Joseph Ruf
Joseph Ruf (also Josef Ruf ; * December 15, 1905 in Hochberg (today in Bad Saulgau ), † October 10, 1940 in Brandenburg-Görden ) was a Christian motivated conscientious objector . He was executed in 1940 . He was the "Brother Maurus" in the Christ the King Society, which had been founded by Max Josef Metzger .
Life
Josef Ruf is one of the few Catholic conscientious objectors known by name during World War II . Born on December 15, 1905 in the village of Hochberg near Saulgau (Württemberg) as the fifth of seven siblings, he grew up in an orderly, Catholic environment. The father was a civil servant station master at the Reichsbahn, the mother came from a rural background. Even as a child, Josef Ruf repeatedly fell ill with very painful rheumatoid arthritis, which impaired the musically gifted boy's school performance. After finishing elementary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a tailor, which he completed in 1925 with the journeyman's examination.
He then joined the Franciscan order in the Gorheim monastery near Sigmaringen and then worked in various institutions of this order: Hadamar Monastery , Diocese of Limburg (1926/1927), Salmünster Monastery , Diocese of Fulda (1927/1928), Ottbergen Monastery , Hildesheim Diocese (1928/1928). In 1930 he made his temporary profession in the Fulda monastery and received the religious name "Brother Canisius". He spent the years 1930–1932 in the "Klösterle" of his hometown Saulgau and the last year of his religious life, 1932/1933 in the Mannheim monastery . Shortly before taking the so-called “perpetual vows” he left the Franciscan order because his “somewhat excited nature would cause too much trouble” (1933).
After a short stay with his parents, in the same year he joined the “Mission Society of the White Cross” in Meitingen near Augsburg, founded by the ecumenist and pacifist Max Josef Metzger (1887–1944). This religious community - today Christ the King's Institute in Meitingen - dedicated itself to the care of so-called "migrants" and maintained various drinking sanctuaries. Josef Ruf took religious vows in this community and was called "Brother Maurus". After working in Meitingen and Saarbrücken, Josef Ruf came to Andritz-Ulrichsbrunn near Graz in 1938, where the Christkönigsgesellschaft had its Austrian branch. Here he worked in agriculture and helped to look after the pilgrimage church of Ortisei.
In Ulrichsbrunn Josef Ruf also met Michael Lerpscher (1905–1940), a peer and also a member of the Christ the King Society, who later refused military service like Ruf and was also executed on the scaffold in Brandenburg-Görden (September 5, 1940).
At the beginning of March 1940, Josef Ruf followed his call-up in the hope of being able to do his military duty “in the medical service”. He came to Pinkafeld in Burgenland, completed his basic training and was even awarded the "cord" as the best shooter in his company. However, when he refused to obey Adolf Hitler , Ruf was imprisoned in the Graz regional court prison, where he stayed from May to August 1940. In letters to his relatives and the Christ the King Society, the basic Christian motives for his refusal become clear: “I simply cannot reconcile the service of arms with the teaching of Christ, and I feel obliged to act accordingly under all circumstances.” Against the will of God, “also the dearest resign ”. With this attitude, Ruf not only ran the risk of being punished with death for "undermining military strength", he also came into contradiction to the vote of the German bishops , who repeatedly observed that Catholics obey the lawful authorities and fulfill their civic duties and demanded sacrifice. But the Ruf family, in particular father Johann Ruf and brother Karl, a staunch National Socialist at the time, could not support Josef Ruf's decision and tried to change his mind - albeit unsuccessfully.
On August 16, 1940, Ruf was transferred to the Wehrmacht detention center in Berlin-Moabit. One month later (September 14, 1940) the Reich Court Martial sentenced Josef Ruf to death for undermining military strength . The sentence was carried out on October 10th in the Brandenburg-Görden prison with the guillotine . Only then did the family learn of the death sentence and its execution.
On the evening before his execution, Josef Ruf had the opportunity to write to his family and the Christ the King Society. Both letters have survived (copies). In it, Josef Ruf asks forgiveness for the suffering that he had to inflict on his relatives, but also affirms his conviction that he had to act like this "in order to do justice to God's will". "If I were in the slightest doubt about the path I have taken, I would have adapted to the general public."
Josef Ruf's remains were cremated in the Brandenburg crematorium and buried in an urn grave in the Marienberg municipal cemetery. As the whole grave field was later leveled, Josef Ruf's grave has not been preserved.
Appreciation
At the suggestion of Pax Christi , the international Catholic peace movement, the community of Hochberg (today a village district of Bad Saulgau), the home community of Josef Ruf, erected a memorial stone in his memory. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the European "war memorial" at the parish church. His name can also be found on memorial plaques in Meitingen and Ulrichsbrunn near Graz. The German martyrology of the 20th century accepted Josef Ruf as a martyr.
On March 1, 2005, the Berlin public prosecutor overturned the judgment against Josef Ruf, which resulted in his legal rehabilitation.
On the 65th anniversary of Josef Ruf's death and 100th birthday in 2005, Pax Christi published a brochure with numerous documents under the title “The Martyrdom of Conscientious Objector Josef Ruf”. Gebhard Fürst , Bishop of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart , highlighted Josef Ruf's testimony in an official letter, which could "provide orientation today and call for action for peace". This is the first time a German bishop of the post-war period has honored the deed and attitude of a conscientious objector from the time of National Socialism.
literature
- Helmut Kurz / Christian Turrey, “To do justice to God's will”. The martyrdom of the conscientious objector Josef Ruf , ed. by Pax Christi of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart 2005.
- Helmut Moll on behalf of the German Bishops' Conference (ed.), Witnesses for Christ. The German Martyrology of the 20th Century , 7th revised and updated edition, Paderborn 2019, ISBN 978-3-506-78012-6 , pp. 90-93.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Saulgau . In: Ulrike Puvogel / Martin Stankowski with the assistance of Ursula Graf: Memorials for the victims of National Socialism. A documentation . ed. from the Federal Agency for Civic Education. 2nd, revised and expanded edition, Bonn 1995, ISBN 3-89331-208-0 , pp. 74f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Reputation, Joseph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Shout, Josef |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | religiously motivated conscientious objector |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 15, 1905 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hochberg (now part of Bad Saulgau ) |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 10, 1940 |
| Place of death | Brandenburg-Görden |