The Need to Stand Up for What's Right

The need to stand up for what he believed to be right was the driving force behind Jagerstatter's actions and he had total faith that God would provide for him in eternity. Though he knew that he would be put to death for his stand against the Nazis, he refused to agree to serve in the military. Jagerstatter was urged to capitulate by family, friends and advisers, including church officials. The author notes that several priests told him that the right thing to do was to take the military oath and agree to serve. Though Jagerstatter was promised a non-combat position by the Nazi military leaders, he could not serve an evil regime, even in that capacity. He argued that, if he were working as a corpsman, he would simply be releasing someone else from that duty, allowing them to take...