Home > World War II > Franz Jaggerstatter Biography

Born May 20, 1907
St. Radegund, Austria
Died August 9, 1943
Berlin, Germany
Austrian farmer and conscientious
objector during World War II

During Adolf Hitler's reign as leader of Germany, those who lived in countries ruled by the Nazi Party (the National Socialist German Workers' Party) were subjected to an iron rule. Refusing to follow Nazi orders brought swift, brutal punishment and often death. Few people had the courage to resist. Yet Franz Jaggerstatter, an Austrian farmer with a wife and three young daughters, did show such courage—even when everyone around him said he should go along with the Nazis. He refused to enter military service because he believed it would violate his religious beliefs, knowing very well that his refusal would lead to his execution. Since his death, Jaggerstatter has become a strong role model for other conscientious objectors (those who...