Johann Nobis (born 16 April 1899, St. Georgen bei Salzburg,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

; died 6 January 1940,

Plötzensee Prison Plötzensee Prison (german: Justizvollzugsanstalt Plötzensee, JVA Plötzensee) is a juvenile prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The d ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) was an Austrian

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

Life

Johann Nobis was born to a farmer in the Holzhausen municipality St. Georgen bei Salzburg. As a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...

, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. He was arrested, and on 23 November 1939 was sentenced to death by a Reich's court-martial, for diminishing the state's defensive power. He was imprisoned at Plötzensee Prison on 20 December 1939, where he was executed on 6 January 1940. On the day of his execution, five other Jehovah's Witnesses from

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

were also executed. His farewell letter to his mother is archived at the DÖW, donated by Gertrud Feichtinger-Nobis.

Stolpersteine

On 19 July 1997 the artist

Gunter Demnig Gunter Demnig (born 27 October 1947 in Berlin) is a German artist. He is best known for his ''Stolperstein'' ("stumbling block") memorials to the victims of Nazi persecution, including Jews, homosexuals, Romani and the disabled. The project plac ...

installed two stolpersteine for Johann Nobis and his brother Matthias Nobis in front of their birth house in

Sankt Georgen bei Salzburg Sankt Georgen (Central Bavarian: ''Sonkt Georng bei Soizburg'') is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Personalities On July 19, 1997 the artist Gunter Demnig installed two Stolpersteine for Joh ...

, at the invitation of

Andreas Maislinger Andreas Maislinger (born 26 February 1955 in St. Georgen near Salzburg, Austria) is an Austrian historian and political scientist and founder and chairman of the Austrian Service Abroad, including the Gedenkdienst, the Austrian Social Service an ...

."Stoplersteine zur mahnenden Erinnerung"
Jehova's Witness press release. (17 July 1997) Gunter Demnig was a guest of the

Arts Initiative KNIE Arts Initiative KNIE was founded as an initiative for contemporary art in 1995 in Oberndorf bei Salzburg. It is the origin of the stolperstein project in Braunau am Inn District. Influenced by the concept of intervention, the Arts Initiative KN ...

Oberndorf bei Salzburg Oberndorf bei Salzburg (Central Bavarian: ''Owerndorf ba Såizburg'') is a List of cities and towns in Austria, small city in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg, about 17 km (11 mi) north of the Salzburg, City of Salzburg. I ...

. He has installed over 20,000 stolpersteine for victims of the National Socialist regime. In nearby

Sankt Radegund Sankt Radegund, abbreviated St. Radegund, is a municipality in the district of Braunau am Inn in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, named after Saint Radegund. It is situated at the western rim of the Innviertel region, where the Salzach river fo ...

a Stolperstein for the

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Franz Jägerstätter Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S. (also spelled Jaegerstaetter in English; born Franz Huber, 20 May 1907 – 9 August 1943) was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed for his refusa ...

was set up in 2006.

References

Austrian Jehovah's Witnesses People from Salzburg-Umgebung District 1940 deaths Austrian conscientious objectors Stolpersteine 1899 births Executions at Plötzensee Prison Executed Austrian people {{JehovahsWitnesses-stub

Life

Stolpersteine

Further reading

References