Sonderling

The Franz Jaegerstatter Story

De: James F. Sinnott

Narrado por: Adams Morgan

As a child, young Franz saw his father go off to fight in the Great War. As a young man, Franz and his young wife, Fani, dare to begin a family under the shadow of Hitler's Germany. While the New Order closes in around their Austrian homeland, Catholic students are recruited to help hunt out Jews. At the same time, Franz's trusted parish priest, Father Otto - risking his own incarceration - hopes that the Catholic Church will speak out and tell Austrians what to do in the face of Hitler's rise to power.

The conflict created by Hitler's oppression of Catholics; the Vatican's fear of Hitler's own enemy, Soviet atheistic communism; and Franz's concern for and indebtedness to the priests who helped to raise him take him through an odyssey of intrigue, resistance, and survival during the dark years of World War II.

©1998 James P. Sinnott (P)1999 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A recent long road trip was made much more palatable by an unabridged audiobook version of Maryknoll Father Jim Sinnott's Sonderling, an excellent biography of Franz Jaegerstatter, a Catholic conscientious objector in Austria during Hitler's occupation. The story was well told, making Jaegerstatter very accessible and thereby challenging to all of us who think ourselves excused from heroism by our ordinariness." (Marie Dennis, Sojourners magazine)

A Hero for our times

This is a worthwhile book to listen to. The story of Franz Jagerstadter, a simple Austrian farmer who refused to serve in Hitler's army is a story of character and conscience inspiring us today to be true to what we believe no matter what the cost. This book is even more relevant today since Franz was beatified by the Catholic Church in October 2007 which seems to say he was right and so many other church people of the time were wrong giving into Hitler.
I found "Sonderling" very interesting and inspiring because it used historical facts to weave a personal and concrete picture of the trials and challenges of people living in Austria under Hitler. The main character is Franz but the portrayal of other individuals who move in and out of his life broadens the perspective.