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In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter
1986 TEMPLEGATE PUBLISHERS SOFTCOVER
277 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 1986
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November 24, 2023
The Story of a Political, Moral, & Spiritual Hero
What this book (and the recent Terrence Malick film A Hidden Life) expresses most clearly is that A REGULAR PERSON'S LIFE MATTERS. Malick's film title came from a Georg Eliot quote, which is just as relevant to this book: "For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts, and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life and rest in unvisited tombs."
If you have seen Malick's A Hidden Life, this is the biography of the hero in it. If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it, for in term's of filmmaking, it is the equivalent quality of a painting by Raphael or Michelangelo. Malick immerses you in the world of the character. In addition to this biography, another insightful resource is Erna Putz's Franz Jagerstatter: Letters and Writings from Prison.
Sociologist Gordon Zahn does a superb job describing the life of Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian man in WWII who put his life on the line to stand up for what was right. Zahn provides keen insights with his social science background but also does great biographical scholarship, having interviewed the actual people who knew this man (the book having been written in the 60's). The table of contents is as follows:
1. Introduction, 2. St. Radegund [his city], 3. The Young Ruffian, 4. The New Man, 5. From Enns to Berlin, 6. One of God's Special Friends, 7. A Train to Hell, 8. The Martyr and His Village, 9. The Marty and His Church, 10. The Martyr as a Rebel: A Sociological Summary, 11. Appendix - The Jagerstatter Documents [his writings].
Franz was called up to serve in the Austrian army after Hitler took over the country, and he refused. To accept any military post required a loyalty oath to Hitler. He would not do that. His neighbors and priests told him to give in, viewing their pleas as saving his life. Soldiers and bureaucrats tried to compel him numerous times to be a piece of the totalitarian machine of Nazism. Constantly, he was given chances to give up on his stand of conscience and have his life spared, BUT he stood firm.
Franz was asked why he should do what was right if doing so would not "change the course of things." In philosophical jargon, we would describe this as a consequentialist argument, where morality is viewed as determined by the consequences of one's actions. Furthermore, he had a wife and four children (three with his wife and one from a relationship before his marriage) who he would assuredly never see again as a result of his stance. He was beseeched to look out for them. But Franz believed there are things that are wrong no matter how you hash them out, and being complicit in them can never be justified. He understood that morality is not weighed on the scales of results, for in that case, anything and everything can be justified.
Franz had the kind of moral heroism rarely seen throughout the history of the world. Despite the lack of geopolitical results his actions would bring and despite the costs they would bring to his family, he remained firm. His strength was fueled by faith and love - his faith in God and love for his family. Zahn recounts how some priests after the war still did not want to praise Franz's actions, since they did not want to make the average Catholic think they must be so bold in each of their own lives. But Zahn asks if in contrast Franz should be held up instead as exactly the kind of example for all to live by.
As stated above, what this book (and the Malick movie) expresses most clearly is that A REGULAR PERSON'S LIFE MATTERS. No, he did not "change the course of things." No, he did not stop the war. BUT he did what was right. As so many others who were considered higher in the eyes of society capitulated to evil, turned a blind eye, or simply stayed away from resistance because of fear of persecution or execution, Franz had the heroic courage to stand for what was right. As seen in the book (but even more in the movie), Franz had a beautiful family and a deep love for his wife whom he cared about dearly. His life was important, valuable, and meaningful, even though he wasn't some famous or wealthy person. His ordinary life in a peasant community was rich and purposeful. He gave that all up, and this act was also supremely purposeful. He didn't "win" in results, but he won in humanity (in opposing a regime that murdered so many human beings), in faith (in opposing a regime that attacked the Catholic Church of which he was a member and attacked its fundamental doctrines of respect for the equal dignity of all persons... and other doctrines), and in community (in opposing a regime that would coopt his country and village and turn them into a instruments for an evil machine). He knew that might does not make right and that victory is not the measure of morality. The victory of standing firm in conscience against oppression stands above the victory of the jackboot and rifle in oppressing. As the movie quotes Socrates, "It is better to suffer injustice than to commit it." That is no easy maxim to live by, but it is one Franz, like Socrates, showed us can be lived by.
Ultimately, the life of Franz Jagerstatter shows us that it is not one's power, social position, wealth, reputation, notoriety, results, etc. that build the measure of one's character, but one's choices - what one does.
What this book (and the recent Terrence Malick film A Hidden Life) expresses most clearly is that A REGULAR PERSON'S LIFE MATTERS. Malick's film title came from a Georg Eliot quote, which is just as relevant to this book: "For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts, and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life and rest in unvisited tombs."
If you have seen Malick's A Hidden Life, this is the biography of the hero in it. If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it, for in term's of filmmaking, it is the equivalent quality of a painting by Raphael or Michelangelo. Malick immerses you in the world of the character. In addition to this biography, another insightful resource is Erna Putz's Franz Jagerstatter: Letters and Writings from Prison.
Sociologist Gordon Zahn does a superb job describing the life of Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian man in WWII who put his life on the line to stand up for what was right. Zahn provides keen insights with his social science background but also does great biographical scholarship, having interviewed the actual people who knew this man (the book having been written in the 60's). The table of contents is as follows:
1. Introduction, 2. St. Radegund [his city], 3. The Young Ruffian, 4. The New Man, 5. From Enns to Berlin, 6. One of God's Special Friends, 7. A Train to Hell, 8. The Martyr and His Village, 9. The Marty and His Church, 10. The Martyr as a Rebel: A Sociological Summary, 11. Appendix - The Jagerstatter Documents [his writings].
Franz was called up to serve in the Austrian army after Hitler took over the country, and he refused. To accept any military post required a loyalty oath to Hitler. He would not do that. His neighbors and priests told him to give in, viewing their pleas as saving his life. Soldiers and bureaucrats tried to compel him numerous times to be a piece of the totalitarian machine of Nazism. Constantly, he was given chances to give up on his stand of conscience and have his life spared, BUT he stood firm.
Franz was asked why he should do what was right if doing so would not "change the course of things." In philosophical jargon, we would describe this as a consequentialist argument, where morality is viewed as determined by the consequences of one's actions. Furthermore, he had a wife and four children (three with his wife and one from a relationship before his marriage) who he would assuredly never see again as a result of his stance. He was beseeched to look out for them. But Franz believed there are things that are wrong no matter how you hash them out, and being complicit in them can never be justified. He understood that morality is not weighed on the scales of results, for in that case, anything and everything can be justified.
Franz had the kind of moral heroism rarely seen throughout the history of the world. Despite the lack of geopolitical results his actions would bring and despite the costs they would bring to his family, he remained firm. His strength was fueled by faith and love - his faith in God and love for his family. Zahn recounts how some priests after the war still did not want to praise Franz's actions, since they did not want to make the average Catholic think they must be so bold in each of their own lives. But Zahn asks if in contrast Franz should be held up instead as exactly the kind of example for all to live by.
As stated above, what this book (and the Malick movie) expresses most clearly is that A REGULAR PERSON'S LIFE MATTERS. No, he did not "change the course of things." No, he did not stop the war. BUT he did what was right. As so many others who were considered higher in the eyes of society capitulated to evil, turned a blind eye, or simply stayed away from resistance because of fear of persecution or execution, Franz had the heroic courage to stand for what was right. As seen in the book (but even more in the movie), Franz had a beautiful family and a deep love for his wife whom he cared about dearly. His life was important, valuable, and meaningful, even though he wasn't some famous or wealthy person. His ordinary life in a peasant community was rich and purposeful. He gave that all up, and this act was also supremely purposeful. He didn't "win" in results, but he won in humanity (in opposing a regime that murdered so many human beings), in faith (in opposing a regime that attacked the Catholic Church of which he was a member and attacked its fundamental doctrines of respect for the equal dignity of all persons... and other doctrines), and in community (in opposing a regime that would coopt his country and village and turn them into a instruments for an evil machine). He knew that might does not make right and that victory is not the measure of morality. The victory of standing firm in conscience against oppression stands above the victory of the jackboot and rifle in oppressing. As the movie quotes Socrates, "It is better to suffer injustice than to commit it." That is no easy maxim to live by, but it is one Franz, like Socrates, showed us can be lived by.
Ultimately, the life of Franz Jagerstatter shows us that it is not one's power, social position, wealth, reputation, notoriety, results, etc. that build the measure of one's character, but one's choices - what one does.
February 13, 2013
Every age produces its heroes. Not all of them are flashy and brash and imposing. The greatest among them are simply steadfast witnesses to Truth. Franz Jagerstatter was such a man. An Austrian farmer and peasant, a poorly educated man, a wild youth, but a deep thinker nonetheless. This was Franz Jagerstatter.
Born near the beginning of the twentieth century in a tiny village in Austria (St. Radegund), Franz was famous in his village for living a wild life. In modern standards, he was merely sowing wild oats. His country, however, was overrun by the Germans who forced a "popular vote" for unification of the nations of Germany and Austria. Franz was the only man in his village who voted "Nein."
He was trained, as were all of his neighbors and friends, for military service. His father died in the military. When he was called to join the Nazi army, however, along with all other able-bodied young men, he refused. It was not a rash decision. It was arrived at only after careful thought and contemplation. The penalty, of course, for refusing to join the Nazi army was death. Franz knew this. He consulted with his parish priest who reminded him of his duty to his wife and children. When that priest was taken away and a new priest brought in, this priest, too, reminded him of the penalty and urged him to save his own life by signing up. He traveled to speak with his bishop. The bishop told him that as an unlearned peasant he could not understand all that was involved in either deciding to join the army, or refusing and facing death. Even with all of this advice, from men he respected and trusted, Franz Jagerstatter refused.
After contemplation, he determined that it was not possible to be a Catholic and a Nazi at the same time. He noted that before the war was begun, Nazis were denied Holy Communion. Since the Anschluss, the shameful vote to join the nations of Austria and Germany, many became Nazis and still received the sacraments.
He did not seek publicity. He did not seek conflict. He stopped visiting the pub because he knew it would lead to political discussions and he could not countenance membership in the Nazi party. In his judgment, membership in the Nazi party was absolutely and unequivocally incompatible with being a Catholic.
When the time came that he was called to the army, he did not run; he did not hide. He turned himself in and was sent to prison. The chaplains urged him to recant and to enlist. The officers who were to try him met with him prior to the trial and urged him to enlist. He would not even accept an office job with the military which would keep him from fighting. He felt - and obviously felt it very passionately and strongly - that this would be living a lie, a subterfuge. He could not take any position supporting the Nazi party and continue to be a good Catholic. Ultimately, he chose the rewards of the next life over the promises of this one.
Franz Jagerstatter refused to live even "a little white lie" by proclaiming conscientious objector status and then serving in the rear, knowing this would free up others to serve as fighters on the front lines. He knew, in his heart, that everything the Nazi party stood for was evil, and would not even give them lip service to preserve his life, because he feared the loss of his soul.
This book is not a novel. It was written in 1964 by a sociology professor. As such, it recounts facts of Franz's life. It is a report, and not a narrative. The book is easily divided into four parts. First, it is a report of the facts as the professor was able to uncover them. This was accomplished by living in the village of St. Radegund and interviewing its residents, including, of course, the widow and children and pastor and other citizens. The life of Franz Jagerstatter, at least insofar as it involved his courageous determination to follow his conscience, is sufficiently compelling that it requires no touch of the novelist.
Second, we have an analysis of the situation from the viewpoint of a sociologist. Naturally, since Professor Gordon Zahn is a sociology professor, he needs to give his view of this man's actions. It is a worthwhile and interesting read.
Third, we have the writings of Franz Jagerstatter himself. As an unlettered farmer the writings are few. We are reminded frequently of the fact that his grammar and spelling were less than perfect. His reasoning, however, was neither weak, nor flawed. He writes with power and purpose, but directly and simply. He expresses his desire to live and to be rejoined with his family, but will not shrink from what he knows is a death sentence if he continues to follow his conscience. He is a firm and true believer.
Finally, there is a report on how this book was researched. The methods are set forth directly and Professor Zahn is candid in what he feels were the strengths and weaknesses of his methods. All s set forth, however, in a manner that will permit any reader to draw his own conclusions about the facts set forth.
Ultimately, we have a man of quiet courage in the person of Franz Jagerstatter. He was true to his beliefs and his convictions. He was so firmly following the message of Christ, he would not condemn those who did not agree with him. He even cautions against criticism of those in the Church who served in the service, or who urged him to do so as well. He excuses their actions by humbly noting that they simply were not given the grace to do otherwise.
This is an inspiring story of a man recently beatified by the Church and should be passed on to all. All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. Franz Jagerstatter shows that we need not do loud and splashy things to do the right thing.
Born near the beginning of the twentieth century in a tiny village in Austria (St. Radegund), Franz was famous in his village for living a wild life. In modern standards, he was merely sowing wild oats. His country, however, was overrun by the Germans who forced a "popular vote" for unification of the nations of Germany and Austria. Franz was the only man in his village who voted "Nein."
He was trained, as were all of his neighbors and friends, for military service. His father died in the military. When he was called to join the Nazi army, however, along with all other able-bodied young men, he refused. It was not a rash decision. It was arrived at only after careful thought and contemplation. The penalty, of course, for refusing to join the Nazi army was death. Franz knew this. He consulted with his parish priest who reminded him of his duty to his wife and children. When that priest was taken away and a new priest brought in, this priest, too, reminded him of the penalty and urged him to save his own life by signing up. He traveled to speak with his bishop. The bishop told him that as an unlearned peasant he could not understand all that was involved in either deciding to join the army, or refusing and facing death. Even with all of this advice, from men he respected and trusted, Franz Jagerstatter refused.
After contemplation, he determined that it was not possible to be a Catholic and a Nazi at the same time. He noted that before the war was begun, Nazis were denied Holy Communion. Since the Anschluss, the shameful vote to join the nations of Austria and Germany, many became Nazis and still received the sacraments.
He did not seek publicity. He did not seek conflict. He stopped visiting the pub because he knew it would lead to political discussions and he could not countenance membership in the Nazi party. In his judgment, membership in the Nazi party was absolutely and unequivocally incompatible with being a Catholic.
When the time came that he was called to the army, he did not run; he did not hide. He turned himself in and was sent to prison. The chaplains urged him to recant and to enlist. The officers who were to try him met with him prior to the trial and urged him to enlist. He would not even accept an office job with the military which would keep him from fighting. He felt - and obviously felt it very passionately and strongly - that this would be living a lie, a subterfuge. He could not take any position supporting the Nazi party and continue to be a good Catholic. Ultimately, he chose the rewards of the next life over the promises of this one.
Franz Jagerstatter refused to live even "a little white lie" by proclaiming conscientious objector status and then serving in the rear, knowing this would free up others to serve as fighters on the front lines. He knew, in his heart, that everything the Nazi party stood for was evil, and would not even give them lip service to preserve his life, because he feared the loss of his soul.
This book is not a novel. It was written in 1964 by a sociology professor. As such, it recounts facts of Franz's life. It is a report, and not a narrative. The book is easily divided into four parts. First, it is a report of the facts as the professor was able to uncover them. This was accomplished by living in the village of St. Radegund and interviewing its residents, including, of course, the widow and children and pastor and other citizens. The life of Franz Jagerstatter, at least insofar as it involved his courageous determination to follow his conscience, is sufficiently compelling that it requires no touch of the novelist.
Second, we have an analysis of the situation from the viewpoint of a sociologist. Naturally, since Professor Gordon Zahn is a sociology professor, he needs to give his view of this man's actions. It is a worthwhile and interesting read.
Third, we have the writings of Franz Jagerstatter himself. As an unlettered farmer the writings are few. We are reminded frequently of the fact that his grammar and spelling were less than perfect. His reasoning, however, was neither weak, nor flawed. He writes with power and purpose, but directly and simply. He expresses his desire to live and to be rejoined with his family, but will not shrink from what he knows is a death sentence if he continues to follow his conscience. He is a firm and true believer.
Finally, there is a report on how this book was researched. The methods are set forth directly and Professor Zahn is candid in what he feels were the strengths and weaknesses of his methods. All s set forth, however, in a manner that will permit any reader to draw his own conclusions about the facts set forth.
Ultimately, we have a man of quiet courage in the person of Franz Jagerstatter. He was true to his beliefs and his convictions. He was so firmly following the message of Christ, he would not condemn those who did not agree with him. He even cautions against criticism of those in the Church who served in the service, or who urged him to do so as well. He excuses their actions by humbly noting that they simply were not given the grace to do otherwise.
This is an inspiring story of a man recently beatified by the Church and should be passed on to all. All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. Franz Jagerstatter shows that we need not do loud and splashy things to do the right thing.
June 6, 2024
This is a fascinating story and a deep dive into one man's brave decision to resist Hitler's war machine. With his simple rationale for this refusal, both deeply spiritual and moral, Jagerstatter stood alone in his time even until his death. His faith in God and his determination to resist evil are inspiring.
March 8, 2024
Man got shafted
March 2, 2020
A beautiful book. Amazing such a peasant in the middle of Austria could see what crimes the Nazis were committing. One of the most horrifying moments in the book actually comes years after he passed where you find people in the town STILL SAYING he didn't serve his country. After all of the horrible things the Nazis committed, people still suggest that "well he didn't serve the father land" or "well that was just this embarrassing thing" truly speaks to the hardness of hearts that allow wars to be justified.
What a hero. I'll have to see A Hidden Life for sure.
What a hero. I'll have to see A Hidden Life for sure.
September 4, 2025
After watching "A Hidden Life," the movie about Franz Jagerstatter and his decision to face death rather than swear allegiance to Hitler and serve in the German army in WWII or give/receive from the National Socialist Party, I wanted more, and I was mostly interested in reading primary sources.
Zahn's book is available for free on Archive.org so it was easy to get ahold of to read (I would have preferred the more newly-published Letters and Writings from Prison, but that's harder to get my hands on; maybe someday). It's not the most riveting read; it's fairly dry and scholarly when the same content could have been written more like a biography. But, I appreciate Zahn's thoroughness in discussing his method, who he talked to, and the results of those conversations, and honesty regarding what wasn't clear or certain (the part on whether or not he was actually a pacifist was especially helpful).
The highlight was definitely Jagerstatter's own writings, though reading them after Zahn's discussion of Jagerstatter gave a deeper understanding of them.
Some of the things I was most struck by:
- Franz's joy and peace at death
- Comments about the seriousness of eternity and saving our souls versus saving our skin
- Reminders about the eternity of the kingdom of God over earthly kingdoms
- When a government is ungodly and you cannot give allegiance to it honestly - you face either the dishonesty of falsely swearing the oath (something Jagerstatter could not do in good conscience), or relinquishing your rights under that government in order to keep them in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jagerstatter sets up the Kingdom of God and the Third Reich as opposing kingdoms - Hitler demands a public confession of allegiance... so does Christ, and Jagerstatter believed - as we see so clearly today - that you cannot do both. It was jarring to notice how clearly he saw this but how little those around him did.
- I didn't read all of Zahn's sociology reflections, but of what I did read, what really jumped out at me was the way Jagerstatter appears as a "social deviant" for refusing to conform to social norms, but that he was doing so because he was conforming to the real moral norms.
Zahn's book is available for free on Archive.org so it was easy to get ahold of to read (I would have preferred the more newly-published Letters and Writings from Prison, but that's harder to get my hands on; maybe someday). It's not the most riveting read; it's fairly dry and scholarly when the same content could have been written more like a biography. But, I appreciate Zahn's thoroughness in discussing his method, who he talked to, and the results of those conversations, and honesty regarding what wasn't clear or certain (the part on whether or not he was actually a pacifist was especially helpful).
The highlight was definitely Jagerstatter's own writings, though reading them after Zahn's discussion of Jagerstatter gave a deeper understanding of them.
Some of the things I was most struck by:
- Franz's joy and peace at death
- Comments about the seriousness of eternity and saving our souls versus saving our skin
- Reminders about the eternity of the kingdom of God over earthly kingdoms
- When a government is ungodly and you cannot give allegiance to it honestly - you face either the dishonesty of falsely swearing the oath (something Jagerstatter could not do in good conscience), or relinquishing your rights under that government in order to keep them in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jagerstatter sets up the Kingdom of God and the Third Reich as opposing kingdoms - Hitler demands a public confession of allegiance... so does Christ, and Jagerstatter believed - as we see so clearly today - that you cannot do both. It was jarring to notice how clearly he saw this but how little those around him did.
- I didn't read all of Zahn's sociology reflections, but of what I did read, what really jumped out at me was the way Jagerstatter appears as a "social deviant" for refusing to conform to social norms, but that he was doing so because he was conforming to the real moral norms.
May 4, 2019
Coming at this book from the perspective of someone who has not studied sociology there is a lot to sift through to get to the story of Franz Jägerstätter. There were sections of this book that made it worth the read, but I definitely did not fly through it.
In particular the section on the official church position in response to Jägerstätter's action shortly after his death was absolutely fascinating and worrisome. The translations of his letters are also a wonderful addition that help the reader gain a much better understanding of who this man really was.
If there is a better capturing of Jägerstätter's life I would love to read it, but as it stands I think this is the best we have. It does the job, but it does not make it easy on the reader.
In particular the section on the official church position in response to Jägerstätter's action shortly after his death was absolutely fascinating and worrisome. The translations of his letters are also a wonderful addition that help the reader gain a much better understanding of who this man really was.
If there is a better capturing of Jägerstätter's life I would love to read it, but as it stands I think this is the best we have. It does the job, but it does not make it easy on the reader.
April 23, 2018
Jagerstatter's story is told partly through his own writing and partly through remembrances of those who encountered him.
Zahn, a sociologist, cobbles this all together and presents it in documentary style: he narrates his own journey to Austria in the early 1960s as he seeks out Jagerstatter's legacy.
I'd recommend this to any of those "hindsight heroes" who feel so certain about how they would have reacted to the Nazi regime.
Zahn, a sociologist, cobbles this all together and presents it in documentary style: he narrates his own journey to Austria in the early 1960s as he seeks out Jagerstatter's legacy.
I'd recommend this to any of those "hindsight heroes" who feel so certain about how they would have reacted to the Nazi regime.
January 12, 2020
Very interesting book about a young soldier who was drafted into the Nazi army and refused to be apart of anything to do with the war effort. The author had a balanced and fair approach to his very controversial decision and it consequences for his wife and young family.
August 30, 2020
Loved it! He is a fantastic martyr! Of course you have to understand his reasons for doing what he did, but he is a model for us today when people are afraid to say what they think because of the pressure to conform to the ideas in fashion.
December 15, 2019
A moral man who said no to evil because...it was evil. So simple it is still a mystery to many.
November 23, 2023
Audiobook
June 7, 2021
This book is a martyr's story. Gordon Zahn is considered the definitive work on Jagerstatter who literally laid down his life because he refused service in Hitler’s armies, against all in his village, even his wife, the clergy, and the Pope. He was a conscientious objector, standing alone in his witness. Dorthy Day, herself canonized said of Jagerstatter: “When confronted with that harrowing question, ‘Why doesn’t the Church take such a stand as yours, why don’t the Cardinals, the Bishops, the parish priests take such a stand? he could only reply, They did not have the grace.”
Franz’s vocation was to be a solitary witness, to point to the world the personal responsibility of each one of us. Franz was born on May 20, 1907, in St. Radegund, a small village in Upper Austria. His natural father was killed in World War 1 and when his mother married her child was adopted by her husband. He was wild in his youth, and the villagers always remembered the young Franz. His religious awakening came on a honeymoon trip to Rome with is bride. He became sexton of the village Church in addition to his work as a farmer. Jagerstatter, rejected the Fuhrer and refused his orders of induction. He was imprisoned, tried, and beheaded on August 9, 1943, for his refusal to take up arms. .
When Hitler’s troops moved into Austria in 1938, Jagerstatter was the only man in the village to vote against the Anschluss. Before this he had served his military training and had not been interested in politics. After Hitler’s occupation he refused to contribute in any way to Hitler’s collections or to receive any benefits. It was necessary, he said, to disassociate oneself from the Nazi Folk Community and make no contributions to it. He refused any and all assistance from Nazi relief programs. He was alone in his refusal. Although his family lived barely above the poverty level, he donated food to the poor. Franz was openly anti-Nazi. In February 1943 and was imprisoned and after a military trial he was beheaded August 9, 1943. His body was cremated, his ashes cared for by friends and after the war buried in the churchyard of St. Radegund, and his name add to the list of those who died in the war.
As far as Franz knew, the choice he made would pass unnoticed by the world and would completely fade from human memory. The author, Gordon Zahn, who brought this story to light asked the question - “How did Franz Jagerstatter get that way?” Here are the factors identified by Zahn: simple religious devotion, poverty and a life of hard work, daily scripture study, independence (no one encouraged Franz in his act of disobedience to the state). Everyone argued against what he was doing, even the most sympathetic of priests, who could only see his resistance as futile, and even bad for the institutionalized Church.
Franz did find peace in the news that came to him in prison that Fr. Franz Reinisch, a priest had been executed for refusal to take the military oath requiring that he swear unconditional obedience to the Hitler. Upon learning the news, he said, “But this is what I have always told myself, that I cannot be following a false path. If a priest made such a decision and went to his death, then I may do so too.” In other words, one can never underestimate the power of community, even if the community is comprised on only oneself and a one other equally committed soul.
QUOTES
“There is no hiding the fact that it is much harder to be a Christian today than when it was in the first centuries, and there is every reason to predict that it will be even more difficult in the near future. When it becomes the ‘sacred duty’ of a man to commit sin, the Christian no longer knows how he should live. There remains nothing else for him to do but bear individual witness – alone. And where such witness is, there is the Kingdom of God.”
Franz’s vocation was to be a solitary witness, to point to the world the personal responsibility of each one of us. Franz was born on May 20, 1907, in St. Radegund, a small village in Upper Austria. His natural father was killed in World War 1 and when his mother married her child was adopted by her husband. He was wild in his youth, and the villagers always remembered the young Franz. His religious awakening came on a honeymoon trip to Rome with is bride. He became sexton of the village Church in addition to his work as a farmer. Jagerstatter, rejected the Fuhrer and refused his orders of induction. He was imprisoned, tried, and beheaded on August 9, 1943, for his refusal to take up arms. .
When Hitler’s troops moved into Austria in 1938, Jagerstatter was the only man in the village to vote against the Anschluss. Before this he had served his military training and had not been interested in politics. After Hitler’s occupation he refused to contribute in any way to Hitler’s collections or to receive any benefits. It was necessary, he said, to disassociate oneself from the Nazi Folk Community and make no contributions to it. He refused any and all assistance from Nazi relief programs. He was alone in his refusal. Although his family lived barely above the poverty level, he donated food to the poor. Franz was openly anti-Nazi. In February 1943 and was imprisoned and after a military trial he was beheaded August 9, 1943. His body was cremated, his ashes cared for by friends and after the war buried in the churchyard of St. Radegund, and his name add to the list of those who died in the war.
As far as Franz knew, the choice he made would pass unnoticed by the world and would completely fade from human memory. The author, Gordon Zahn, who brought this story to light asked the question - “How did Franz Jagerstatter get that way?” Here are the factors identified by Zahn: simple religious devotion, poverty and a life of hard work, daily scripture study, independence (no one encouraged Franz in his act of disobedience to the state). Everyone argued against what he was doing, even the most sympathetic of priests, who could only see his resistance as futile, and even bad for the institutionalized Church.
Franz did find peace in the news that came to him in prison that Fr. Franz Reinisch, a priest had been executed for refusal to take the military oath requiring that he swear unconditional obedience to the Hitler. Upon learning the news, he said, “But this is what I have always told myself, that I cannot be following a false path. If a priest made such a decision and went to his death, then I may do so too.” In other words, one can never underestimate the power of community, even if the community is comprised on only oneself and a one other equally committed soul.
QUOTES
“There is no hiding the fact that it is much harder to be a Christian today than when it was in the first centuries, and there is every reason to predict that it will be even more difficult in the near future. When it becomes the ‘sacred duty’ of a man to commit sin, the Christian no longer knows how he should live. There remains nothing else for him to do but bear individual witness – alone. And where such witness is, there is the Kingdom of God.”
November 30, 2020
This was a meaningful look at the life of Blessed Franz Jagerstätter, a devout Austrian peasant executed for his refusal to cooperate with Nazism. Zahn, a long-time Catholic pacifist, was given access to Jagerstätter's correspondence and was able to interview many people who knew Jagerstäter, including his wife, companions, villagers, and pastors. He was a simple man who changed from an ordinary farm-boy with a motocycle to good family man and church sexton, and finally, to a man willing to leave his beloved wife and children and quiet village and to suffer certain death because he needed to be faithful to his God and could not be part of Hitler's army
January 23, 2016
In the early 1940s, Franz Jagerstatter--a peasant farmer living in occupied Austria--refused to serve in Hitler's army, and was executed for his disobedience to the Nazi war machine. Jagerstatter had a sixth grade education, no formal training in ethics or theology, and had spent his youth in wildness. Even when Jagerstatter was offered 'non-combat' positions as a medic in the Weirmarch, he refused, and allowed himself to be executed, leaving his wife and three small children behind to work his farm. Jagerstatter was counseled by his parish priest, two prison chaplains, and a Catholic bishop, to serve and save his own life. He refused, so he was beheaded.
On October 26th, 2007, Franz Jagerstatter was beatified by the Catholic Church, which is the first step toward sainthood.
My (now retired) pastor gave me this book, and I have to admit, I find it...troubling. Why did this one man recognize the evil of the Nazi empire while nearly everyone else around him capitulated and served? What lesson can we learn from Jagerstatter's "solitary witness" against the Nazi war machine while all those around him begged and pleaded for him to ignore his conscience and compromise his belief that one could not be a Christian and serve Hitler? Jagerstatter, at the cost of his own life, would not capitulate, and has taken his place with the martyrs of the Church, where he will be remembered and honored for as long at the Roman Catholic Church exists.
A remarkable story, written by a sociologist. Worth reading for anyone interested in peace studies or Christian pacifism.
On October 26th, 2007, Franz Jagerstatter was beatified by the Catholic Church, which is the first step toward sainthood.
My (now retired) pastor gave me this book, and I have to admit, I find it...troubling. Why did this one man recognize the evil of the Nazi empire while nearly everyone else around him capitulated and served? What lesson can we learn from Jagerstatter's "solitary witness" against the Nazi war machine while all those around him begged and pleaded for him to ignore his conscience and compromise his belief that one could not be a Christian and serve Hitler? Jagerstatter, at the cost of his own life, would not capitulate, and has taken his place with the martyrs of the Church, where he will be remembered and honored for as long at the Roman Catholic Church exists.
A remarkable story, written by a sociologist. Worth reading for anyone interested in peace studies or Christian pacifism.
January 28, 2020
A thoroughly engrossing tale of a man's conscience in the face of the community's lockstep alliance with the Social Democratic government. That he lost his life and chose to die no matter how hard everyone tried to talk him into surrendering to the perverse cruelties of the Nazis was enough to make me question my own commitment to truth, justice, and my higher self's demands.
June 2, 2009
As a faith-based nonviolent person, I knew of Franz Jagerstatter for years before finally reading the book that brought his story to the world. I am awed and inspired by his courage and faithfulness.
March 12, 2020
Not what I expected.
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