Austrian priest who said no to Hitler

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

Three weeks ago a patient in the hospital where I’m working handed me a book, thinking I might be interested in it. She did say that I was to return it to her. More out of politeness than anything else I took the book.

I went back to my office, left the book on the desk and forgot about it. We have been busy in the hospital these days, so that book was the last thing on my mind.

A few days ago I spotted the book on my desk and brought it home with me.

On the cover is a picture of Adolf Hitler with a smaller picture of Fr Franz Reinisch. The title of the book is ‘I Will Not Serve’ with the sub title ‘The priest who said NO to Hitler’. At the bottom of the cover is the name of the author, David Rice. Shock might be too strong a word but I was sort of flabbergasted. I know David. David was a Dominican priest for a number of years. He headed the Rathmines School of Journalism, later known as Dublin Institute of Technology and these days called Technological University Dublin.

Among the many books David has written is ‘Song of Tiananmen Square’, which is a gripping novel about the massacre in Beijing and the events surrounding it.

David has always had an interest in Germany. After his priestly ordination, along with another Dominican, he set off from Dublin on his motorbike to drive through Germany on his way to Rome.

‘I Will Not Serve’ makes for an interesting read. It tells the story of a young wayward Austrian man, who to the astonishment of his friends and parents, but above all, to the amazement of his girlfriend, decides to study for the priesthood. With a number of hiccups along the way Franz is ordained a priest of the Pallottine Congregation on June 29, 1928.

Rice paints a picture of a man who has a short fuse. He’s tall and can easily intimidate those who might be inclined to disagree with him. 

David readily agrees that the book is a mix of fiction and reality. But what is certain is that Fr Franz Reinisch took a stand against Adolf Hitler. 

It is also factual, that Reinisch spent his short 14 years as a priest, regularly in dispute with his religious superiors. On a personal note, that heartened me.

He realised long before Hitler came to power that he would prove disastrous for Germany and the world.

His fellow priests advised Reinisch to keep quiet and put up with the situation. In 1933  Germany and the Holy See signed a Concordat. Franz was reminded of that and told to obey his superiors.

In March 1941 Franz received his call-up papers to join the German Army.

He refused. His refusal was based on the fact that soldiers were asked to swear an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler. He made it clear that he would never do such a thing. 

And for that he was beheaded as a common criminal at Berlin Brandenburg-Görden prison on August 20, 1942, just three days before the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle that heralded the end of Hitler.

In the course of his life Franz influenced many people, including fellow prisoners, and a close friend home on holiday from the front.

The book, published in 2018 by Mentor/Red Stag Press, is a great read.

There are plans afoot to make Franz Reinisch a saint.