Franz Jagerstatter, Icon for Conscience
“Actions speak louder than words.” An enduring example of this time-tested principle was an Austrian farmer, Franz Jagerstatter, who at the age of thirty-seven was executed for refusing to enter Hitler’s army. By refusing to cave into peer pressure, Franz did what he thought was right in the face of evil. He followed his conscience, saying he would rather die following the Lord’s teaching than live and betray what he knew was the right thing to do.
Franz was born out of wedlock on May 20, 1907, to a man killed in World War I. His birthplace was a small Catholic village of St. Radegund on the border of Austria and Germany. He took the Jagerstatter name from a farmer who eventually married his mother and adopted him. Franz grew up on a farm and like most of his peers, left school at age 14.
As a young man, Franz had a wild side. According to his biographer, the American Catholic pacifist Gordon Zahn, Franz enjoyed fighting, card playing, bowling, dancing and women. At the age of twenty seven, he fathered a child out of wedlock, as had his own father. The birth of this, however, converted Franz from his wild ways and set him on a spiritual journey that transformed him into a new person.
Franz made a pilgrimage to a local shrine and even considered entering a religious order. However, he returned to the farm and married a loving wife, with a similar religious outlook on life. Franz became active in his local church as a sacristan would often be heard singing religious songs or reciting the rosary as he worked in the fields or walked to the church. He went to daily Mass and often fasted until noon out of deep respect for the Blessed Sacrament. At sacrifice to his own family, he shared food with the poor living in his area.
When Hitler marched into Austria, Franz was the only one in his community who voted against the annexation of Austria by Germany. He saw Hitler as an evil man who wanted allegiance to him to replace one’s allegiance to God. When his contemporaries, even leading churchmen, would salute “Heil Hitler,” Franz would refuse to do so.
In February of 1943 Franz received a draft notice. By then he had three young daughters, the oldest of whom was only six. Franz refused to serve in the army of the Third Reich. His neighbors thought him a fanatic. Even his pastor, a good priest who also opposed Nazism, urged him to serve for the sake of his family. The local bishop joined in, arguing that Franz was not knowledgeable enough to oppose the government’s position. Franz continually refused to submit himself to what he considered an evil regime. He was eventually imprisoned for his beliefs.
In prison, his wife was allowed to visit him. She tried to get him to change his mind. So did the prison chaplain (priest) who insisted that Franz was an extremist for refusing to join the army. After six months of refusal to relent, Franz underwent a military trial in Berlin. He was sentenced to death by decapitation on August 9, 1943.
Franz left behind a small collection of writings. In one letter from prison, he wrote
“Today one can hear it said repeatedly that there is nothing any more an individual can do. If someone were to speak out, it would only mean imprisonment and death. True, there is not much that can be done anymore to influence the whole course of world events…But as long as we live in this world, I believe it is never too late to save ourselves and perhaps some other soul for God… Do we no longer want to see confidence - who, in the midst of tension, gloom, selfishness, and hate, stand fast in perfect peace and cheerfulness - who are not like the floating reed which is driven here and there by every breeze – who do not merely watch to see what their friends will do but instead, ask themselves, “What does our faith teach us about all this,” or “Can my conscience bear this so easily that I will never have to repent?”
Response Questions:
1)Do you believe that Franz was right to die for his beliefs, why or why not?
2)What is a cause that you are passionate about and be willing to give your life for (not necessarily die for this cause but spend your life supporting it)? Explain this belief.
3)Do you think nonviolent resistance is effective in working to fight against injustice and bring about change, why or why not?
4)What would you have done if you were in Franz’s position and why?
5)Famous Catholic theologian and monk Thomas Merton wrote this quote about peace, “Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience. Instead of hating the people you think are warmakers, hate the appetites and the disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed, but hate these things in yourself, not in another.” What do you think is the main message that Merton is saying? Do you agree with Merton’s position, why or why not?