Josef Stangl (resistance fighter)

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Josef Stangl (born October 2, 1911 in Vitis ; † March 14, 1966 in Frankenfels ) was an Austrian priest and pastor in Frankenfels from 1946 to 1966. In addition to his pastoral work, he also worked as a resistance fighter and was after his arrest by the Gestapo Imprisoned for over four years in the Dachau concentration camp near Munich.

Life

Grave of Josef Stangl in the Frankenfels cemetery

Josef Stangl came from Vitis, Jetzles 11, his parents were the farmer Johann Stangl (born July 15, 1876) and Anna Stangl, née Löffler (born July 13, 1870). He graduated from the Stiftsgymnasium Seitenstetten and then the seminary in St. Pölten and was ordained there in 1936 , where he worked as a chaplain for a short time . From September 1, 1939, Stangl was first provisional and on January 1, 1940 pastor in Großau near Raabs an der Thaya .

As an opponent of the National Socialist tyranny, he had to spend over four years in the Dachau concentration camp near Munich after his arrest by the Gestapo on September 21, 1940 and his delivery to the Znojmo regional court prison in autumn 1940 . It was probably triggered by a sermon about the education of young people and the failure to ring bells on the occasion of the victorious campaign in the West and the conquest of Paris and Flanders by the Wehrmacht . In addition, he had written a complaint to the district administrator, from whom he was punished with five Reichsmarks for violating the trade regulations , in which he announced that he would spend so long on collections for the Winter Relief Organization of the German People , the National Socialist People's Welfare and the German Red Cross will not donate until he has brought back the amount of five Reichsmarks. The protective custody order issued by the Gestapa Berlin on October 18, 1940 states, among other things, that his offense “not only reveals his opposing attitude towards the current state, but also gives rise to fears that if he is released he will be the public concern Cohesion of the inner front to continue disruptive activity to the detriment of people and empire ”.

After the arrest, the relatives were not informed of his fate or whereabouts, but the family repeatedly managed to contact the son by chance. Finally, a letter was sent to the relatives from the Dachau concentration camp. Josef Stangl was then able to conduct extremely sparse personal correspondence with his relatives, which was censored because of the censorship , whereby only 14 lines per letter were allowed. In the prisoner's library he campaigned for the spiritual and emotional well-being of his fellow sufferers.

A total of three priests were arrested in the diocese of St. Pölten . One day he was called up and contrary to his presumption that he would be executed , he was unexpectedly released in April 1945. He was taken to Munich with other inmates and released there. Before that, he had to sign an affidavit stating that he had not suffered any damage and that he had been treated well. Until his death, Josef Stangl could not explain why he was released. According to the release certificate, the clergyman spent the period from November 10, 1940 to March 28, 1945 in the Dachau concentration camp.

After the Second World War, his health weakened from his imprisonment, he worked as a pastor in Frankenfels from 1946 until his death in 1966, where he had a spiritual and secular influence on community life. His activities include the new building of the rectory and the parish hall, the interior and exterior general renovation of the parish church, the renovation of the cemetery and other things.

Appreciations

Sign for Pfarrer-Stangl-Platz at the war memorial in Frankenfels
  • 2011: The square in front of the war memorial in Frankenfels was named Pfarrer-Stangl-Platz
  • 2011: Erection of a memorial plaque in Großau near Raabs

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Stangl, Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian clergyman, pastor and resistance fighter against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH October 2, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Vitis
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1966
Place of death Frankenfels