Palama Annex School. He remembers really liking him, he found him uplifting and engaging, "it was a wonderful experience." Yamashita recalls hikes taken with his class led by Seitz. Yamashita said he stressed, even then, the importance of taking care of the land. "He was environmental." Seitz imparted upon him the sense of "gotta do what’s right."
Late Hawaiian Sovereignty leader Elizabeth Kamakahukilani von Oelhoffen cited Seitz as an influence on her activism. She and her younger sister Gertrude Olani’alii von Oelhoffen were both members of the "Seitz Club" of Palolo in the late 1940’s. Gertrude said he taught them that even if they were under-privileged, "no one is better than you." Instilling pride into the children, he taught them "to fight for the good."
"Because our parents were always working we got to see places we would not have." Their excursions included first time visits to places like Sacred Falls and Waimea Falls. "I don’t know where he got the money for the gas, but 6 kids at a time would jump into that old jalopy. He was a good guy," added Gertrude.
Seitz, a haranguer of public officials, most notably his former employers, was never afraid to take his disputes into the public eye. This included his terminations and withheld pay. He wrote that he had been fired from ten other jobs. Those jobs included Social Security field assistant, parole officer, adult educator, substitute teacher and natatorium custodian.
His fervor for advocacy, social justice and his associations did catch the eye of those in Washington DC. By 1950, the pro labor newspaper Honolulu Record had come under the scrutiny of the Committee on un-American Activities branding it a Communist instrument. That committee included U.S. Representative Richard M. Nixon. The committee’s report named Seitz, a shareholder, as being on the newspaper’s Board of Directors and as the Chairman of the Legal Action Committee of the Hawaii Civil Liberties Committee. Seitz would later refer to himself as an un-indicted co-conspirator of the "Hawaii 7."
He ran for the office of City Supervisor in 1956 after being fired from his job as a custodian at the Natatorium the previous year. A photo depicts him standing on a soapbox in front the McCandless Building on Bethel Street, the bystanders seemingly dis-interested. Its caption, " A lone voice in the wilderness…" Gottfried is gripping the microphone stand. A loud speaker is on ground beside him.
By the 1960’s, Seitz’s attention invariably turned towards the Vietnam War. Jim Albertini wrote, "He was active in the anti-Vietnam war effort and other community justice struggles. A very nice guy. Very committed and showed up at a lot of the protests. That’s a classic photo. Rumpled as usual, but always very friendly and humble, with a keen intellect."
Gottfried John Baptiste Seitz died in 1984. He was 87.
Thank you all for your responses.
–George F. Lee
Photo Editor
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
