Wilhelm Letonja

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Wilhelm "Willi" Letonja (born May 6, 1915 in Donawitz ; † September 2, 1942 in the Brandenburg-Görden prison ) was a German deserter of Austrian - Yugoslav origin. At first he was a supporter of National Socialism and had fought for the Wehrmacht . In early 1942 he was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness and deserted on religious grounds. While fleeing to Switzerland he was arrested, sentenced to death and executed .

Life

youth

Wilhelm Letonja was born in Donawitz in Styria in 1915 as the second child of the communist worker Anton Letonja , who originally came from Lower Styria , and his wife Ludmilla. In 1923 the family emigrated to Liévin in northern France , where Wilhelm's father found a job in coal mining . Wilhelm's mother was a staunch Catholic and raised her three children according to their faith . Her husband refused because of his political beliefs and forbade the family to attend church.

At the end of the 1920s, the family met Vinzenz Platajs from Lower Styria , who was also active in coal mining in France. Through this, Wilhelm's mother Ludmilla got in touch with a German-speaking Polish couple who were among the Bible Students. She was enthusiastic about their views, attended religious meetings in the couple's private home, joined the Bible Students in 1928 ( called Jehovah's Witnesses from 1931 ), and tried to teach her children the Bible. Wilhelm's father was not right about this, and he now insisted that his youngest son, Anton jun., Become an altar boy in the Catholic Church. The tensions between the spouses continued to increase, and Anton sen. filed for divorce, which was pronounced in 1932. Wilhelm's mother went back to Austria with their youngest son Anton, where they settled in Gamlitz . Wilhelm and his father stayed in France.

Wilhelm's older sister Josefine married Vinzenz Platajs. The two worked as missionaries for Jehovah's Witnesses, first in Styria and then in Yugoslavia.

From Nazi to deserter

Wilhelm Letonja, who was a Yugoslav citizen through his father, attended school in Liévin until he was 14 years old and then trained as a watchmaker . As such, as well as a precision locksmith and driver, he worked in various French locations. He had broken off contact with the mother who had returned to Austria and with his siblings. He turned away from both his mother's religious views and his father's political views, became enthusiastic about Adolf Hitler's ideas , and eventually became an illegal Nazi in France. Because of the spread of German propaganda, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment by a French court in May 1940, but was released from prison in Rennes in June, after the German troops marched into France . He then worked as an interpreter in the district command of the Wehrmacht von Dreux until November , then went back to Styria, applied for German citizenship and volunteered for the Wehrmacht. On January 14, 1941, he received his draft in Graz . He became part of the elite defense unit of the teaching regiment Brandenburg eg V. 800 , was initially stationed in Belgium to protect the coast and then fought on the Eastern Front from June to August 1941 . He was deeply impressed by Hitler's military successes.

On home leave in Styria with his mother and younger brother Anton, who in the meantime had also joined the Jehovah's Witnesses persecuted by the Nazi regime, Wilhelm showed no interest in their beliefs and, as a staunch National Socialist, said: “We will conquer the world; we will be masters of the world. "

But during a visit in February 1942, Wilhelm received from his brother the downright anti-Nazi book Enemies, published by Jehovah's Witnesses in 1937 and distributed underground . This completely changed his attitude within a few weeks. He became convinced that he was on the wrong track in the Wehrmacht and came to the decision to give up military service; Jehovah's Witnesses generally refuse to use weapons . First he visited his brothers again, and then went to his sister and brother-in-law in Zagreb and was baptized as Jehovah's Witness by immersing himself in water . He then returned to his unit, which had meanwhile been moved to Paris, with the intention of moving to Switzerland from there. However, he was arrested by the German military police on the night of March 10, 1942 at the Swiss border and then initially held captive in Pontarlier . Letonja turned down offers for probation at the front several times.

Trial and Execution

During the trial before the Reich Court Martial in Berlin, Wilhelm Letonja was described as a “calm, very thoughtful person; hardworking and clean ”. He testified that he had come to believe that his voluntary soldiery was wrong. The service with the weapon could not be reconciled with his religious convictions as Jehovah's Witness; therefore he would have wanted to go to a neutral country to be able to obey the laws of God. On July 27, 1942, he was sentenced to death by the Reich Court Martial for desertion.

He spent the next few weeks in the Tegel military prison . There he received another visit on August 8th from his brother Anton, whom he tried to console: “If I were to die for Hitler, there would be no hope for me. But if I am to die for Jehovah, then I have the security of a resurrection and we will meet again. ” On August 24th, Wilhelm was transferred to the Brandenburg-Görden prison . The next day he wrote to his family in firm belief in a resurrection : "I ask you do not shed tears on my account ... we will meet again, there is no doubt about that."

He spent the next few weeks in the Tegel military prison . On September 1, he was told that the sentence would be carried out the next morning. Thereupon Wilhelm asked for a Bible and wrote a farewell letter to his mother and his siblings. On the morning of September 2, 1942, at the age of 27, he was guillotined . On September 1, he was told that the sentence would be carried out the next morning. Thereupon Wilhelm asked for a Bible and wrote a farewell letter to his mother and siblings in chains: “The dear God, whom I serve, gives me everything I need and he will certainly be with me until the last moment. ... Don't worry about me ... I can repeat to you once again that I have no regrets and that I have remained steadfast to my Lord. Honor and thanks are due to him and everything in eternity. … Goodbye. ” On the morning of September 2, 1942, at the age of 27, he was guillotined .

Fate of his family

Wilhelm's younger brother Anton was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness in April 1938 at the age of 19. Because of his refusal to give the Hitler salute, he lost his apprenticeship. Since he did not have German citizenship, he escaped being drafted into the Wehrmacht. On October 6, 1943, he was arrested in Gamlitz for distributing writings from Jehovah's Witnesses and was imprisoned for 18 months in the Munich-Stadelheim prison. After the war he lived as a missionary for Jehovah's Witnesses in Luxembourg and Austria.

As a Jehovah's Witness, Wilhelm's brother-in-law Vinzenz Platajs refused to accept German citizenship. Therefore the family was interned and had to do forced labor in Gamlitz . Vinzenz Platajs was arrested on August 30, 1943 for distributing writings by Jehovah's Witnesses and supporting families of concentration camp inmates. He was sentenced to death for " decomposing military strength " and executed on September 9, 1944 in Brandenburg-Görden. The daughter of Vinzenz Platajs and Wilhelm's sister Josefine was taken away from her mother after Plataj's death and given to National Socialist foster parents who badly mistreated her. Mother and daughter got together again at the end of the war, were granted Austrian citizenship in 1949 and then moved to Switzerland, where they continued to work for Jehovah's Witnesses.

Rehabilitation

When the possibility of rehabilitating deserters was considered in the Austrian parliament in the summer of 1999 , the daily newspaper Kurier reported on Wilhelm Letonja's fate. The documentary began with the words: It is a "from Saul to Paul" story. Wilhelm's brother Anton was quoted as saying: "My brother died, innocent, just because he no longer wanted to kill other people." The rehabilitation of Wilhelm, which the family was striving for , was initially rejected by the Vienna Regional Criminal Court on September 9, 1999, as the 1945 waiver - and recruitment law only applied to Austrians and Letonja had taken German citizenship during the Second World War after having previously been a Yugoslav citizen. Based on the Recognition Act 2005 , an application was made again on February 3, 2005 for Letonia's rehabilitation. This application was granted on August 16, 2005 by the Vienna Regional Criminal Court.

literature

  • Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III , Vienna 2000.
  • Andreas M. Ioannis Rohrweg: "You have to excuse my writing, I am tied up!" . In: A Letter To The Stars . Students write history. Volume 1 Letters to Heaven. Alfred Worm et al. a. (Ed.), Verlag Verein Lern ​​aus der Zeitgeschichte, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-9501836-9-8 , pp. 160–167 ( online , accessed on December 21, 2017).
  • Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , pp. 166-170 ( online , accessed December 21, 2017).
  • Anton Letonja: Faith Tests in Europe under the Nazi Regime . In: Awake! . February 8, 2003, pp. 16-20 ( online , accessed December 21, 2017).
  • Marcus Herrberger (Ed.): Because it is written: “You shouldn't kill!” The persecution of religious conscientious objectors under the Nazi regime with special consideration of Jehovah's Witnesses (1939-1945). Verlag Österreich, Vienna 2005. pp. 46, 97, 123f, 163, 185, 242, 301, 309, 316, 400.
  • Heimo Halbrainer: "In the certainty that you will continue the fight": Letters from Styrian resistance fighters from death row and concentration camp. Clio, Graz 2000, p. 71ff.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , pp. 166-167.
  2. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. p. 28.
  3. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. P. 28ff.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , p. 167.
  5. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis University La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. S. 30f.
  6. ↑ Marcus Herrberger (Ed.): Because it is written: “You shouldn't kill!” The persecution of religious conscientious objectors under the Nazi regime with special consideration of the Jehovah's Witnesses (1939-1945). Verlag Österreich, Vienna 2005. pp. 123f.
  7. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis University La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. S. 42ff, 127f.
  8. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. p. 128.
  9. ↑ Tinke Piersma: true to your faith. Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Netherlands during World War II. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , p. 442.
  10. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. S. 43f, 128.
  11. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. S. 44ff.
  12. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , pp. 167-168.
  13. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , p. 168.
  14. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. pp. 43, 49f, 128f.
  15. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , pp. 168-169.
  16. ↑ Heimo Halbrainer: "In the certainty that you will continue the fight": Letters from Styrian resistance fighters from death row and concentration camp. Clio, Graz 2000, p. 72.
  17. ↑ Heimo Halbrainer: "In the certainty that you will continue the fight": Letters from Styrian resistance fighters from death row and concentration camp. Clio, Graz 2000, p. 73.
  18. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. pp. 43, 49f, 128f.
  19. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , pp. 168-169.
  20. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. P. 52f.
  21. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , p. 170.
  22. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis at the University of La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. S. 30ff.
  23. ↑ Carine Beaurain: The Letonja Family: Trial by Fire for Jehovah's Witnesses under the Nazi regime. Diploma thesis University La Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Paris III, Vienna 2000. P. 39f.
  24. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , pp. 169–170.
  25. ^ Christian Thonke: Parliament wants to rehabilitate Wehrmacht deserters . In: Kurier , July 8, 1999, p. 2 ( online , accessed February 7, 2018).
  26. ↑ Reinhard Moos : The rehabilitation of conscientious objectors using the example of Jehovah's Witnesses . In: Justice and Remembrance No. 2 ( online , accessed January 4, 2018).
  27. ↑ Angela Nerlich: "And suddenly the Germans were there". The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in France and Luxembourg. In: Gerhard Besier , Katarzyna Stokłosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present, Volume 1 . Lit Verlag , Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-11508-9 , p. 169.
  28. ↑ Overview of rehabilitation. In: jehovas-zeugen.at. Retrieved January 5, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Letonja, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Letonja, Willi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German conscientious objector in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH May 6, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Donawitz
DATE OF DEATH September 2, 1942
Place of death Brandenburg-Görden prison