author
Paul Göhre
1864–1928
A pastor-turned-social reformer, he became known for immersing himself in working-class life and writing vividly about what he saw. His work sits at the crossroads of religion, labor, and politics in late 19th- and early 20th-century Germany.
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About the author
Born in Wurzen in 1864, Paul Göhre was a German Protestant theologian, writer, and politician. He is remembered as an early voice urging the church to take social responsibility seriously, and his career reflects a striking shift from the pulpit toward active engagement with the workers' movement.
Göhre became especially notable after spending time incognito as a factory worker and journeyman so he could observe working-class life firsthand. That experience shaped some of his best-known writing, including Three Months in a Workshop (from the German Drei Monate Fabrikarbeiter und Handwerksbursche), which introduced many middle-class readers to the everyday realities of industrial labor.
Over time, his social commitments drew him beyond church office and into politics. He later became associated with Social Democracy and was also active as an editor of workers' life stories and related social writing. He died in 1928, leaving behind a body of work valued both for its reforming spirit and for its close, observant picture of German working-class life.