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| Josef Muller in 1937 |
Riebling
told the stories of many fascinating people involved in those plots.
The most
vivid German character aiding the Pope was Josef Müller:
Josef Müller was a self-made lawyer of sturdy
peasant stock, a beer-loving Bavarian with sky-blue eyes, and an Iron Cross
hero of the Great War. Because he worked his way through school driving an
oxcart, friends ribbed him as Ochsensepp,
Joey Ox. The nickname aptly captured Müller’s robust build, his rural roots,
and the strong will that brought him such bad and good fortune.
As the
Nazis seized power in 1933 he advised Bavaria’s Prime Minister, Heinrich Held,
to arrest Heinrich Himmler and put him before a firing squad. Held hesitated
and did nothing. In 1934 Müller was arrested for treason. Himmler personally
interrogated Müller about what he had told Held. Müller admitted advising
Himmler should be shot and asked would Himmler not have given the same advice:
Müller’s courage confounded Himmler. An Allied
Intelligence officer later posited that Müller, “a tough and two-fisted political
infighter,” was “the type of man-sprung-from-the-people whom the Nazis loved to
claim as their own and who, as an opponent, rather daunted them.” Somewhat awed
by his prisoner’s will, Himmler invited him to join the SS. Müller refused. “I
am philosophically opposed to you. I am a practicing Catholic, and my brother
is a Catholic priest. Where could I find the possibility of a compromise here?”
Himmler congratulated Müller on his “manly defence” and let him go.
The head
of Hitler’s bodyguard, Hans Rattenhuber, became Müller’s friend and an
unwitting but valuable source of SS secrets in conversations with Müller.
Müller set up a network assembling information on Nazi violations of the Concordat between
the regime and the Catholic Church.
He
started acting as a courier carrying information between Germany and Rome as he
personally flew a sports plane.
The
Abwehr, German Military Intelligence, reached out to Müller and enlisted him to
carry messages to and from the Vatican. The leadership of the Abwehr, including
Admiral Canaris, was at the heart of German resistance to Hitler.
To
provide cover for Müller they portrayed him as an agent of the Abwehr spying on
the Vatican!
In early
1943 he directly briefed Pope Pius XII on coup plans by high ranking German
military leaders. Pius subsequently gave moral sanction to the assassination of
Hitler, arranged that the Vatican would take immediate diplomatic action after
a coup to recognize Müller as a special emissary to the new German government
with the status of ambassador and would seek a separate peace with the Western
Allies. The coup was never attempted when a bomb failed to explode in a plane carrying
Hitler back from the Eastern Front.
Eventually
Müller was arrested. He was in prison in Berlin when Claus von Stauffenberg
attempted to kill Hitler in July of 1944 and mount a coup. Müller was to play
an important role. If the coup succeeded Müller would be released and flown
immediately to Rome where he would meet with the Pope and pursue peace talks with the
Allies.
When
Hitler survived and the coup failed retribution was swift and fierce.
The SS
finally determined the Abwehr was plotting against Hitler and found evidence of
Catholic participation in the plots.
On April
8, 1945 Müller was advised he would be hanged that day:
Müller prepared for death. He sank to his knees in
his striped orange and gray pajamas, whispering the Our Father. Then he
motioned to one of his fellow prisoners, Russian General Pyotr Privalov, and
asked him to memorize a message. Knowing that the last words of the condemned
sometimes reached the outside world, he told Privalov he would shout to the
hangman: “I die for peace!”
Müller then walked to the gallows. What happened there is as dramatic as any work of
fiction I have read. You will need to read the book to find out the fate of
Joey Ox.
What
writer of spy fiction could not wish he or she had a hero to rival Müller. Ian
Fleming’s personal WW II exploits are pale in comparison to Müller.
Recounting
Muller’s story demonstrates Riebling’s skill at bringing to life the scheming and people
that enveloped the Vatican and German Resistance to Hitler. It is a rare work
of non-fiction that has me anxiously turning the pages. One night I stayed up
late reading as I had to know what happened to Müller before I could sleep.
****
Church of Spies by Mark Riebling 
What a remarkable story of a courageous person, Bill! It really shows that truth is often so much more fascinating than fiction is. I'm glad you shared this; not only does it shed light on one memorable hero, but it also gives a sense of the times and place.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I am surprised there has not been a movie about Muller. Could it be because his personal life was modest and he was genuinely religious?
DeleteJust finished the book Church of Spies by Mark Riebling. Awesome man and very courageous.
DeleteWhat an affecting story - and now I very much want to know what happened at the end. Thanks for the information Bill, all new to me.
ReplyDeleteI was so intrigued I had to go and look him up - don't have the full story, but your cliff-hanger was a good one...
DeleteMoira: Thanks for the comments. I doubt I have put a cliff-hanger in a post before. Muller's story was so compelling.
DeleteVery fascinating information, Bill. It shows that truth is stranger than fiction sometimes.
ReplyDeleteTracyK: Thanks for the comment. Muller's story reminds me that I have never choices to compare with his life and the millions of people who lived in Euroope during the Third Reich.
DeleteGod moves in mysterious waysHitler durvived all the plots to end him because he would be the best way to internally destory the Nazis And Muller survives necause he is the best way the country can heal
ReplyDeleteDavid: Thank you for your comment.
DeleteI know how Joseph Muller's story ends but, of course, I will not give it away. Joseph Muller was "not only a good man, a faithful Catholic" but also, "a human saint." If you believe, he is with God and Jesus.
ReplyDeleteElissa: Thanks for the comment. He was a man who may yet be declared a saint.
DeleteI will give away the ending because, after all, everything secret degenerates. Joey Ox was spared, along with a few dozen others, because of his potential as a bargaining chip once the war ended. He went on to have a productive political (and Catholic life.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: I cannot thank a commenter who adds a spoiler but I will not delete your comment. I would expect someone choosing to be a spoiler would be open about their name.
DeleteWhatever happened to his daughter? Did she survive the war? If so, where did she, and her mother, Mullers wife, end up?
ReplyDeleteThank you.
B.J.: Thanks for the comment. I regret that I do not know the answers to your questions.
DeleteAn excellent book. Muller himself deserves a biography dedicated to his own amazing life --and, yes, a movie too. Haven't found one in English (or any language). If any one finds one please let me know. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGary: Thanks for the comment. He was an amazing man. Much could be learned from a full biography.
Delete