Seliger Franz Jägerstätter (geb. Huber) OFS

Franz Jägerstätter, 1940 — Franz Jägerstätter in 1940 (Mikrut 2000)

Personalia

Born:

May 20, 1907, St. Radegrund

Died:

August 9, 1943, Brandenburg-Görden

Profession:

Farmer

Persecution:

Imprisoned March 2, 1943 – August 9, 1943,
Murdered on August 9, 1943

Curriculum Vitae

Franz Jägerstätter was born out of wedlock at his mother’s family home, the Adamsölde, at Hadermark 22, and grew up there. His biological father was Franz Bachmeier (killed in action on October 25, 1914, in Walawa near Przemyśl); his mother was Rosalia Huber. Since his mother was unmarried at the time of his birth, he went by the name Franz Huber for the first ten years of his life. His parents were poor and could neither marry nor raise a child, which is why Franz stayed with his maternal grandmother, Elisabeth Huber, until 1916; he then moved to his fallen father’s farm to live with his Bachmeier grandparents. On February 19, 1917, his mother married Heinrich Jägerstätter, a farmer in St. Radegund, who adopted Franz; as a result, Franz took the name Franz Jägerstätter from that point on.

In the summer of 1927, Franz Jägerstätter worked briefly on a farm in Teising, and then as a miner in Eisenerz until 1930. With the money he earned, he bought a Puch motorcycle (Series 250), which caused a stir because it was the first motorcycle registered in St. Radegund. When his stepfather, Heinrich Jägerstätter—who had no children of his own—died in 1933, Franz inherited the farm. A few months later, Theresia Auer, a maid on the Jägerstätter farm, gave birth to a girl who was baptized Hildegard. Franz Jägerstätter claimed to be the father of the child born out of wedlock.

On April 9, 1936—Maundy Thursday—he married Franziska Schwaninger. The newlyweds decided against a wedding reception and instead went on a pilgrimage to Rome. The marriage produced three daughters: Rosalia, Maria, and Aloisia.

After the German Reich’s occupation of Austria on March 12, 1938, he refused to accept the position of mayor that was offered to him. In the subsequent referendum on April 10, 1938, regarding Austria’s reunification with the German Reich, he was the only person in the village to vote “No.” The election authorities, however, suppressed the dissenting vote and reported 100 percent approval for the Anschluss.

His rejection of National Socialism was initially evident in his gradual withdrawal from public life in his community, his refusal to accept benefits from the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), and his refusal to donate to the party—even though he was otherwise very generous. In 1940, ten local residents, including Franz Jägerstätter, were denounced in a letter to the mayor as opponents of National Socialism; however, the mayor did not forward the letter to any authorities.

On June 17, 1940, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in Braunau am Inn. Because at that time he “considered it a sin not to obey the orders of the state,” he took the oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler there. Franz Jägerstätter refused to apply for exemption, but thanks to the mayor’s intervention, he was able to return to his farm after a few days. In October 1940, he was called up to Enns for basic training as a driver. There, on December 8, 1940, he joined the Third Order of St. Francis (OFS) together with the soldier Rudolf Mayr. At the request of his home parish, he was classified as indispensable in April 1941 and was able to return to his family. Afterward, Franz Jägerstätter concelebrated Holy Mass daily and, beginning in the summer of 1941, served as sacristan at the parish church of St. Radegund.

Franz Jägerstätter at his wedding (Kardinal König Haus)

His negative experiences in the military, the Nazis’ euthanasia killings—which he learns about around this time—and the persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nazis strengthen his resolve to refuse military service. Franz Jägerstätter’s momentous decision was based both on numerous conversations and letters with friends and clergy, as well as on a thorough reading of the Bible and numerous pamphlets and books. He publicly declared that, as a devout Catholic, he could not perform military service, since it would be against his religious conscience to fight for the Nazi state. Those around him tried to change his mind and reminded him of his responsibility toward his family, but they could not refute his arguments. He even spoke with Josef Fließer, the Bishop of Linz; the bishop, too, advised him against refusing military service. His wife supported him, even though she was aware of the consequences.

This train is headed for hell.

Franz Jägerstätter's Inner Voice

On February 23, 1943, Franz Jägerstätter received his draft notice to report to the Wehrmacht in Enns, where he reported for duty on March 1. After declaring his refusal to perform military service, he was transferred on March 2 to the Wehrmacht remand prison in Linz. There he learned that other men were also refusing military service and engaging in resistance. On May 4, he was transferred to Berlin-Tegel. He refused to recant his conscientious objection. His last doubts were dispelled when he learned from the prison chaplain, Heinrich Kreutzberg, that the Austrian student representative and Pallottine priest Franz Reinisch had also refused military service and had been executed for it.

That’s what I’ve always said—I can’t be on the wrong path. If even a priest made that choice and died for it, then I can do it too.

Franz Jägerstätter on the Murder of Franz Reinisch

On July 6, 1943, the Second Senate of the Reich War Court (RKG) in Berlin-Charlottenburg, presided over by Reich War Court Councilor Werner Lueben, sentenced him to death for undermining military morale. On July 14, 1943, the verdict was upheld by Admiral Max Bastian, the presiding judge of the RKG. According to the RKG, Jägerstätter was willing to perform medical service, but the court did not address this offer. On August 9, 1943, Franz Jägerstätter was taken to the Central Execution Site for Execution District IV at the Brandenburg an der Havel Penal Servitude, where he was murdered by the guillotine at 4:00 p.m.

Following the execution, his body was cremated on August 11, 1943, at the Brandenburg Crematorium. However, instead of following the instructions of the prison authorities—which stipulate that those sentenced to death are to be buried anonymously—the cemetery administration proceeds in accordance with the general regulations for cremation, labeling the urn with the name, dates of birth, death, and cremation, and also providing a firebrick bearing the cremation number for unambiguous identification. The urn is buried at the municipal cemetery, where Franciscan nuns plant flowers at the burial site after the cemetery administrator shows them the location.

Franz Jägerstätter, circa 1938 (Mikrut 2000)

In June 1946, at the request of Franziska Jägerstätter, a Franciscan nun brought the urn to Vöcklabruck, where the pastor of St. Radegund picked it up in July. On August 9, 1946, the urn was interred against the south wall of the church, to the left of the entrance. Pastor Karobath wrote in the parish chronicle: “I ask my successors to preserve this grave.”