Between Catholicism and State Law: The conflict of Franz Jagerstatter

The life of the blessed man
Franz Jägerstätter was born on May 20th 1907 in St. Radegund in Austria as Franz Huber. His parents Rosalia Huber and Franz Bachmeier were servants. Since they were both too poor to be married or raise their own children, Franz was actually raised by his grandmother. His biological father later married a richer woman from another farm. Franz could not get a higher education in the countryside and during the First World War there was a great famine in this region. His situation changed suddenly in 1917 when his mother married the farmer whom she was working for, Heinrich Jägerstätter.  Then Franz’ last name was changed to Jägerstätter and he lived on the farm where there was enough to eat. Through his new family Franz had access to books and he started to read and discovered his love for education. As a young man he worked in the iron industry in the Steiermark.  With this income Franz bought a motorcycle with which he is illustrated in our chapel in the stained glass window (see the front cover). He was the first person in his village to own such a vehicle. Franz inherited the farm and on April 9th 1936, he married Franziska Schwaninger. They had three daughters named Maria, Aloisia and Rosalia.

On the 12th of March 1938, Austria was annexed by Germany under Adolf Hitler. Franz and some other farm-owners were given the opportunity of becoming the new mayor of the village. But all mayors had to accept Nazi doctrine and had to cooperate with the new government.  Through his readings about Catholicism and his practising of the Catholic belief, Franz realised very soon that his religion could not to be reconciled with the ideas of the Nazis. He became an opponent of the new regime and so he refused to become the new mayor. On April 10th 1938, an election about the annexation of Austria took place and Franz was the only person in his village to vote against it. Franz did not make any donations to the NSDAP (“Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei”, the party of the Nazis) and it became more and more clear to everyone that he was not in favour of them.

In June of the same year Franz was called up to military service in the Nazi Army, but soon returned to his farm through the intervention of the mayor.  In October he was called up again. This time Franz trained with the military, but never fought in the front lines. In April 1941 his home parish told the authorities that Franz was a sacristan, which was considered a “reserved occupation” that exempted him from military service. Because Franz had felt uncomfortable in the military, he proclaimed publicly that fighting for Hitler was irreconcilable with his Catholic faith. Saying that openly at this time would certainly lead to the death penalty. His family and friends tried to change his mind in case he would be called up again, telling him that he had a responsibility to provide for his family. Franz consulted the bishop of Linz, Josef Fließer, with this issue.  Fearful that Jägerstätter might be a spy for the Gestapo, the Bishop tried to convince Franz to serve in the military.  During this time period, the Gestapo was giving the church a lot a pressure. Eight out of twelve priests from the deanery had been arrested by the Nazis.  So the bishop might have been trying to protect Franz and the church in his diocese. Only his wife Franziska fully supported Franz in his decision although she knew about the consequences.

On February 23rd 1943 he was called up again and he went to Enns on the 1st of March. There he proclaimed his conscientious objection and he was brought to a military prison in Linz, where he found out that he was not the only person refusing to fight for Hitler. On the 4th of May he was brought to Berlin-Tegel and on July 6th he was sentenced to death.  Franz Jägerstätter was beheaded on the 9th of August 1943 in a prison in Brandenburg an der Havel.

After the war, his urn was brought to St. Radegund to be entombed there on the 9th of August 1946. Pope Benedict XVI confirmed the martyrdom of Franz Jägerstätter on June 1st, 2007. Therefore, the process of beatification can now be arranged.

The personal conflicts of Franz Jägerstätter
Franz did not refuse the military service completely. In the beginning he believed the church’s teaching that under certain circumstances Catholics could be allowed to serve in a war. That is probably why he followed the first two call-ups and other people  called him back to the village. It was not his own initiative to return to his family. Through a spiritual process during his time in the military, Franz arrived at the conclusion that what the army did in this war was sinful. Shortly before his execution he offered to serve in the war as a medic, which would not be a sin as he judged then.  Earlier in the war, he had refused to serve in this position because it was indirectly helping the Nazis.

Franz thought a lot about morals and the sense of evil in the world. He concluded that the church in Austria had not had the courage to refuse national-socialism when Germany and Austria were unified (although Franz was not the only critic).  Franz criticised the church and his society for being silent. On the other hand there had been resistance in the church as many priests were arrested by the Nazis in Austria. Franz doubted the justification of the German war against Russian bolshevism, in which Hitler appealed to Christians to fight against the atheistic Communists.  He expressed all his thoughts in letters to friends and the family.

The conflict arose when he realised that refusing to fight would lead to his death. He had a responsibility towards his family to stay alive in order to provide for them. There were big fights in the last months of Franz’ life between him and family members as well as priests who all wanted to convince him to go to war in order to protect his family. Since his wife alone supported him in his decision, she was even accused later of having caused the death of her husband. Franz was not only fighting against the government, but also against his own friends and family. He gave witness to the greater love, to God, with an incredible trust in the divine guidance in those turbulent and horrific times against all discouragement. That makes him courageous and admirable for us. His faith and trust in God should be an example for us in our times. Let us meditate upon Franz and upon our time where we are called to stand firm in our faith amidst a world becoming all too secular and less inclined to hear to witnesses to the Gospel of love. 

Jägerstätter on June 1st, 2007. Therefore, the process of beatification can now be arranged.

The personal conflicts of Franz Jägerstätter
Franz did not refuse the military service completely. In the beginning he believed the church’s teaching that under certain circumstances Catholics could be allowed to serve in a war. That is probably why he followed the first two call-ups and other people  called him back to the village. It was not his own initiative to return to his family. Through a spiritual process during his time in the military, Franz arrived at the conclusion that what the army did in this war was sinful. Shortly before his execution he offered to serve in the war as a medic, which would not be a sin as he judged then.  Earlier in the war, he had refused to serve in this position because it was indirectly helping the Nazis.

Franz thought a lot about morals and the sense of evil in the world. He concluded that the church in Austria had not had the courage to refuse national-socialism when Germany and Austria were unified (although Franz was not the only critic).  Franz criticised the church and his society for being silent. On the other hand there had been resistance in the church as many priests were arrested by the Nazis in Austria. Franz doubted the justification of the German war against Russian bolshevism, in which Hitler appealed to Christians to fight against the atheistic Communists.  He expressed all his thoughts in letters to friends and the family.

The conflict arose when he realised that refusing to fight would lead to his death. He had a responsibility towards his family to stay alive in order to provide for them. There were big fights in the last months of Franz’ life between him and family members as well as priests who all wanted to convince him to go to war in order to protect his family. Since his wife alone supported him in his decision, she was even accused later of having caused the death of her husband. Franz was not only fighting against the government, but also against his own friends and family. He gave witness to the greater love, to God, with an incredible trust in the divine guidance in those turbulent and horrific times against all discouragement. That makes him courageous and admirable for us. His faith and trust in God should be an example for us in our times. Let us meditate upon Franz and upon our time where we are called to stand firm in our faith amidst a world becoming all too secular and less inclined to hear to witnesses to the Gospel of love.