Father Viktor: the Story of a Passionist Hero

Our research endeavors began with a U.S. Signal Corps photograph (Nat’l Archives ID 265456) depicting the mass funeral held in Schwarzenfeld on April 25, 1945, which is posted in our gallery. The caption reads, "Reburial of Atrocity Victims. Burial services directed by the pastor of Schwarzenfeld, Germany, are offered for recent atrocity victims of German SS troops. When the Third U.S. Army troops entered Schwarzenfeld, they discovered a mass grave for 300 Polish Jews murdered by the SS just a few days before. The Military Government ordered the populace to make coffins, dig up the bodies (wash and clothe them in donated clothing), and rebury them with a decent funeral. About 500 civilians attended the service conducted by the town’s pastor." This caption conveys the basic story, with a few inaccurate details that we’ll address in our narrative. It also neglects to mention that a Passionist priest averted disaster, preventing Third Army troops from destroying Schwarzenfeld in a retaliatory strike. His name was Nicholas Koch, ordained ‘Father Victor’ in 1896. [1]

Young Nicholas Koch

In 1873, Nikolaus was born in Sharon, a small steel and coal-mining town in northwestern Pennsylvania. During that era, Sharon's community consisted mostly of first and second-generation German immigrants, a fact that is evident in the town's cemeteries: etched in the time-worn surfaces of old tombstones are the words, "Hier Rhut in Gott." Nikolaus' parents, Nikolaus and Viktoria Elser Koch, were German immigrants who voyaged across the Atlantic to America, where they eventually married and had five children. During the 1800s, coal was abundant in the Sharon area, and to support their growing family, Nikolaus' father became a coal miner.

The Kochs were devout Catholics, and the family was instrumental in establishing Sharon's first Catholic parish church, St. Rose. Young Nikolaus grew up with a church in his backyard, for St. Rose was constructed only a few meters away from the Koch homestead. There is little doubt that Nikolaus was raised in a deeply religious environment, for the Kochs were among St. Rose's most active parish members.

When Nikolaus was only six years old, devastating tragedy struck. On All Saints Day in 1880, his mother gave birth to a sixth child, Felix, and this newest addition to the Koch family died within hours. Six months later, Nikolaus' father died of "black lung," a disease that resulted from inhaling coal particles. The following year, young Nikolaus' paternal grandmother, who had journeyed to America with other members of the Koch family, also passed on to her heavenly reward.

Three deaths, all within a short period of time. One can only imagine the life-altering impact of multiple bereavements upon six-year-old Nikolaus. Perhaps the painful loss of his earthly father drew him closer to the heavenly one. Those who personally knew Nikolaus remember his adages, especially a quote from the book of Job, which he often repeated during desperate times: "God had given, God has taken away. Praised be His Holy Name." Certainly that statement held great meaning for him, since he'd learned this lesson in faith at a tender age.

Of all three deaths, his father's would have the greatest impact. This tragic event would affect the Koch family not only emotionally, but economically as well, for they had lost their main breadwinner. The burden of supporting five children fell to Viktoria and her two eldest daughters, who were only twelve and ten years old. In such a scenario, each member of the family would become intimately familiar with hard work, thrift, and sacrifice, including Nikolaus, who helped by protecting and caring for his two younger brothers.

In the aftermath of sorrow and loss, however, the struggling family was not alone, for they lived within a tightly-knit and deeply religious German community. In the difficult years that followed, they received help from their neighbors--an important experience that becomes deeply woven within the fabric of Nikolaus' life. Perhaps during this time, the Christian generosity he witnessed from friends and neighbors inspired him to adopt his most memorable adage: "God will provide."

In June 1889, when Nikolaus was 16 yrs old, the Passionist Fathers conducted a mission at St. Rose church, bringing their message of the charism: embracing suffering and connecting with God in the midst of pain. Given what Nikolaus experienced early in life, it's clear why he immediately identified with that concept. In those moments of emotional anguish when his brother, father, and grandmother departed this world, and during the years of sacrifice and economic hardships, he turned to God, connected with God, and found spiritual strength in the knowledge of Christ's passion and resurrection.

On that summer morning when Nikolaus heard expressed in words what he always intuitively perceived, he sensed a spiritual awakening, a calling to follow Christ Crucified. Later that year, young Nikolaus took the first steps along the path that would forever control his destiny. He entered the Passionist Preparatory School at Dunkirk and shortly after - towards the end of the same year - he became a novice. On December 2, 1890 he made his religious profession and six years later, on September 19, 1896, he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood.

A Man Whose Faith Moved Mountains

In the early 1900’s, Father Viktor quickly earned a reputation for unstinting sacrifice and perseverance. In Cincinnati and West Hoboken, he labored as a curate. In 1905 he was a pastor in Kansas. From 1914 to 1920 he ministered and managed affairs at a Baltimore parish, where he built a large addition to the school and devoted time and energy during a terrible flu epidemic. From Baltimore, he moved to Pittsburgh where he acted as Rector of the monastery. These efforts and many more impressed Rome’s Superior General, who appointed Passionist Fathers Viktor and Valentine Lenherd to establish a new branch of the Passionist Order in Germany and Austria. Father Viktor resigned his position as Rector to accept this remarkable opportunity.

Frs. Viktor and Valentine arrived in Germany in June 1922, four years after WWI ended. Assigned the monumental task of building monasteries and gathering a new congregation, they discovered themselves in a country burdened by war reparations, inflation, and a housing shortage. In Munich, the gracious Vicar General (the future Archbishop Buchberger of Ratisbon), permitted Frs. Viktor and Valentine to reside in a home for priests. The Passionist fathers later endeavored to gain ownership over the house, intending to establish their first monastery there. Thus began a long negotiation process involving countless meetings and endless opposition. At times all seemed futile, and the venture doomed to failure, but Father Viktor persisted and eventually succeeded in attaining the site. Today, the house is a monastery and Passionist preparatory school in Munich.

A similar story occurred in Austria, where through the kindness of Vienna Archbishop Cardinal Piffl, Father Viktor acquired Maria Schutz, a shrine nestled amidst the scenic Austrian Alps. When purchased in 1925, both the church and monastery were in dilapidated condition, and again, money was scarce. Father Viktor conducted missions, collected funds in Austria and abroad, and procured enough money to completely renovate both buildings.

In a few short years the new Passionist foundation flourished, gathering 41 priests, Brothers, students, and novices, and 35 boys in the preparatory school. Altogether, their numbers outgrew both the Munich monastery and Maria Schutz combined, and in 1932, Father Viktor sought a location for a third monastery. His friend the Bishop of Ratisbon suggested Schwarzenfeld, a small town tucked away in idyllic Bavaria. Upon a vast, rolling hill stood the Miesbergkirche, a church dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, built in 1721.

Our relative Joe Koch visited Father Viktor in July 1945, and in a lengthy letter written to his mother, he describes the Miesbergkirche. "[During the tour] we went to the Chapel, it’s fairly large and very nice but I soon forgot it when I saw the church, it’s the nicest I’ve ever seen. The altars are all inlaid with gold which really sparkles. The pillars of the altar are imitation marble but one has to be on top of it to see the difference. The floors are white marble with all the statues of wood, hand carved. The pulpit box which is about halfway in the church has decorations of gold all around it, likewise the stations of the cross, also numerous statues throughout the church, hand carved also. On the ceiling is the Sorrowful Mysteries, each painted separately starting at the rear with the Agony in the Garden and ending about the communion rail with the Crucifixion. About the main altar is painted a picture of St. Paul [founder of the Passionist Order]."

Shortly after visiting the Schwarzenfeld Miesbergkirche, Fr. Viktor requested funds to build a monastery. Due to poor economic conditions persisting throughout Germany, his superiors advised him to acquire funding elsewhwere. Undeterred by this setback, Fr. Viktor conducted another round of fundraising missions abroad, and by 1934 he collected enough money to begin constructing the Miesbergkloster. Schwarzenfeld’s citizens welcomed the project, since this brought employment to the region. Our sources indicate that the Miesbergkloster was Father Viktor's pet project, his "child" as it were. He supervised each detail of its construction, advising the builders when to install plumbing in the building.

In his letter to Terance Kirstofak, the Eastern US Order of the Passionists, Bishop Paul Boyle, C.P., reveals interesting facets of Father Viktor’s character: "Viktor was a heroic man, a man of deep prayer and penance. His strict adherence to details of the Passionist Constitutions and Regulations were admirable but did not always endear him to all members of the Community. But everyone recognized that he asked of others only what he himself did."

The Emergence of Nazi Germany

At age 60, Father Viktor deserved to rest on his well-earned laurels, but as the Nazi party seized control over Germany, he found himself subjected to harrowing tests of faith. In 1933, Hitler seized control over the German government and launched an organized campaign against the Catholic Church and its religious orders. Nazi orders prohibited all non-Germans from exercising acts of ministry. American priests fled the country, escaping from Gestapo soldiers. Despite Hitler’s decree, Fathers Viktor and Valentine, and another priest Father Paul Boeminghaus, remained to defy the Nazi assault on religion, and together they continued ministering to Schwarzenfeld's citizens. Powerless to prevent the terrible onset of war, they despaired as German forces impressed the life's blood of their thriving organization--students, Passionist Brothers, and fellow priests--into labor battalions and the Army.

According to our sources, 1941 proved an especially difficult year for Father Viktor. In a letter dated January 14, he reflects upon the previous Christmas and reports that "we had, what should have been our midnight mass, at five o’clock in the afternoon, on account of the obligation of keeping everything dark at night." [2] In February Fr. Valentine, the steadfast friend who shared in his trials and tribulations from the beginning, passed away, leaving both Frs. Viktor and Paul alone at the Miesbergkloster. The most crushing blow occurred in April, when Nazi officials first offer to buy, and then finally confiscate his monastery, leaving only the Miesbergkirche, choir chapel, and sacristy under church control.

Per Ed Pancoast’s research, the Miesbergkloster was seized by the Nazis, first to become a house for children from Berlin, Hamburg, and the Rhur District participating in the official "Children to the Countryside" program. Then in 1943, the Monastery accommodates the Berlin University’s Center for Atomic Research. In his letter, Joe Koch provides supporting details about the bomb laboratory, and the conditions in which Fathers Viktor and Paul lived:

"Four years ago the Nazis gave him orders to move out at which time there were only two of them there, Father Paul [Boeminghaus] and himself [Father Viktor]. Well he was told that it was against the Nazi party to take over monasteries but this one was needed. They did let him have the church and chapel, also sacristy. Off the sacristy is a room about six by twelve where they washed, cooked, and ate, while off the chapel was a room even smaller where he made his bedroom while directly over it was a similar room where Father Paul stayed. There were no facilities for heat or a bathroom so Fr. Paul installed them.

"He showed us where the Nazis had set up their lab, supposed to have had equipment valued at two million marks or $200,000 in our money. Before we took over, $1 bought 2 marks and 40 pfenning, while $1 is 10 marks, so the equipment now must be worth about $800,000. From what he could gather it was experimental work on their V-1 and V-2 [rockets]."

"They [Frs. Viktor and Paul] were not allowed to go into any other part of the monastery, not even into the garden so you see he wasn’t too free. He told me he as afraid to say anything, being an American, he said he considered himself fortunate, although he had very few comforts. He never opened his mouth to voice his opinion or anything else, as he saw what happened to those that did, they just disappeared. He told us of one lady about a month before VE day that said that the Germans might as well give up as the war was lost. Well a few minutes later soldiers came and took her away, she hasn’t been seen since and no one knows what actually happened to her although they have a very good idea."

"All during the war [the citizens] either gave him food to cook or brought him his meals. For instance they were only allowed skim milk but one of his altar boys brought him fresh, wholesome milk on the sly when he came to Mass. He said if either would have been caught there would have been the devil to pay, luckily though, he was never caught."

Per Ed Pancoast’s research: "Father Viktor sought to counter the Nazi takeover through legal measures, reasserting Church title to the property. He sought to emphasize that proprietary right by continuing to reside in the monastery under the most austere conditions. All but one other of his Passionist brothers were eventually banished from Germany, or were pressed into military service where they became casualties or prisoners of war. Finally in 1944, the last other holdout, Father Paul Boeminghaus, was imprisoned by the Nazis allegedly for 'enemy propaganda and for undermining the national defense effort.' Father Viktor, now totally alone, resided in an impoverished and miniscule cell located under one of the monastery staircases." [3]. (See the Father Viktor gallery and Germany 2005 gallery for pictures of this small sacristy, which the Koch family visited during their May 2005 trip to Schwarzenfeld. The room is about the size of a walk-in closet.)

Regarding Father Paul’s arrest, Joe Koch’s letter mentions supporting details:

"Here is an instance that happened there, one Sunday [in 1944] Fr. Paul in his sermon mentioned about receiving a letter from one of their priests in Italy and told how he was. Shortly after Mass they picked him up and kept him in jail for six months without a charge or a hearing and then let him go. When the war broke out they took all the Brothers, how many there were I don’t know, so far though four have come back, one was there on furlough when the Americans came. He was picked up of course but later released, one was wounded, shot through the lungs with the bullet coming out and killing an officer who was standing behind him."

Joe Koch’s letter also provides unique insight into civilian life under the Nazi regime. "I asked him [Father Viktor] what it was and how the Nazis kept ever so much power. He told he was going to write a letter or book explaining it, he said it’s hard to realize but only about 10% were actually Nazis but the organization they had was so powerful everyone was afraid to try and do anything. It got to such a point where Mothers couldn’t trust their daughters and vice versa; brothers couldn’t trust fathers, vice versa, in fact no one know who to trust so if one wanted to live they just kept quiet. This 10% was so scattered among civilians and also the Army they just didn’t know where to turn for help for the least knock against Hitler or the party, no matter who it was, would bring death or punishment. Young boys and girls were compelled to attend weekly classes on Nazism against their will and if they missed any meeting they were severely punished. They used part of the monastery for that school, even had as many as 100 boys and girls there weeks at a time teaching [the principles of Nazism] to them. In the last few years three different families built homes close to his [Father Viktor’s] place, all three strong Nazis so he had them to look out for, but now the tide has turned."

The Atrocity

At this point, two incredible stories intersect: the death march from Flossenbürg, and Father Viktor’s experiences in Nazi Germany. In 1938 a concentration camp is established at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, near the Czech border. While the camp's initial population consisted of criminals and "asocial" persons, it swiftly expanded to include political prisoners and foreign POW's. We obtained our facts in this section from the Flossenbürg Death March film made by Peter Heigel.

As Allied forces sweep across Germany, Nazi forces emptied concentration camps and subjected their prisoners to death marches. This is the case in Flossenbürg. On Sunday April 15, the camp inmates assembled for roll call, at which time their guards segragated the Polish Jews from other prisoners. The following day, approximately 2,600 prisoners marched toward the Flossenbürg train station where they boarded a locomotive taking them on a southbound course, destination unknown. During that afternoon, American planes spotted the train. Mistaking it for a military transport, they released a deadly shower of bullets; the SS guards and prisoners deserted their cars, seeking shelter in fields and buildings located near the tracks. The attack ended, and SS guards reassembled surviving prisoners, taking them as far as Weiden [4].

On Tuesday April 17, machine guns again sprayed the locomotive. Attempting to communicate the nature of this transport, SS guards waved striped prisoner garments through the windows.

The worst attack occured on Thursday, April 19, when the train reached Schwarzenfeld’s depot. The American planes flew low, strafing the train, showering cars with bullets. SS guards deserted the train. Terrified Jewish prisoners escaped from their compartments; SS guards shot those who managed to avoid American dive bombers. Three prisoners succeeded in concealing themselves within a barn, and thus gained their freedom (these are the three prisoners shown in the Signal Corps photos, gallery 2). Five more raced into a local warehouse, but Nazi guards recaptured them. Approximately 140 prisoners perished in this horrific bloodbath. The train was immobilized at the depot, forcing the SS to march remaining Jews to their unknown destination. They assessed all surviving prisoners, shooting those incapable of walking. In the aftermath of this event, the local Landrat (County Official, possibly the Nabburg District Administrator?) issued orders via telephone for the corpses to be interred. [5]

On April 21 (possibly the 22nd), the SS guards led their Jewish prisoners through the town of Schwarzenfeld. As they walked, the prisoners asked the inhabitants for food; they had been deprived for six days. On numerous occasions, the townspeople took pity on the Jews and offered them bread, water, or potatoes. While a handful of them successfully distributed food without being caught, the majority were driven away at gunpoint by SS guards or militiamen loyal to the Reich, and some paid the ultimate price for their generosity.

A Town in Crisis

According to research obtained from the 11th Armored Division [6], "Division Artillery, supporting [Combat Command] B, continuously flew liaison plane missions ahead of the column, dropping surrender leaflets in towns along the route to advance. These leaflets admonished the [German] civilians to fly white flags and surrender their towns without resistance to avoid total destruction and produced excellent results."

Joe Koch’s letter states that American troops arrived the following Sunday (April 22). Sources indicate that this may have been the 11^th Armored Division, Combat Command B. [7]. While American troops are scouting near Schwarzenfeld, they discover the mass grave, the remains of 133 victims murdered by the SS on Thursday. Enraged by this discovery, they locate a citizen of Schwarzenfeld and ask who is responsible for the atrocity. This person informs them that the townspeople were involved.

Schwarzenfeld's population obeyed orders stipulated in the surrender leaflets, draping white sheets, towels, and flags in their windows, though to their horror, the Nazi soldiers who remained in Schwarzenfeld proceeded to fire upon the American tanks advancing toward the town. Enraged by the ghastly Nazi atrocity--and further embittered by resistance encountered from a town flying white flags--American forces prepared to deliver the dire consequences promised in their surrender leaflets. Unable to speak English, the citizens quickly arrived at one conclusion: only Father Viktor could help them communicate the truth to the Americans.

Our relative, Joe Koch, learned about events from Father Viktor. In his correspondence, Joe fails to mention details about Father Viktor in hiding (we confirmed this with other sources, such as Bishop Paul Boyle). We strongly suspect that Father Viktor refrained from fully explaining events to his nephew; however, there are interesting details in Joe’s account:

"He told us about when the Americans came through there. Well they [the citizens] heard that they [the Americans] were getting close and were discussing what to do or where to go as he was almost certain they would want to use his place as a lookout as you can see a long way from the tower in the church. They came in one Sunday evening about five, he said plenty of tanks which parked in fields all around there, one can still see the tracks. Finally two officers came up to his place, so naturally then he talked to them in English. Were they surprised and said, "Where did you learn to speak English?" so of course he told them that he had been in the states longer than both of them together. It so happened though that he was wrong by three years as theirs totaled 52 years. Father Viktor asked me if the whole Army had passed through their town as it was steady traffic for three days and nights. When I said it could only have been a small percentage, he was amazed at the number of vehicles we must have had over here."

Father Viktor argued with the American commander for no less than three hours. Eventually, he succeeded in convincing him that Schwarzenfeld’s citizens were innocent of this atrocity. He agreed to spare the town under one condition. He ordered Schwarzenfeld's citizens to exhume corpses buried on the town's outskirts, wash them, clothe them in donated garments, construct caskets, and give each victim a proper burial, all in 48 hours. If the townspeople failed to achieve this task, he intended to re-issue orders for Schwarzenfeld's destruction. To complicate matters, wood and nails--the construction materials needed to construct caskets--were scarce. However, the people of Schwarzenfeld were resourceful. The children knew of a local barn where old horseshoes were in plentiful supply, and they quickly proceeded to gather as many as they could find. Later, the nails were hammered back into shape, and then used to construct the coffins. Every man, woman, and child in the town participated in this effort, and with Father Viktor's help, they succeeded in completing this monumental task. One of our sources, Zita Mueller, was 13 years old at the time of the incident, and she remembers physically constructing caskets, as well as decorating them with greenery before the funeral service. Pictures depicting the event are available in gallery 2. While Decon Josef Spangler delivered the funeral sermon, Father Viktor translated his words into English for the benefit of American troops witnessing the ceremony.

In the aftermath, Father Viktor catered to the spiritual needs of Schwarzenfeld’s citizens, helping them to cope with psychological trauma that lingered long after those dramatic 48 hours. To Zita Mueller, there was no greater hero than Father Viktor. "I was forever impressed by the strength of character of this man," she says. "I remember him so vividly still."

Once American forces occupied Schwarzenfeld, Father Viktor’s duties expanded beyond the spiritual realm to include acting as an interpreter and intermediary between German civilians and American troops. This continues into June, when Joe Koch visits him. He writes, "Seems as though all the people in town go to him with their trouble so he can present them to the American Government for them since he speaks both languages fluently." A letter from Father Klemens Hayduck states, "He [Father Viktor] did everything he possibly could. He wrote many letters of recommendation to the courts and to the authorities as a means of standing up for the people."

For the rescue of Schwarzenfeld, elected town officials bestowed honorary citizenship upon Father Viktor on May 6, 1947. Then in April 1995, on the 50^th anniversary of the war’s conclusion, officials mounted an engraved plaque on the monastery’s walls near the Miesbergkirche entrance (see gallery 3). The translation (courtesy of Ed Pancoast) reads as follows: "In gratitude to honorary citizen, the Very Reverend Father Viktor Koch C.P., Passionist Provincial, who through personal action and civil courage in April 1945 prevented a retaliatory strike by U.S. forces upon the people of the town of Schwarzenfeld. Affixed: Schwarzenfeld, April 1995."

After the War

Once the war ended, the priests, brothers, and students previously impressed into the German army returned, reassuming their positions in the Passionist Order. Attention turned to rebuilding or repairing war damages, which Father Viktor initiated. In addition, Father Viktor also played a major role in the establishment of the St.Nikolaus Apotheke (St. Nicholas Apothecary). This pharmacy was critical, since penicillin was difficult to obtain in postwar Germany. We received a letter from Mrs Rita Wittleben,the daughter of the first pharmacist Emil Weiß., describing the situation, and will include a few excerpts here:

"After the collapse of the Hitler regime, the old priest Spangler of Schwarzenfeld sent a request to us [the Wittlebens] in May 1945, asking if my father [Mr. Weiß] if he would establish a pharmacy in Schwarzenfeld, because the village did not have a pharmacy; the closest one lay 10 kilometers away." The connections were very bad, and in addition, almost no one owned a vehicle. Under great difficulties of post-war Germany, we rode our bicycles over 100 kilometers from Nuremburg to Schwarzenfeld....after arriving, we found out that the village was overcrowded with refugees and war-disabled."

"At that time in Germany there was no legal freedom to setting up a pharmacy, and the prevailing laws said that before the opening of a pharmacy there needed to be an advertising in the pharmacist association paper. Any interested and licenced pharmacist with the most years/experience would receive the concession from the association...it was clear that such an application and examination process would be lengthy."

"Father Viktor was impatient, because the pharmacy was operational, but without authorization, was not allowed to open. At this time in a small village 3 kilometers away [named Grafenricht] occurred several cases of typhoid fever on a farm. The farmers had two concentration camp prisoners hidden on their farm. These prisoners were able to escape from a prisoner transport during the bombing of the Schwarzenfeld train station, and hide on the mentioned farm. Unfortunately the prisoners were infected with typhoid fever, and they infected the farmers too.

"This was a critical situation. Two of the farmers died. My mother who had assisted the attending physician was also infected, but could be saved. The danger of an epidemic loomed. This is why Father Viktor took action and drove at once to Berlin, where a friend or acquaintance was high commmissioner. I believe his name as Murphie [from the American military]. Father Viktor turned to him and described the precarious situation, that the population of Schwarzenfeld needed a pharmacy urgently to [distribute] the necessary medicine and prevent an imminent epidemic. The military government reacted promptly, and on December 6, 1945, we received temporary permission to open the pharmacy. We were overjoyed as well as Father Viktor. He told us that his civil name was Nikolaus, and my father's [Mr. Weiß's] name was Nikolaus, too. He suggested that we name our pharmacy for St.Nikolaus to show our gratitude. After a while, the German authorities, the Bavarian Pharmacist Association, reacted too, and my father received the German concession to open the Schwarzenfeld pharmacy." [8].

At the age of 74 Father Viktor again journeyed to the United States to collect funds, and gather recruits for the Passionist Priesthood. From 1950 to 1953 he served as the auxiliary chaplain to American soldiers and their dependents. Despite his age, he often mourned the fact that he could no longer hold missions.

His last days

Bishop Paul Boyle met Father Viktor during the last years of his life. "When I knew Viktor," he wrote in his letter to Terance Kirstofak, "the poor old man was suffering from terrible scruples and worries about the future. He used to take food and bury it in different spots in the woods in case the communists came and he had to go into hiding again." He died December 15, 1955 in Schwarzenfeld. An obituary released by the Catholic Church describes a touching scene:

"During the time when Matins is chanted in our Middle European monasteries, the small community of Holy Trinity Retreat, Schwarzenfeld, was kneeling at the bedside of its dying father, the Founder of the Passionists in Austria and Germany. And as the chanting of Lauds was finished, our beloved father had finished his earthly course, had died peacefully in the Lord. He, who had loved the Observance so much, who , together with the only priest left in the Monastery during the war years, rose faithfully for Matins and Lauds, was privileged by God to die just at this time."

Father Viktor died with his accomplishments virtually unknown outside of Schwarzenfeld. A humble man, he rarely discussed his role in Schwarzenfeld's salvation, nor did he openly discuss his experiences during WWII. If you remember Father Viktor, or if you're aware of details unmentioned in our story, please contact us.

Research notes

[1] Author’s note: in this site we’ve adopted the convention ‘Viktor,’ reflecting the German spelling, since a significant portion of his story occurs "across the pond" as he used to say.

[2] The ‘lights out’ condition is an official order throughout Germany, denying enemy planes making nightly flights over the country a point of reference for critical targets.

[3] Special thanks to Irmi Ehrenreich, our friend in Germany, for clarifying a point that was distorted by rumor over the years. It is clear that Father Viktor hid from the Nazis; however, it was previously thought that he may have lived in a cave in the woods, among other places. This may not be the case. Irmi also indicates that "Viktor Koch street" is not the route he took when confronting American forces. Rather, the street was named in his honor at a later time. It bears importance to the town, since it is the main road where the town hall is located.

[4] After this first attack, the SS guards are ordered to shoot prisoners leaving the train.

[5] Peter Heigl kindly provided us with first-hand eyewitness testimony taken from Schwarzenfeld's citizens in May/June 1945. In his sworn statement, Max Haseneder states, "The dead prisoners were buried by their comrades." It appears that the Jewish prisoners and their guards may have stayed in Schwarzenfeld for 2-3 days, and during this time, those who survived the atrocity interred the remains of inmates who perished in the April 19th massacre.

[6] Source is "Over the Rhine" by Hal Steward.

[7] The 11^th Armored Division may have been replaced by the 26^th Infantry "Yankee Division" (YD), who was still present for the funeral 48 hours later.

[8] Special thanks to Rita Wittleben, who wrote to us about the Apothecary.