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In Solitary Witness
- The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
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Summary
This is the book that discovered Franz Jägerstätter and his inspiring story of unyielding resistance to Nazi orders and his commitment to the dictates of conscience even at the cost of life itself.
When German troops moved into Austria in 1938, Jägerstätter was the only man in his village to vote against the Anschluss (Annexation of Austria). Although he was not involved in any political organization and did, in fact, undergo one brief period of military training, he remained openly anti-Nazi and declared he would not fight in Hitler's war. This 20th century martyr, a husband and father of three, was beheaded for his refusal to serve a ruler his conscience could not accept.
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- Nora
- 07-02-20
A remarkable story, beautifully told
I downloaded "In Solitary Witness" after seeing Terrence Malick's film about Franz Jägerstätter, "A Hidden Life" (2019). This was the book which brought Jägerstätter's story to international attention in the 1960s.
The author spent a lot of time in Germany and Austria interviewing Jägerstätter's widow, other villagers, men detained alongside him, prison chaplains, senior churchmen, even his lawyer. The research is truly exhaustive and brings this man and his world very much to life. You wouldn't need to know much about Franz Jägerstätter's story, to find this an utterly absorbing account of one man's singular stand against Nazism and of the enormous forces pressing against him, both within and outside his community.
Full of anecdotes and readings from his writings, you get a real sense of Jägerstätter's personality, his troubled early life, his intense love for his wife and daughters and, most of all, his passionate faith in God. The author has included a documentary appendix with commentaries and letters by Jägerstätter. These are particularly impressive . Jägerstätter is often written of as a 'simple peasant' and he certainly had minimal schooling, but these writings reveal remarkable insight into human nature, into social and political systems, as well as a prophetic understanding of the situation in Europe at that time
The narration is really excellent, both sonorous and engaging. The navigation is also good and every chapter is properly labelled.
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