EUROPE

by Josef Steinkellner, Catholic priest of St. Radegund

Franz Jägerstätter was born in May 1907, in St. Radegund, upper Austria (Diocese of Linz), as the child of a farmer’s maidservant. Right from the very beginning, Jägerstätter refused to cooperate or support the Nazis, who took over power in Austria in 1938, as he viewed Christianity and Nazism as being completely irreconcilable and declared in front of a representative of the German Wehrmacht that “he would act against his religious conscience, if he fought for the National Socialism.” Mr. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death as a conscientious objector and killed on August 9, 1943.

It took several decades for awareness about the importance of Franz Jägerstätter’s decision to grow. In the process of coming to terms with the past as to the role of Catholics within the Nazi regime, Jägerstätter’s individual choice to stand up to Hitler became evident. In the 1960s the first major biography of Jägerstätter was published by the American sociologist Gordon Zahn in the U.S. and was translated into German. In the 1970s the relevance of Jägerstätter’s decision for our time was reflected in TV productions and several publications, which stimulated widespread public debate. Pilgrims started to visit St. Radegund.

In 1993, Franz Jägerstätter House St. Radegund was founded as a memorial to Franz Jägerstätter in his and his family’s former residential building--a family farmhouse in St. Radegund. Most of the house remains in its original state. In the museum are displayed his personal belongings, his writings, and other keepsakes. His wife Franziska, who was born in 1913 and is still alive, restored the original furnishings--including the table on which Jägerstätter wrote many of his letters and essays--and many personal items such as his wedding ring, rucksack, rosary, and prayer book of the Third Order of St Francis are on display. In addition there is a biographical exhibit with photos.

About 1 kilometer from his house lies the small cemetery of the little parish church of St. Radegund, with its traditional onion dome, built in the 15th century. At the cemetery stands a memorial on which is listed the names of dozens of men who died in the two world wars. To that list the name of Franz Jägerstätter was added, as another hero, by the parish priest who was expelled by the Nazis but reinstated after the war. The martyr Franz Jägerstätter’s grave is beside the church entrance. Here in that church Franz Jägerstätter was baptised, here he married his wife, and here his children were christened. Here, too, he served as a sacristan.

A song about Franz Jägerstätter, “You Call Me,” was written in 1989. It was composed by Kathi Stimmer-Salzeder with lyrics by Martin Winklbauer based on the sayings of Franz Jägerstätter. The beatification of Franz Jägerstätter took place on October 26, 2007 in Linz Cathedral. A relic of Franz Jägerstätter’s ashes was given to the Bishop and is, together with one of his letters, now kept in the Linz Cathedral.

On August 9, 2009 there will be a pilgrimage leaving from different venues and joining into a collective commemoration on the anniversary of his hour of death at the church of St. Radegund. At 7:30 p.m. a memorial service will be conducted by Bishop Manfred Scheuer.

“Even if I write with my hands in chains, I still find it much better than if my will were in chains,” Franz Jägerstätter once said. The life of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter should be an inspiration to people all over the world to make our world today a more peaceful place. His example encourages us and the Church to be more courageous in choosing the way of Christ, the way of peace, even at times when it would be more comfortable to opt for a quiet life. Franz Jägerstätter’s decision to resist to the death should remind us of the importance of saying NO and of “standing out from the crowd” in our time.

Address: St. Radegund 31 5121 Ostermiething AUSTRIA
Phone: +43-6278-821932
Homepage: http://www.dioezese-linz.at/redaktion/index.php?page_new=870
Days closed: There are no holidays; open any day by appointment.
Admissions: Free (charitable donations would be appreciated)

(Originally published on June 22, 2009)