Frater Massäus (Josef) Stemeseder OFM (1891–1940): A Victim of the Nazi Medical Killings  Frater Massäus (Josef) Stemeseder OFM (1891–1940), a Franciscan friar who served his community as a cook and gardener. On 10 December 1940, he was deported from the Provincial Mental Hospital in Hall to the Nazi killing centre at Hartheim, where he was murdered. Source: Archive of the Tyrolean Franciscan Province, Hall in Tirol. Frater Massäus Stemeseder was a Franciscan friar who served his religious communities as a cook and gardener. For many years, he worked in several monasteries in Tyrol, Salzburg and South Tyrol. After developing a mental illness, he received care at the Provincial Mental Hospital in Hall in Tirol from 1931 onwards. Under National Socialist rule, his need for protection became a death sentence. On 10 December 1940, he was deported together with other patients to the Nazi killing centre at Hartheim Castle near Linz. He was murdered there. His life story commemorates a human being who was deprived of his rights, deported and killed through the cooperation of the National Socialist medical and administrative systems. Early life and entry into the Franciscan Order Josef Stemeseder was born on 3 February 1891 in Obertrum am See in the present-day Austrian province of Salzburg. He was the son of a miller. On 16 January 1913, he received the habit as a Franciscan tertiary in Bolzano. He made his profession there on 5 February 1914. During the following years, he served in several religious houses:
His work as a cook and gardener Frater Massäus was not one of the clergy who appeared prominently in public. His life was characterised by work, prayer and service to his community. As a cook, he provided meals for his fellow friars; as a gardener, he cultivated and maintained the monastery gardens. These seemingly inconspicuous activities remind us that history is not made only by prominent figures. The life of a religious brother whose work was largely performed in the background also possesses dignity and historical significance. Illness and admission to the institution in Hall From 1931 onwards, Frater Massäus received care for a mental illness at the Provincial Mental Hospital in Hall in Tirol. Historical records employ terminology that is now outdated and, in some cases, discriminatory. A modern account should therefore refer neutrally to a mental illness and psychiatric care. Following Austria’s annexation by Nazi Germany in March 1938, people with mental illnesses and disabilities faced increasing danger. Nazi ideology denied them the right to live. Medical institutions, government authorities and transport organisations became involved in the systematic registration, selection, deportation and murder of vulnerable people. Deportation from Hall to Hartheim On 10 December 1940, Frater Massäus Stemeseder was taken from the institution in Hall. Together with other patients, he was deported in a group transport to the killing centre at Hartheim Castle near Alkoven in Upper Austria. Hartheim was one of the six central killing centres used for the so-called “Aktion T4”. The people deported there were murdered with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber disguised as a shower room. Their bodies were subsequently cremated. The perpetrators concealed these murders by issuing false causes of death and inventing places and dates of death. According to the information currently available, Frater Massäus was most likely murdered shortly after his arrival on 10 December 1940. However, his religious order was officially informed that he had died on 9 January 1941. This date must be critically assessed as part of the National Socialist system of deception and concealment. Historical context: the Nazi medical killings The German term “Euthanasie” was a euphemism employed by the perpetrators. These crimes were, in fact, state-organised murders of people with mental illnesses, intellectual or physical disabilities, as well as others whom the regime classified as insufficiently “productive”. The victims were not persecuted because of anything they had done. They were murdered because Nazi ideology assessed their lives solely according to supposed health, ability to work and hereditary “fitness”. Medical diagnoses thus became instruments of exclusion, persecution and murder. Frater Massäus Stemeseder represents the many people deported from Hall whose trust in an institution intended to provide care and protection was betrayed in the most brutal manner. A critical note on the year of his death The official notification sent to the Franciscan Order apparently recorded 9 January 1941 as the date of Frater Massäus’s death. However, his deportation to Hartheim had already taken place on 10 December 1940. Because victims were generally murdered immediately or shortly after their arrival at Hartheim, the officially communicated date probably did not correspond to the actual date of death. Falsified death certificates, invented causes of death and delayed notifications were used to conceal the killings. For this reason, his lifespan may continue to be given as 1891–1940. However, the discrepancy between his probable murder in December 1940 and the officially reported date in January 1941 should be clearly explained. Remembering Frater Massäus Stemeseder Frater Massäus Stemeseder was not a nameless victim. He was a human being with a family background, a religious vocation and a place within his community. He worked as a cook and gardener and devoted his life to the service of his fellow friars. His fate reminds us that human dignity must never depend on health, physical or mental ability, or perceived usefulness to society. By remembering his name and life story, we restore part of the identity that the National Socialist perpetrators attempted to erase. Conclusion The life of Frater Massäus Stemeseder connects the history of the Franciscan Order with the history of the Nazi medical killings. It demonstrates how a vulnerable person was deprived of his rights and murdered through the interaction of Nazi ideology, medicine and state administration. Remembering him also carries an enduring obligation: every human being possesses an inviolable dignity, regardless of illness, disability, age or ability to work. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Who was Frater Massäus Stemeseder? Frater Massäus, whose birth name was Josef Stemeseder, was an Austrian Franciscan friar. He worked as a cook and gardener in several Franciscan communities. When and where was he born? Josef Stemeseder was born on 3 February 1891 in Obertrum am See in the Austrian province of Salzburg. What was his connection to Hall in Tirol? He served at the Leopoldinum in Hall from 1920 to 1921. From 1931 onwards, he received care for a mental illness at the Provincial Mental Hospital in Hall. When was Frater Massäus deported? On 10 December 1940, he was deported together with other patients from Hall to the Nazi killing centre at Hartheim Castle. Where was he murdered? He was murdered in the gas chamber at the Hartheim killing centre near Alkoven in Upper Austria. Why is 1940 given as the year of his death if 9 January 1941 was officially reported? The date officially communicated to his religious order was probably falsified. Such invented dates and causes of death were used to conceal the murders. As Frater Massäus was deported to Hartheim on 10 December 1940, it is assumed that he was murdered in December 1940. Was Frater Massäus involved in political resistance? There is no evidence that he participated in political resistance. He was not murdered because of resistance activities but became a victim of the Nazi medical killings as a patient of the institution in Hall. read more:🇬🇧 (EN) Bold _Franciscan _Friar🇬🇧 Reinisch-Franz-Pallottiner-Blog (EN)🇬🇧father-jakob-gapp-resistance-national-socialism
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