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Franz Hasel – The Soldier Who Defied Hitler
Manage episode 419153672 series 2934600
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On a mild Saturday in 1939, a letter arrived at a German farmhouse that changed the family’s world. It was a summons from the draft board for the 40-year-old Franz Hasel to attend the recruitment office in Frankfurt the following Monday.
Because he was a pacifist, Hasel was assigned as a private to the Pioneer Company 699, which built roads, bridges and fortifications at the front lines. But Hasel’s story is truly unbelievable. Although he wore the uniform, he did not agree with the Nazi agenda. He even risked his life to warn the people in the villages the army had passed through that the SS death squads would soon be coming to their town. And then, during the middle of the advance into Russia, he informed his sergeant to be prepared because Hitler was not going to win the war.
These were acts and words of treason during wartime. They were enough to have a soldier face a firing squad. So, how did Franz Hasel survive, and how did he know that Hitler would not win the war?
Well, that is what makes this story so fascinating. Join me as we journey with a man who dared to defy the society, culture and the army of his time because he believed in a higher law.
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