
Franz Jagerstatter was born in Austria near Salzburg. His father and mother were not married when he was conceived and his father left shortly after Franz's mother, Rosalia Huber, discovered that she was pregnant. Franz was raised, at first, by his mother and his grandmother--Elisabeth Huber. Though his father--Franz Bachmeier--was not quite the strong father figure Franz might have hoped for,it was impacting and painful when Franz Sr. died in World War I. Franz's mother would, eventually, marry Heinrich Jagerstatter and Franz would take his new father's surname as his own.
He lived a fairly typical life for an Austrian peasant in the early to mid 20th century. There were particular indicators of any religious or spiritual life of note. Like his father, he had a child with a woman outside of marriage.Eventually, he settled down and married a local woman by the name of Franziska Schwaninger. They would go on to have three children of their own. In many ways, this story could be the story of countless others if we stopped right here. But, Franziska had an interesting effect on Franz. Her quiet and confident faith kindled, anew, the embers of Franz's faith buried deep within him.They honeymooned in Rome. Spiritual experiences there coupled with Franziska's steady compassion for her new husband resulted in renewed dedication of Franz to his faith and the Church. He, soon, found himself serving as sexton of a local parish when he wasn't busy providing for his family in the fields.
Shortly thereafter, the Nazis annexed Austria. When


Franz would confide to a priest shortly before his execution that he knew that his one small death would not stop the Imperial war machine. Rather, he understood his death--his martyrdom--as "a sign that not everyone let themselves be carried away with the tide." Franz did not, in fact, get carried away with the deceptive and destructive tide of the Third Reich. Refusing to lay down his life in cooperation with the Empire, he sacrificed it in front of them and testified to a powerful faith that refused violence and powers even when they came with a strong rationalization or the illusion of benevolence.
No comments:
Post a Comment