Johann Nobis (born 16 April 1899, St. Georgen bei Salzburg,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

; died 6 January 1940,

Plötzensee Prison Plötzensee Prison (, JVA Plötzensee) is a men's prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The detention centre established in 1868 has a lon ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) was an Austrian

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

Life

Johann Nobis was born to a farmer in the Holzhausen municipality St. Georgen bei Salzburg. As a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. He was arrested, and on 23 November 1939 was sentenced to death by a Reich's court-martial, for diminishing the state's defensive power. He was imprisoned at Plötzensee Prison on 20 December 1939, where he was executed on 6 January 1940. On the day of his execution, five other Jehovah's Witnesses from

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

were also executed. His farewell letter to his mother is archived at the DÖW, donated by Gertrud Feichtinger-Nobis.

Stolpersteine

On 19 July 1997 the artist

Gunter Demnig Gunter Demnig (born 27 October 1947) is a German artist. He is best known for his ''Stolperstein'' ("stumbling block") memorials to the victims of Nazi persecution, including Jews, homosexuals, Romani people, Romani and the disabled. The project ...

installed two

stolpersteine A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...

for Johann Nobis and his brother Matthias Nobis in front of their birth house in

Sankt Georgen bei Salzburg St. Georgen bei Salzburg ( Central Bavarian: ''Sonkt Georng bei Soizburg'') is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Personalities On July 19, 1997 the artist Gunter Demnig installed two Stolpers ...

, at the invitation of

Andreas Maislinger Andreas Maislinger (born 26 February 1955 in Sankt Georgen bei Salzburg, St. Georgen near Salzburg, Austria) is an Austrian political scientist and wiktionary:Founder, founder and former chairman of the Austrian Service Abroad. He also is the fou ...

."Stoplersteine zur mahnenden Erinnerung"
Jehova's Witness press release. (17 July 1997) Gunter Demnig was a guest of the Arts Initiative KNIE in

Oberndorf bei Salzburg Oberndorf bei Salzburg ( Central Bavarian: ''Owerndorf ba Såizburg'') is a small city in the Austrian state of Salzburg, about 17 km (11 mi) north of the City of Salzburg. It is situated on the river Salzach in the Flachgau district. ...

. He has installed over 20,000

for victims of the National Socialist regime. In nearby Sankt Radegund a Stolperstein for the

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Franz Jägerstätter Franz Jägerstätter, (also spelled Jaegerstaetter in English; born Franz Huber, 20 May 1907 – 9 August 1943) was an Austrians, Austrian farmer and conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed ...

was set up in 2006.

References

Austrian Jehovah's Witnesses People from Salzburg-Umgebung District 1940 deaths Austrian conscientious objectors 1899 births Executions at Plötzensee Prison Executed Austrian people {{JehovahsWitnesses-stub People who were court-martialed People from the Duchy of Salzburg

Life

Stolpersteine

Further reading

References