“Greetings in God, dearly beloved husband!“
“Greetings in God, most beloved wife and mother!“
Have you heard of the 2019 movie A Hidden Life? Written and directed by Terrence Malick, it tells the story of Franz Jagerstatter, an ordinary Austrian farmer who was caught on the wrong side of WWII. When Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938, young Franz was called away to military duty by the Nazi regime. During the months of military training and later imprisonment, Franz and his wife Franziska exchanged several letters. Following his training, the time came for Franz to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler and the Nazi regime. Franz courageously followed his conscience and refused to sign the oath, even though he knew his decision meant certain death for him and much suffering for the young family he was leaving behind. Ultimately (spoiler alert), Franz was martyred for his beliefs in 1943. Franz is currently on his way to becoming a canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
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