In Solitary Witness: The Life And Death Of Franz Jägerstätter by Gordon Zahn

Paperback: There is no hiding the fact that it is much harder to be a Christian today than it was in the first centuries, and there is every reason to predict that it will be even more difficult in the near future. When it becomes the "sacred duty" of a man to commit sin, the Christians no longer knows how he should live. There remains nothing else for him to do but bear individual witness - alone. And where such witness is, there is the Kingdom of God. - Reinhold Schneider

In Solitary Witness (1964, 1986 revised edition) is a true story of almost matchless heroism and a work of humanity and great scholarly conscience.

For more than twenty years unknown and ignored by his church and fellow countrymen - today a national hero and acclaimed as an authentic martyr and saint. 

This is the book that discovered Franz Jägerstätter and his inspiring story of unyielding resistance to Nazi orders and his commitment to the dictates of conscience even at the cost of life itself. 

When German troops moved into Austria in 1938, Jägerstätter was the only man in his village to vote against the Anschluss (Annexation of Austria). 

Although he was not involved in any political organization and did, in fact, undergo one brief period of military training, he remained openly anti-Nazi and declared he would not fight in Hitler's war. 

This twentieth-century martyr, a husband and father of three, was beheaded for his refusal to serve a ruler his conscience could not accept.

About the author: Gordon Charles Zahn (1918-2007) was an American author, sociologist, pacifist, and professor who was a conscientious objector during World War II. After receiving his PhD from The Catholic University of America, he taught at Loyola University. The author of numerous book and articles, he focused on the topics of conscience and war.

Pete Cross earned his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and has been narrating audiobooks since 2015. He received an Audie nomination for 2016's A Time to Die. In 2017, he garnered both an Earphones Award and a Parent's Choice Award for his narration of Openly Straight. An Ohio native, he spent eight years in Los Angeles where he coached actors, was lucky enough to work with French director Quentin Dupieux, and despised the traffic.