Josef Pontiller
Josef Pontiller , religious name Edmund (born November 4, 1889 in Göriach near Dölsach , † February 9, 1945 in Munich-Stadelheim ) was a Benedictine and opponent of National Socialism . He was charged by the Nazi regime for undermining military strength , sentenced to death and beheaded. He is considered a martyr of the Roman Catholic Church .
Life
Josef Pontiller attended the Benedictine Oblate School in Volders , joined the Benedictine order in 1912 and adopted the name Edmund. He completed his theology degree and was ordained a priest in 1916. He then worked in the educational field, first in Innsbruck , then as prefect of the apprenticeship institution in Kirchschletten and in the Benedictine abbey in Niederaltaich .
In October 1936 he was threatened with arrest by the Gestapo for "pulpit abuse" . As a result, his confreres transferred him to the Benedictine Abbey of Lambach in Upper Austria for security reasons . After the Nazi regime invaded Austria in March 1938, he had to flee again, this time to the Benedictine monastery of Bakonybél in Hungary. In 1940 he was chaplain of Stephanie of Belgium , the former Crown Princess of Austria-Hungary, then in 1940 the castle chaplain at Baron Biedermann. His sharp and persistent criticism of the Nazi regime ultimately led to his being kidnapped by the Gestapo in May 1944 and taken to Vienna. In October he was charged with radio crimes , degrading military strength and favoring the enemy . The main evidence was a letter that Pontiller had sent to the Benedictine abbot of Pannonhalma in 1942 . In it he criticized the politics of Hitler, whom he called "Nero on the German throne", described the crimes of the National Socialists against humanity and condemned the Nazi reprisals against the church. The indictment accused him of "hateful atrocities against the German Reich, especially the Führer". Josef Pontiller was sentenced to death on December 15, 1944 in Berlin by the People's Court , chaired by Roland Freisler .
The sentence was carried out with the guillotine on February 9, 1945 in the Munich-Stadelheim prison .
Commemoration
His name is noted on the Innsbruck Liberation Monument. In 2015, Diocesan Bishop Manfred Scheuer unveiled a memorial plaque in the crypt of the parish church of Dölsach .
literature
- Horst Schreiber et al .: Those who died for Austria's freedom. The Liberation Monument and Memory. An intervention . Office of the Tyrolean Provincial Government, Innsbruck 2011, p. 104f
- Britta Dörre: Edmund Pontiller (1889–1945), Benedictine, priest and martyr . In: Zenit , February 9, 2015.
Web links
- Short biography on the website Der Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz in Innsbruck
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pontiller, Josef |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Edmund (religious name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian Benedictine, executed by the Nazi regime |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 4, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dölsach |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 9, 1945 |
| Place of death | Munich-Stadelheim |