Josef Mayr-Nusser
martyr
father of one child, a textile company worker, member of the Catholic Action, forced SS conscript in World War II
Born: December 27, 1910
Died: February 24, 1945
invalidly “beatified” by Antipope Bergoglio in 2016
The following article was taken from the 5/2020 issue of the now defunct Austrian Catholic magazine Vision2000 (vision2000.at). Vision2000 gives permission to reprint its articles with proper attribution.
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Josef was born near Bolzano [Bozen in German, a city in South Tyrol] in 1910. His father was killed at the front in 1915. From then on, his mother Maria ran the family farm. Although she was very busy bringing up her six children and working on the farm, she made time to attend Mass every day. Common prayer and the rosary were part of the family’s everyday life.
Josef, called Pepi by everyone, was a lively, bright child and a good pupil. He lacked practical aptitude for farming. As the family’s limited financial means did not allow him to study, he attended the commercial school in Bolzano and left with a good final certificate. He was conscientious, diligent and read many religious books. Under the spiritual guidance of youth pastor Josef Ferrari, he became involved in Catholic Action and became its local leader.
In 1931, Josef was called up for military service. After 18 months of military service, Pepi returned to Bolzano and began working as a sales clerk. In 1932, he became a member of the local Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and took particular care of poor, often old and neglected people. In 1937, despite his youth, he was appointed president of a new local group of the Society in Bolzano. In Vincentian letter, he shared his experiences with his fellow friars: “The ability to listen can be described as the secret of those who most quickly win the hearts of the poor. In many cases, the Vincentian brother is almost the only person in whom the poor can confide; how happy most of them are when someone comes who understands their need, who listens sympathetically when they pour out their heart again and again. Let us accept the offered chair with gratitude, even if it is not completely clean, let us sit with our poor brothers and listen with heartfelt participation…” It is not just about alleviating material need. In addition to the work of the Vincentian brothers, there is “a second aspect: the spiritual care of the poor.”
In 1934, Josef was elected chairman of the Young Men’s Association for the German-speaking part of the archdiocese of Trento. In order to avoid police surveillance, the meetings of the Catholic youth took place secretly in parish and private homes. They played sports, games, sang and made music together, but the primary goal remained the “establishment and expansion of Christ’s kingdom in our homeland”.
Three years after Hitler’s seizure of power in Germany, Josef commented for the first time on the enthusiasm for Hitler, which also infected many Tyroleans: “The cult of the Führer that we witness today is often almost idolatry. Today it is important for the Catholic Action to show the masses once again the leader who alone has the right to universal, unrestricted rule and leadership – Christ, our leader…”
The closer relationship between Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, which began in 1936, culminated between the two powers in an alliance of attack and defense. The only disruptive factor was that Germany claimed South Tyrol for itself. In October, Hitler and Mussolini agreed on a compromise: those South Tyroleans who wanted to remain German were to emigrate to the German Reich, where they would be compensated, while those who did not want to leave their homeland were to give up German culture and become 100% Italian. The Mayr-Nusser family decided to stay. In the fall of 1939, the remaining South Tyroleans founded the secret “Andreas Hofer Alliance”, named after the famous Tyrolean resistance fighter. Josef Mayr-Nusser joined the movement; from then on, the secret meetings took place in his house.
Josef had already been working closely with Hildegard Straub since 1928, his superior at the Eccel textile company, who was just as involved in the Catholic Action as he was. He proposed to her, but she initially turned him down. Over time, however, she discovered Josef’s strengths and accepted his proposal. The wedding took place on May 26, 1942. On August 1, 1943, their son Albert was born, much to the couple’s joy.
However, the political situation soon took a dramatic turn. On July 9, 1943, the Allies (Americans and British) landed in Sicily. Two weeks later, Mussolini was overthrown by the leaders of the Fascist party; in September, Italy capitulated at the instigation of King Victor Emmanuel III and joined the Allied camp. In response, the Wehrmacht occupied the north of Italy. From then on, South Tyrol was administered by the German Reich, which meant that South Tyroleans were also conscripted into military service.
Although Josef was an Italian citizen, he was called up at the end of August 1944. On September 7, he set off for West Prussia together with 80 other recruits. He wrote to his wife: “Don’t worry about me, darling, we are in God’s hands. Don’t be angry if I talk about entirely material things: now I am pleased that, hopefully, we will soon get something warm to put on. And in the stomach. The total war effort is already very noticeable here in the Reich.”
Josef and his comrades were given SS uniforms and subjected to strict military drills and constant indoctrination. He cautiously confided to his wife that he intended to refuse to take the unconditional oath of allegiance to Hitler and added: “The fact that I might even plunge you, most faithful companion, into temporal misfortune through my profession at the decisive moment gnaws most heavily at my heart … This awareness, beloved wife, this self-evident consent in what is most sacred to us, is an unspeakable consolation for me … Your prayers will give me the strength not to fail in the hour of trial.”
At the end of the basic training, the sergeant explained to the 80 recruits that on the next day, October 5, they would have to take the SS oath of loyalty, the text of which he immediately read out: “I swear to you, Adolf Hitler, Führer and Reich Chancellor, loyalty and bravery. I pledge obedience to you and to the superiors you have appointed, even unto death. So help me God!” Josef immediately raised his hand and declared that he could not take the oath.
The sergeant called the commander, who asked Josef for his reasons. They were religious reasons. The officer continued: “So you’re not a one hundred percent National Socialist then?” Josef said calmly to his face: “No, I’m not.” The company commander asked him to confirm his refusal in writing; Josef complied – adding that he was refusing to take the oath “for religious reasons”.
The company stood there transfixed; some had the feeling that Josef had just signed his death warrant. He had already confided his intention to his bunkmate, Hanskarl Neuhauser, a few days earlier; Neuhauser had said: “I don’t think the Lord God is asking us to do that.” Josef’s reply: “If no one ever has the courage to tell them that they don’t agree with their National Socialist views, then it won’t change.” He knew very well that the decision could cost him his freedom, if not his life. He was arrested the same day and charged with treason.
On November 12, Josef wrote a long letter to Hildegard to reassure and comfort her. He longed to see her and little Albert again, but he was sure that their love would pass the tough test and emerge strengthened. “The necessity to make a profession will certainly come, it is inevitable, because two worlds are colliding. Too clearly, superiors have shown themselves to be resolute deniers and haters of what is sacred and inviolable to us Catholics … Unfortunately, I don’t have any comrades here with whom I get along in religious matters. This lack weighs heavily, even more so the lack of any religious assistance. But how much it means in such a situation to know that good people back home are praying for me.”
On November 14, Josef was transferred to Gdansk, where he was to be tried before a military tribunal. On December 5, he thanked his wife for her letters, which had only just been handed to him by the judge; he encouraged her to hope and trust in Divine Providence. That was his last sign of life. On April 5, 1945, Hildegard was officially informed that “the SS member Josef Mayr … died of bronchopneumonia at the Erlangen train station.”
It was not until 35 years later that Fritz Habicher’s letter to Josef’s widow shed light on the circumstances of her husband’s death: at the beginning of February 1945, Habicher and four other SS guards had to accompany a transport of death row prisoners to Dachau concentration camp. Josef Mayr-Nusser was one of the prisoners and was portrayed to the guards as a traitor who had abandoned his comrades in the middle of a battle. However, due to Josef’s good nature and kindness, Fritz assumed that he had been falsely accused. At the Gdansk railroad station, the prisoners were locked in a wagon and sent on a ten-day journey through bombed-out Germany with virtually nothing to eat or drink.
The transport ended up in Erlangen, as the train could not continue due to destroyed tracks. Josef suffered from starvation edema and severe diarrhea. The prisoners were now given something to eat, but were not allowed to leave the wagon. After eight days, the accompanying officer was allowed to take the weakest prisoners, including Josef, to a hospital. To do this, they had to march for miles through the city; by the end, Josef was so exhausted that he had to be carried by his comrades. After a long wait, he was examined by a doctor and sent back to the wagon; because the doctor claimed his case was not particularly serious. Josef accepted the diagnosis without grumbling or complaining. He was taken back to the station and thanked his comrades with a heartfelt “Thank God for everything!”. He died a few hours later on the night of February 23 to February 24, 1945, alone and without the assistance of a priest in the train carriage. Habicher found a New Testament, a missal and a rosary at his body. Together with other SS men, he buried Josef with military honors and in the presence of a parish priest from Erlangen.
Josef Mayr-Nusser’s body was transferred to Bolzano in 1958 and buried in the newly built church of Lichtenstern, dedicated to St. Joseph, in 1963. […]
Scenery in South Tyrol.