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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Max Josef Metzger
German Resistance Memorial Centre, Index of Persons; retrieved at 4 September 2013

Life

Born on 3 February 1887, in

Schopfheim Schopfheim is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 10 km north of Rheinfelden, and 13 km east of Lörrach. The town is the birthplace of Gisela Oeri, Max Picard, and ...

in Baden, Germany, Metzger studied first at the ''lycee'' in Konstanz, where

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th ce ...

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. Metzger then attended the University of Freiburg and then at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, where he earned a doctorate in theology.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
In 1911 he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Diocese of Fribourg, and undertook parish work. He served as a military chaplain for the forces of Imperial Germany during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Father Metzger was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

on 6 May 1915, and subsequently honorably discharged because of ill health. 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".

Pacificism and Esperanto

In 1916 Metzger published ''Frieden auf Erden'' (Peace on Earth), a pamphlet urging an end to war. He moved to Graz, Austria where 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 secular institute, the Mission Society of the White Cross. Metzger was also involved in establishing the German Catholics’ Peace Association which used Esperanto in its international contacts from 1918.Matthias, Ulrich. ''Esperanto the New Latin for the Church and for Ecumenism'', Vlaamse Esperantobond v.z.w., 2002
In 1920 Metzger founded "Internacio Katolika" (IKA). From 1921 to 1924 Metzger edited the Esperanto magazine, ''Katolika Mondo'' (Catholic World), in Graz. In 1920 met with

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

, who encouraged him to work for disarmament in Europe. Strongly advocating the ecumenical idea of peace he soon became known as a leading German pacifist and Esperantist. In 1926 he re-located to Meiningen, where he and his community (now known as the Society of Christ the King) had been invited to staff and manage the Catholic Charities facility. In 1938, Metzger founded the "Una Sancta Brotherhood" a group devoted to the re-unification of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

churches. After the rise to power of German dictator

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 ...

in 1933, Metzger was arrested several times by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

. 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

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Archbishop of Uppsala, Erling Eidem, Metzger was denounced by the courier. Metzger's memorandum never reached

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

. The courier was a female Gestapo agent, Swedish-born Dagmar Imgart, and Metzger was arrested on 29 June 1943. Metzger was tried by the German People's Court. The Judge-President of the court,

Roland Freisler Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945), a German Nazi jurist, judge, and politician, served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945. As ...

, said that people like Metzger should be "eradicated." Metzger was sentenced to death and he was executed on 17 April 1944 in

Brandenburg-Görden Prison Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden quarter of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. Both criminal and political prisoners we ...

Gedenktafel Willdenowstr 8 (Wedd) Max Josef Metzger

Legacy

Thomas Merton was once influenced by the life of Max Josef Metzger. In his essay "A Martyr for Peace and Unity", he 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." The Catholic Church regards Max Josef Metzger as a martyr of faith. There is a Max-Josef-Metzger-Platz in Berlin, and some text in Esperanto.(de) Neu gestalteter Max-Josef-Metzger-Platz an der Müllerstraße
Bezirksbroschüre Mitte
p. 122

Life

Pacificism and Esperanto

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading