Jägerstätter biographer: Trenches violate human dignity
At the Jägerstätter commemoration in St. Radegund, historian Putz recalls the justification for Pope Benedict's beatification and the anti-war testimonies of former Wehrmacht soldiers.
Jägerstätter's biographer Erna Putz recalled the justification for the beatification of Upper Austrian conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter by Pope Benedict XVI. As part of the annual commemoration ceremony for the martyr executed by the Nazis on August 9, 1943, the historian quoted the German Pope in Jägerstätter's hometown of St. Radegund: "He gave his life in generous self-denial, with a sincere conscience, in fidelity to the Gospel and for the dignity of the human person."
Putz referred to many declarations by former World War II soldiers at Jägerstätter memorial days that there should "never be war again." They had testified to this conviction throughout their lives. For those who had personally witnessed this horror know: "Is the dignity of the human person more seriously questioned anywhere than in the trenches?"
The deeply religious Innviertel farmer and sexton Franz Jägerstätter did not take his decision to refuse to join Hitler's Germany's war of aggression lightly, the historian recalled. In a recently surfaced text, Jägerstätter explained how he came to believe that it is religiously permissible to refuse obedience to secular authorities on the issue of military service. Before that, he had always believed that he had to fundamentally obey secular authority, even if it was not Christian. This attitude changed after Austria's "Anschluss" to the Third Reich, which was committed to a criminal ideology. The "escape route" of considering going along with the Nazis as defense of the fatherland no longer applied to Jägerstätter either. There are things where one must obey God more than men – based on the commandment "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," Erna Putz described the religious conviction for which Jägerstätter ultimately accepted martyrdom.
Annual Commemoration on August 9th
On the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of the death of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter (1907-1943), the annual international commemoration will take place on August 8th and 9th in his Upper Austrian hometown of St. Radegund. Since 1983, the celebrations have been an integral part of remembering the Nazi conscientious objector. The event began on Friday evening with an evening prayer in the parish church of St. Radegund. Following Erna Putz's remarks, Wolfgang Palaver, a social ethicist and president of Pax Christi Austria, spoke on Saturday morning on the topic of "Human Rights and Democracy Under Pressure - Resilience from Christian Peace Ethics." Following the lectures, the traditional pilgrimage on foot from Tarsdorf to St. Radegund will begin at 1:30 p.m. A prayer service will be held in the parish church at the hour of Jägerstätter's death. The event will conclude on August 9th at 7:30 p.m. with a service featuring a sermon by Linz diocesan Bishop Manfred Scheuer, followed by a candlelight procession to the Blessed's grave.
Franz Jägerstätter, a farmer, sexton, and family man from the Innviertel region, had refused to bear arms to fight for the Nazi regime for religious reasons. He was subsequently sentenced to death by the Reich Military Court in Berlin for "undermining military morale" and executed by beheading on August 9th, 1943, in Brandenburg an der Havel. The Vatican officially confirmed Franz Jägerstätter's martyrdom on June 1st, 2007. His beatification took place on October 26th, 2007, under Bishop Ludwig Schwarz in Linz's St. Mary's Cathedral. Franz Jägerstätter's liturgical memorial day is the day of his baptism, May 21st.
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