Franz Jägerstätter

Infobox Saint
name=Franz Jägerstätter
birth_date=birth date|1907|5|20|mf=y
death_date=death date and age|1943|8|9|1907|5|20
feast_day=May 21
venerated_in=Roman Catholicism


imagesize=200px
caption=
titles=Martyr
birth_place=Sankt Radegund, Austria-Hungary
death_place=Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
beatified_date= October 26, 2007
beatified_place= Linz, Austria
beatified_by=Pope Benedict XVI
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
patronage=conscientious objectors

Franz Jägerstätter (May 20 1907 — August 9 1943; born as "Franz Huber") was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II and has been declared Blessed by the Roman Catholic Church. As in most countries at the time, refusal to serve mandatory military service in war time was a criminal offense in Germany, and Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed.

Life

Franz Jägerstätter (in English also spelt "Franz Jaegerstaetter") was born in Sankt Radegund, Austria, a small village near Salzburg and Braunau am Inn. He was the illegitimate child of Rosalia Huber and Franz Bachmeier. The child was first brought up by his grandmother, Elisabeth Huber. Franz's natural father was killed in World War I when he was still a child, and when his mother married, Franz was adopted by her husband, Heinrich Jägerstätter.

In his youth, Franz had gained a reputation for being a wild fellow, but, in general, his daily life was like that of most Austrian peasants. In 1933, he fathered an illegitimate daughter, Hildegard Auer. [ [http://www.dioezese-linz.at/redaktion/index.php?action_new=Lesen&Article_ID=39118 Biography of Jägerstätter (in German)] ]

In 1936, he married Franziska Schwaninger, a girl from a nearby village, and they went to Rome on their honeymoon. A Catholic by birth, he experienced a religious awakening - apparently about the time of his marriage –and later served as sexton of his parish church.

When German troops moved into Austria in 1938, Jägerstätter was the only person in the village to vote against the Anschluss. Although he was not involved with any political organization, and did undergo one brief period of military training, he remained openly anti-Nazi, and publicly declared he would not fight in the war.

After many delays, Jägerstätter was called to active duty in February, 1943. By this time, he had three daughters with his wife, the eldest not quite six. He maintained his position against fighting for the Third Reich, and was imprisoned, first at Linz, then at Berlin. After a military trial, he was beheaded on August 9 1943, aged 36.

Beatification

In June 2007 Pope Benedict XVI authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to publish a decree that declares Jägerstätter a martyr. [cite press release
title = Promulgazione di Decreti della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi
publisher =Daily bulletin - Holy See Press Office
date =2007-06-01
url =http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/20340.php?index=20340&po_date=01.06.2007&lang=en
accessdate =2007-06-02 ] With its publication the process of beatification was completed. The beatification ceremony took place on October 26, 2007 in Linz. [ [http://www.zenit.org/article-20399?l=english Martyr Chose God's Kingdom Over Hitler's: Franz Jägerstätter to Be Beatified Next Month] Zenit News Agency September 3, 2007] [cite newspaper |last=Kent |first=Bruce |title=Blessed Franz, Resister Saint The Catholic Worker January-February 2008 page 5] The ceremony was attended by his 94 year old widow, Franziska, and his four daughters.

The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, said in the beatification sermon that Jägerstätter served as a model for Christians today who sometimes are confronted with "conditioning and manipulation of consciences and minds, sometimes through deceitful means." [Thavis, John [http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0706117.htm Cardinal beatifies Austrian killed for refusing to fight for Hitler] Catholic News Service Oct-26-2007]

In literature

American sociologist Gordon Zahn wrote Jägerstätter's biography, "" (1964). Zahn happened upon the story while researching another matter in Germany in 1956 and became entranced with Jägerstätter's ultimate commitment to his faith and conscience, subsequently engaging in extensive research and interviews for the biography.

Israeli playwright Yehoshua Sobol based his play "Eyewitness" (2002) on Jägerstätter's story. It premiered in 2002 in a production by Tel Aviv's Cameri Theater, and has been [http://new.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID=2171 performed abroad] , titled "iWitness" (Hebrew: עד ראייה; lit. "eyewitness"). In the spring of 2004, an excerpt of the play was presented in the Cameri Theatre's symposium on "The Holocaust in Theatre."

References

* Gordon Zahn, "In Solitary Witness. The life and death of Franz Jägerstätter. " Templegate Publishers, Springfield, Illinois 1964, ISBN 087243141X
* Andreas Maislinger, Franz Jägerstätter. In: Conquering the Past. Austrian Nazism Yesterday & Today. Edited by Fred Parkinson. Wayne State University Press, Detroit 1989.
* Andreas Maislinger, "Franz Jägerstätter and Leopold Engleitner." In: Bernhard Rammerstorfer, "Unbroken Will. The Extraordinary Courage of an Ordinary Man. The Story of Leopold Engleitner." Grammaton Press. New Orleans 2004. ISBN 0967936640

External links

* [http://www.maislinger.net/liste_english/ Born between Salzburg and Braunau am Inn]
* [http://www.maislinger.net/Publikationen/Engleitner.htm Franz Jägerstätter and Leopold Engleitner]
* [http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20071026_jagerstatter_en.html Bl. Franz Jägerstätter (1907-1943)] Biography by the Holy See
* [http://www.jaegerstaetter.at Site about Jägerstätter - in German, with some English translations]
* [http://www.catholicpeacefellowship.org/downloads/franz_jagerstatter_martyr.pdf In Light of Eternity: Franz Jägerstätter, Martyr] By the Staff of the Catholic Peace Fellowship

Persondata
NAME=Jägerstätter, Franz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Blessed Jägerstätter
SHORT DESCRIPTION=martyr, conscientious objector
DATE OF BIRTH=May 20, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH=St. Radegund, Austria
DATE OF DEATH=August 9, 1943
PLACE OF DEATH=Brandenburg (town), Germany