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Max Josef Metzger

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Max Josef Metzger
1887 – 1944
Born(1887-02-03)3 February 1887
Schopfheim, Baden, Germany
Died17 April 1944(1944-04-17) (aged 57)
Brandenburg-Görden Prison, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
InfluencedThomas Merton

Max Josef Metzger (3 February 1887 – 17 April 1944) was a Catholic priest and leading German pacifist who was executed by the Nazis during World War II.[1]

Life

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Early life and education

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Born on 3 February 1887, in Schopfheim in Baden, Germany, Metzger studied first at the lycee in Konstanz, where Martin Heidegger was also a student. Here Metzger gave a lecture on the "History of the Monastery at Reichenau". As a student, Metzger likely lived at Saint Conrad, a student residence established by the archbishop of Freiburg to provide religious training for those preparing for Holy Orders. One of the highly regarded professors at the lycee was an instructor by the name of Pacius, a democrat and pacifist who taught modern languages.[2]

Metzger then attended the University of Freiburg and then at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, where he earned a doctorate in theology.[3]

Work

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In 1911 he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest, and was sent to parish work in the Archdiocese of Freiburg, since he definitely didn't want to pursue a scientific career. "My object is not to become a scholar, nor ... to obtain an honorable or pleasant position one day, but only to become a pious priest and capable pastor and to be able to develop all my powers for the glory of God", he stated.[4]

Metzger served as a military chaplain for the forces of Imperial Germany during World War I. It is still unclear what motivated him to do this. He was awarded the Iron Cross on 6 May 1915, and honorably discharged because of ill health in October 1915, when he got pneumonia and pleurisy. His experience on the front lines convinced him that "future wars have lost their meaning, since they no longer give anybody the prospect of winning more than he loses".[1]

With the permission of his local bishop Metzger moved to Graz, where he heard lectures on law and political science. In 1916 he published Frieden auf Erden ("Peace on Earth"), a pamphlet urging an end to war. He became secretary to the Catholic League of the Cross of Austria, an organization involved in educating people about the dangers of alcoholism. In 1918 he established the mission society of the "White Cross"[3] a community, whose members strived for a life following the evangelical counsels. However, Metzger was not in a position to obtain episcopal recognition for the about 20 members.[5]

Metzger was also involved in establishing the German Catholics’ Peace Association which used Esperanto in its international contacts from 1918.[6] In 1920 Metzger founded "Internacio Katolika" (IKA). From 1921 to 1924 Metzger edited the Esperanto magazine, Katolika Mondo (Catholic World), in Graz.[7]

In 1920 Metzger Metzger was admitted to a private audience with Pope Benedict XV, who encouraged him to work for disarmament in Europe. Strongly advocating the ecumenical idea of peace Metzger soon became known as a leading German pacifist and Esperantist.[1]

The foundation of numerous associations brought Metzger into conflict with the ordinariate in Graz who were particularly offended by the fact that he had undertaken these foundations without official permission and by Metzger's alleged "closeness to communism". Due to the conflict, Metzger eventually left Styria in 1927.[8] He re-located to Meiningen in Germany, where he and the community, now called the Society of Christ the King, had been invited to staff and manage the Catholic Charities facility.[3]

In 1938, Metzger founded the brotherhood Una Sancta, a group devoted to the re-unification of Roman Catholics and Lutherans.[9]

Arrests, trial and martyrdom

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After the rise to power of German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1933, Metzger was arrested several times by the Gestapo, for the first time for three days in January 1934. A second arrest for four weeks was in connection with the Munich assassination attempt on Hitler. Metzger then moved from Meitingen near Augsburg to Berlin, in order to avoid his persecutors. He lived and worked in St. Joseph, Wedding from 1939 until his last arrest in 1943.

In 1942, Metzger wrote a letter to Hitler in which he asked Hitler to step down, but he did not send it on the advice of his friends.[4] In 1943, Metzger wrote a memorandum on the reorganization of the German state and its integration into a future system of world peace. When he tried to have this memorandum delivered to the Archbishop of Uppsala, Erling Eidem, Metzger was denounced by the courier. Metzger's memorandum never reached Uppsala. The courier was a female Gestapo agent, Swedish-born Dagmar Imgart, and Metzger was arrested on 29 June 1943.[10]

Memorial plaque for Max Josef Metzger in Wedding, with the inscription of his last words

Metzger was tried by the German People's Court in a show trial that lasted just 70 minutes. The President of the court, Roland Freisler – who had already completed three proceeedings that day – refused to hear the defendant. He declared that "such a plague had to be eradicated".[11] Metzger was sentenced to death for "high treason and favoring the enemy"[12] and was executed after some months in the death row on 17 April 1944 in Brandenburg-Görden Prison.[1][13][14] Just before his execution he said: Ich habe mein Leben Gott angeboten für den Frieden der Welt und die Einheit der Kirchen ("I offered my life to God for the peace of the world and the unity of the churches").

The then bishop of Freiburg, Conrad Gröber, did not try to shelter Metzger, but called him a misguided idealist. Bishop Gröber subsequently apologized to Freisler and lamented "most deeply the offense of which he has made himself guilty".[4]

In 1997, the Landgericht Berlin posthumously overturned the death sentence.[15]

Beatification process

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The Catholic Church regards Max Josef Metzger as a martyr.[16] On 8 May 2006, the beatification process for Metzger was opened by the Archbishop of Freiburg, Robert Zollitsch.[15] In March 2014, the first part of the process was completed when the documents were handed over to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. On 14 March 2024, the Dicastery announced that it recognises the murder of the priest from Schopfheim by the National Socialists as a martyr's death, thus clearing the way for the beatification of Metzger in the near future.[12]

Legacy

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Thomas Merton was influenced by the life of Max Josef Metzger. In his essay A Martyr for Peace and Unity, Merton cites Metzger's example in dying for peace. In protesting Hitler's abuse of power, Metzger wrote that "it is honorable to die for one's country, but still more honorable to die for righteousness and peace".[17]

There is a Max-Josef-Metzger-Platz (in front of St. Joseph) in Berlin, and also four plaques made of steel with some words in Esperanto.[18][19] There was also a Stolperstein laid in front of the house Müllerstraße 161[20] as well as one at Karmeliterplatz in Graz, where the "White Cross" was located.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Max Josef Metzger; German Resistance Memorial Centre, Index of Persons; retrieved at 4 September 2013
  2. ^ Farías, Victor, Margolis, Joseph and Rockmore, Tom (1991). Heidegger and Nazism, Temple University Press, p. 17. ISBN 9780877228301
  3. ^ a b c Krieg, R.A., Max Metzger on Hitler and Ecumenism, In God's Hands: Essays on the Church and Ecumenism in Honour of Michael A. Fahey, S.J., (Jaroslav Z. Skira, Michael S. Attridge eds.), Peeters Publishers, 2006 ISBN 9789042918306
  4. ^ a b c Georg Denzler, Volker Fabricius, Christen und Nationalsozialisten: Darstellung und Dokumente, S. Fischer, 2015
  5. ^ "Resistance!? Protestant Christians under the Nazi Regime". de.evangelischer-widerstand.de. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  6. ^ Matthias, Ulrich. Esperanto the New Latin for the Church and for Ecumenism, Vlaamse Esperantobond v.z.w., 2002 ISBN 9789077066041
  7. ^ Jericho, Dirk (23 November 2017). "Esperanto lernen beim Joggen" [Learn Esperanto While Jogging] (in German). Berliner Woche. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Märtyrerpriester Max Josef Metzger vor Seligsprechung". www.katholische-kirche-steiermark.at. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Widerstand!? Evangelische Christinnen und Christen im Nationalsozialismus". de.evangelischer-widerstand.de. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  10. ^ Benz, Wolfgang (2003). Überleben im Dritten Reich: Juden im Untergrund und ihre Helfer. C.H.Beck. p. 138. ISBN 978-3-406-51029-8.
  11. ^ The verdict of the People's Court against Metzger: 8 J 190/43 g l H 253/438
  12. ^ a b Freiburg, Erzdiözese. "Wichtige Entscheidung für Seligsprechung von Max Josef Metzger". Home (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  13. ^ Möhring, Marianne (1994). Metzger, Max Josef. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB), volume 17. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. p. 255. ISBN 3-428-00198-2.
  14. ^ The Dangerous Language – Esperanto under Hitler and Stalin, 2016, eld. Palgrave MacMillan UK
  15. ^ a b "Max Josef Metzger ist auf dem Weg zur Seligsprechung". domradio.de (in German). 14 March 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  16. ^ Helmut Moll (2015). Zeugen für Christus. Das deutsche Martyrologium des 20. Jahrhunderts. Hrsg. im Auftrag der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz. Paderborn u. a. 6. erweiterte und neu strukturierte Auflage, Band 1, ISBN 978-3-506-78080-5, S. 274–277
  17. ^ Givey, David W., The Social Thought of Thomas Merton: The Way of Nonviolence and Peace for the Future, Saint Mary's Press, 2009 ISBN 9781599820170
  18. ^ (de) Roland Schnell, Max-Josef-Metzger-Platz 6. Juni 2019 Einweihung Esperanto in Berlin and Brandenburg, 30 May 2019.
  19. ^ (de) Neu gestalteter Max-Josef-Metzger-Platz an der Müllerstraße, Bezirksbroschüre Mitte, p. 122
  20. ^ "Dr. Max Josef Metzger | Stolpersteine in Berlin". www.stolpersteine-berlin.de. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Stolpersteine in Graz Max Josef Metzger". www.stolpersteine-graz.at. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

Further reading

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  • Swidler, Leonard (1977). Bloodwitness for peace and unity. The life of Max Josef Metzger. Ecumenical Press, Philadelphia, OCLC [1]
  • Stevenson, Lilian (1952). Max Joseph Metzger, priest and martyr, 1887–1944, with a selection from his letters and poems written in prison. SPCK, London, OCLC [2].