AUSTRIA AUSTRIA BIOGRAPHY 1907 birth as Franz Huber

AUSTRIA

AUSTRIA

BIOGRAPHY • 1907 birth as Franz Huber in St. Radegund his mother was Rosalia Huber, father Franz Bachmeier. Living in poverty (both farm-labourers) • 1917 adopted by Heinrich Jägerstätter (farmer) „Leherbauer“ • 1927 leaves his village for work as a miner in Styria

• 1930 return as farmer (owner) first daughter born • 1936 marriage with Franziska Schwaninger • three daughters

• 1938 refusal at NS-“referendum“ (Franz votes against Germany) Austria becomes a province of the German „Reich“ („Empire“) • 1940/41 education as a motorcycle - driver (German Wehrmacht)

1943 • March 2 nd: refusal after order in writing at Enns baracks in Upper Austria. Prison in Linz „Ursulinenhof“ (occupied monastery and school of „Ursuline“ sisters, used as barracks and army prison) • May 4 th: transport to Berlin • July 6 th: death sentence • August 9 th: execution

After 1943 • • No warriors rent for Franziska Urn arrives 1946 on a moped (autocycle) Pubilcations are rejected in 1946 Research from Gordon Zahn after 1964 Publications, films, Pax Christi, Erna Putz Canonization in Linz, 2007 March 2013: Franziska dies early after her 100 th birthday. 70 years widow, about 20 great-grandchildren are living.

DEATH SENTENCE

Received 20 th July 1943 IN THE NAME OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE MILITARY VERDICT In the criminal case against the driver Franz Jägerstätter Company of the Transport Reserve, Section 17 Enns, Born on 20. 5. 1907 in Radegund (Upper Danube), At present detained in the military remand prison, Berlin-Tegel for undermining military morale.

Participants in the hearing on 6 th July 1943: As Judges: Reich´s Military Court Counsellor Lueben, Session Leader; Air Force General Musshoff; Vice Admiral Arps; Major General Schreiber; Senior Reich´s Military Court Counsellor Ranft. As Prosector: Senior Reich´s Military Court Counsellor Dr. Kleint. As clerk to the court: Senior Reich´s Military Court Inspector Wagner Have judged and confirmed as right and just: The accused is sentenced to death for undermining military morale and is deprived of all rights to serve and civil rights. In the name of the law.

In February 1943 the accused was ordered in writing to report for renewed active military service in the Transport Reserve, Section 17, at Enns on 25 th February 1943. At first he did not report because he rejected Nationalsocialism and for that reason was not willing to perfom military service. Upon the urging of Familiy members and the advice of his local pastor he finally reported at the unit headquarters in Enns on 1 st March 1943. There he immediately declared his refusal to bear arms in military service because of his religious convictions.

Under interrogation by the court officer he held to that position despite advice and warnings as to the consequences of such refusal. He declared it would be violating his religious conscience if he were to fight for the National Socialist state. He reiterated his refusal in his hearing before the investigator for the Division 487 court in Linz as well, and to the representative of the Military Tribunal´s legal staff. He declared himself ready, however, to serve as a medical orderly as an exercise of Christian charity.

Greetings in God, my dearest, beloved wife and all my children. Your letters of July 13 and 25 have been received, and I am truly grateful for them. Today it is exactly four weeks since we saw each other for the last time in this world. This morning at about 5. 30 we were suddenly told to dress; the car was already waiting. Along with several other men under sentence of death, I was brought here to Brandenburg. We did not yet know what would happen to us. Not until noon was I told that my sentence was confirmed on 14 July, and is to be carried out today at about 4 pm.

Now I wish to write a few words of farewell. Dearest wife and mother, I thank you once more from my heart for everything that you have done for me in my lifetime, for all the love an sacrifice that you have borne for me: and I beg you again to forgive me if I have hurt or offended you, just as I have forgiven everything. I beg, too, that all others I have ever offended may forgive me, especially Father Fürthauer, if perhaps my words offended him when he visited me with you. I forgive everyone from my heart. May God accept my life as a sacrifice in reparation not only for my sins but for the sins of others as well.

Dearest wife and mother, it was not possible for me to free you from the pain that you must now suffer on my account. How hard it must have been for our dear Saviour when, trough His sufferings and death, He had to prepare such great sorrow for His Mother – and they bore this out of love for us sinners. I thank our Saviour, too, that I am privileged to suffer and even die for Him. I trust that, in His unending mercy, God has forgiven me everything and will not abandon me in the last hour….

Jesus will now come to me in Holy Communion and strengthen me for the journey of eternity. In Tegel, too, I had the grace of receiving the Blessed Sacrament four times. My heartfelt greetings to my dear children. I will surely beg dear God, if I am permitted to enter heaven soon, that He may set aside a little place in heaven for all of you.

And now your husband, son, father, son-in-law and brother-in-law greets you once more before his final journey. May the heart of Jesus, the heart of Mary, and my heart be one, united for time and eternity. Mary, with the Child so dear, give us all your blessings.

Annulment of the death sentence Berlin District Court In the case of annulment, Concerning Franz Jägerstätter, born 20 th May 1907 in Radegund (Upper Danube) Austria, The sentence of the Reich´s Court Martial dated 6 July 1943 – St. PL (HLS) II 53/43 – St. PL (RKA) I 98/43 – is annulled as a result of applications made by Franziska Jägerstätter, Rosalia Sigl, Maria Dammer und Aloisia Maier, as well as an application made by the public prosecution department I at Berlin District Court.

The decision is based on political grounds, as the person concerned was condemned to death in order, by this means, to create a politicallymotivated deterrent which the Reich Court Material sought to achieve by pronouncing a large number of death sentences on Jehovah´s Witness and on other church members (cf Haase, the Reich Court Martial ans Resistance against Nazi Rule, p. 47) Berlin, 7 th Mai 1997 Berlin District Court. Criminal Divison 17 Baae Lohrengel Groth

Questions for us today • Which are the political and economic reasons behind military activities and mobilizations today? • Iraq invasion 2003? • Afghanistan? • Syria invasion 2013? • What are we, the EU, doing towards immigrants from African states?

Violence • Is our lifestyle relevant for the destruction of room to live for migrating peoples? • On which side are we? • Serve the public by healing the wounds? (as Franz Jägerstätter had been ready for) • The loss of an Empire and our obligations for consequences and outcomes?

• May the heart of Jesus, the heart of Mary and my heart be one, united for time and eternity. • What does this mean in recognizing our responsibility, duty, consuming, work? • What does it mean in our action? Act in your responsibility as Jesus would have told you to act.

JÄGERSTÄTTER – A SYMBOL Models of faith such as Franz Jägerstätter should not only be seen from the point of view of their moral and religious attitude and behaviour, but also as signs of God´s grace, as symbols that god places before us at particular times. They should guide and motivate us on our own Journeys of faith.

Jägerstätter´s message is to remain true to one´s conscience and live out one´s faith, which carries a political responsibility. This means ordering both your private and public life a according to the will of God, respecting the demands of your conscience and consequently assuming social responsibility, even in the face of opposition.

Photocredit: Erna Putz, Diözese Linz Text: Severin Renoldner alle: Austria 4020 Linz, Kapuzinerstraße 84 http: //www. jaegerstaetter. at post@dioezese-linz. at Impressum/Offenlegung: http: //www. dioezese-linz. at/offenlegung