FOCUS SCRIPTURE
Acts 7:51-60
DAILY BYTE
In the early hours of March1, 1943, an Austrian peasant by the name of Franz Jagerstätter said goodbye to his wife and home and set off by foot for the neighboring town. On a hill on the outskirts of St Radegund, he turned one last time to take in the village of his birth, the parish church where he had served as a groundsman, and the fields where he had laboured as a farmer. A neighbour called out to him in the customary greeting, “Go with God, Franz,” to which Franz answered somewhat ominously, “You’ll see no more of me.”
The next day he turned himself in at the registration centre in the neighbouring town, where he had been ordered to report for military service in Hitler’s army. After stating his refusal to serve, he was arrested and imprisoned. He was later tried before a military court in Berlin and sentenced to death. On August 9, 1943, he was executed as an ‘enemy of the state.’
To the villagers of St Radegund, Jagerstätter’s death was a sad embarrassment. But no one was surprised by his stand. It was well known that he had undergone a profound religious conversion sometime after his marriage. Once known as something of a village ruffian, he returned with zeal to the faith of his upbringing. He became known as a man of honesty and high principle, devoted to his family and the practice of his faith. In normal times these characteristics would not have distinguished him from his neighbours, much less hastened his death. But these were not normal times.
With the rise of the Nazis in the 1930’s Jagerstätter was outspoken against what he was convinced was a gathering tide of evil. He was the only person in his village to vote against Austria being annexed into ‘Greater Germany.’ He let it be known that whatever happened, he would never serve in Hitler’s army.
The moment of decision came for him when he received his conscription orders in 1943. Before taking his fateful stand Franz sought the counsel of his parish priest and local bishop. They joined his wife, family and neighbours in trying to shake his dangerous resolution. Franz considered every argument, from the appeal to his responsibilities as a husband and the father of three daughters, to his duties to the Fatherland and his obligation to leave political judgements to those in higher authority. But no one could persuade Franz to change his conviction that any form of service in Hitler’s army would involve recognition of the Nazi cause. This, he was convinced, would be a violation of the gospel principles by which he sought to live his life.
While in prison Franz continued to hear appeals from the prison chaplain, his attorney, and even the military officers before whom he was tried, urging him to renounce his conscience and save his life. But Franz was convinced that there were things more important than his physical life, which he could not prolong at the cost of his integrity.
At the time, Franz Jagerstätter’s death seemed fruitless, achieving very little or nothing at all. And yet, the witness of his courageous stand for conscience sake has become an example that continues to illuminate the path of the generations that follow him.
(Source: All Saints by Robert Ellsberg.)
Questions for reflection:
- How does Franz Jagerstätter’s story make you feel? (Inspired? Angry? Disbelieving? Grateful? Challenged? Ashamed? Regretful? Other feelings?)
- While it’s unlikely that any of us will ever have to face the kind of choice that Franz Jagerstätter faced, with the life or death consequences that it brought, what are the issues that you would hope to stand firm on in a similar way?
We thank you, O God, for the courageous example of people like Franz Jagerstätter. Thank you for the inspiration that we find in lives lived with deep integrity. As we think about the things that really matter to us, may your convictions and principles increasingly become ours. And may our resolute commitment to live lives of integrity be a compelling witness to others. Amen
Stretched out upon my prison bed,
I stare at the empty wall.
Outside a summer morning,
regardless of me, goes rejoicing in the country.
Brother, while the long night waits,
until our day dawns, we shall hold our ground!
(Excerpt from one of the prison poems of the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was also imprisoned and executed by the Nazi regime.)
No comments:
Post a Comment