The Unshakable Resistance of Frater Maximin Gredler (1871 - 1950)

Photograph: father Maximin (Johann) Gredler. Held in: Archive of the Franciscan Province of Tyrol in Hall in Tyrol.

A Franciscan Brother Defies Nazi Force

The history of the dissolution of monasteries under the Nazi regime is one of expropriation, expulsion, and injustice. But it is also a history of courageous resistance by individuals who remained faithful to their conscience. One such person was Frater Maximin (Johann Gredler), a Franciscan brother in Hall, Tyrol, whose steadfastness remains impressive to this day.

Who was Frater Maximin?

Frater Maximin, born Johann Gredler on January 28, 1871, died on October 7, 1950. He was a Franciscan brother at the monastery in Hall, Tyrol, for over 50 years. After the violent dissolution of the monastery, he found a new role as a sacristan in Tux-Lanersbach. His story was preserved by his niece, Theresia Rainer, and communicated to the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) in 1979.

The Violent Dissolution of the Monastery

On September 30, 1940, the Franciscan monastery in Hall was expropriated by the Nazis and the religious community was expelled. Six fathers were initially allowed to remain for pastoral duties, but they too were arrested shortly afterwards.
The climax of the closure for Frater Maximin, however, came on October 2, 1940. As he was tidying up in the sacristy after Mass, the Secret State Police (Gestapo) suddenly appeared, accompanied by the Mayor of Hall, Dipl.  Ing. Heinz Bauer.

An Act of Defiance: The Words of Frater Maximin

The Gestapo ordered Frater Maximin to immediately leave everything behind. The church, like the monastery, would be closed and all its contents seized. Shattered, the brother performed one last sacred duty: he extinguished the Eternal Light.
Then he turned to the attending Mayor and uttered the memorable words recorded in the Chronicle of the Tyrolean Franciscan Province:
“Well, Mr. Mayor, now enjoy this loot. But it shall bring you no blessing.”
To the Mayor's weak excuse (“Well, I'm not to blame”), Frater Maximin replied with the clarity of a pure conscience:
“What, yes you are. I was 50 years in this house and I had eyes too. And for 50 years I saw nothing wrong.”
He even firmly refused the order to change his religious habit for civilian clothes: “Mr. Mayor, I have always worked in this habit, and as long as no one forces me to put on another, I will not take this off. Now I will go. May God protect you!” With these final words, he left his home of five decades.

Arrest and Imprisonment

His courageous protest did not go without consequence. From December 17 to 20, 1940, Frater Maximin was imprisoned in Zell am Ziller and subsequently transferred to the police prison in Innsbruck until January 6, 1941. The remaining fathers were also arrested on November 4, 1940. Three of them were expelled from the Tyrol region (Gau), the other three were held in Innsbruck prison until November 21.

A Legacy of Courage

Frater Maximin Gredler allowed himself to be intimidated by neither the authorities nor the brutal Gestapo. His resistance did not consist of secret actions, but in the public, courageous denunciation of injustice and the faithful preservation of his religious identity until the very last moment. He thus stands as an example of the quiet but steadfast resistance of many faithful people during the Nazi dictatorship.
Source: Information from Theresia Rainer, communicated to the DÖW (1979), and the Chronicle of the Tyrolean Franciscan Province (1946).
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