Franz Hasel—A Nazi who Dared to Live for God

 By Sherri Stewart

What would you do if you were drafted into the Nazi army? Such a dilemma happened in 1939 to Franz Hasel, father of three and devout Seventh Day Adventist. A summons from the draft board arrived at his farmhouse to present himself at the recruitment office in Frankfurt the following Monday. Although he was a pacifist and could not carry a gun, Hasel committed himself to follow God no matter what. He requested to be assigned to the medical corps but was assigned to the Pioneer Company 699 that built roads, bridges, and fortifications at the front lines. He knew that either he must obey the regime, or he and his family would be sent to Dachau concentration camp. 

As the first weekend approached, Private Hasel asked to speak to his commanding officer and made the following request, “As you know, sir, I am a Christian, I follow the Bible and its teaching and set aside the seventh day of each week as a special day to worship God and strengthen my relationship with Him. I would like to be excused from reporting for duty on God’s day of worship.” His lieutenant’s face turned red. “You must be mad, private!” This is the German Army. This battalion is going to war, and you want Saturday off? It’s just my luck to be saddled with a religious nut!” The angry officer even threatened Hasel with court-martial, but Hasel stood his ground, and the lieutenant eventually agreed that he could have Saturdays off if he could find a replacement.

During boot camp training in 1941, just before the company entered Russia, Hasel proved to be especially good at target practice. He soon became known as the sharpshooter of the company—this a man who refused to carry a gun. How would he react when faced with an enemy soldier? He then remembered his promise to God not to take another man’s life. Since he didn’t want to use his sharpshooter skills to kill, he had to come up with a plan. He found a piece of wood and carved it into the shape of a revolver handle. Then he used shoe polish to paint it black, the same color as his revolver. Later that night, he slipped outside to a small lake nearby. Under the cover of darkness, Hasel tossed his weapon into the water and replaced it with the fake wooden handle in his black leather holster. Private First Class Hasel was headed to the Russian Front with a wooden gun!

While advancing into Russian territory, Hasel’s unit was instructed to search through the houses in every captured village for any partisans and resistance fighters who may be hiding. He was ordered to indiscriminately kill anyone he encountered. In one village as he was searching a house, Hasel had the distinct impression someone was hiding in the bedroom. He looked under the bed and came face-to-face with a young man staring back at him. Hasel knew the young man would be shot if he reported him, so he turned on his heel and left without saying a word. 

Several weeks later, Hasel was assigned to patrol a railway track to make sure that no resistance fighters sabotaged the tracks. He was all alone on patrol when a group of Russian Cossacks suddenly charged at him on their horses and formed a circle around him. There was no way to escape. He braced himself for death, believing they would surely kill him. Then to Hasel’s utter amazement, he stared into the face of a Cossack commander who was the same young man hiding under the bed. They immediately recognized each other. The young commander pointed his gun at Hasel and said, “I could kill you now, but you were kind enough to save my life. So, I will spare your life!” Then he ordered his men to ride on.

As the German Army bulldozed its way into Russia, special SS forces followed behind the army. These special forces had one main goal: to kill all Jews. Every chance Franz Hasel got, he’d sneak into the villages and towns they had overrun and warn the Jews to hide. “The SS is following in a day or two behind us. You will recognize them by their black uniforms with the skull-and-crossbones on their caps. When they get here, they will round the Jews up and murder them.” 

In one such village, Hasel along with other soldiers entered a small house to search for snipers. The house was empty but showed signs of a hasty retreat. The soldiers pocketed jewelry, watches, and all the trinkets they could find. In the meantime, Hasel headed to the attic where he found a sewing machine with a spool of black thread on it. Knowing how precious thread was back home in Germany, he pocketed the spool to send home to his wife. After all, he rationalized, the owners weren’t going to come back. Later that night his conscience reminded him it was the little things that led to sin. The next day, he returned to the house, spool in pocket, and put it back where it belonged. Like Daniel in the Bible, Franz Hasel determined to live out his faith in the presence of his enemies.

https://theholocaustandworldwarii.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/faithful-at-the-front/

Selah Award finalist Sherri Stewart loves a clean novel, sprinkled with romance and a strong message that challenges her faith. She spends her working hours with books—either editing others’ manuscripts or writing her own. Her passions are traveling to the settings of her books and sampling the food. She traveled to Paris for this book, and she works daily on her French and German although she doesn’t need to since everyone speaks English. A widow, Sherri lives in Orlando with her lazy dog, Lily. She shares recipes, tidbits of the book’s locations, and other authors' books in her newsletter.
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What Hides behind the Walls

If the Nazis stole your house, wouldn’t you be justified in stealing it back now that the war is over?

When Tamar Feldman admits to her husband, Daniel, and mentor, Neelie Visser, that she broke into her former home, they scold her for taking such a risk. Tamar is tired of being careful. She’s tired of living in the present, as if the past doesn’t matter. But the painting of the violin girl in her former bedroom draws her back again and again. She finally steals the painting to return it to its former owner. Now maybe this small act of justice will help her start to heal. What Tamar doesn’t realize is the past isn’t finished with her yet; in fact, it’s as close as the walls in her house and even follows her to Paris.
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