Josef Mayr-Nusser was born on 27 December 1910 in
Bolzano into a rural
German-
Italian household. He grew up on a farm in which his devout parents instilled in him
Christian values along with his elder brother Jakob, who enrolled in a
seminary to become a
priest. Mayr-Nusser became fascinated with the life and works of
Frederic Ozanam and with the life of
Vincent de Paul. To that end, in an attempt to emulate the pair and to help the poor in the spirit of charity, he joined the
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul at the age of 22 and became its elected president in 1937. Mayr-Nusser served as the president of the society in its Bolzano division and in that capacity constantly visited the poor, providing them both material and spiritual assistance, in the process becoming a vocal anti-poverty advocate. In a 1938 letter to members, Mayr-Nusser said: "When a brother is going to visit a poor family, you should do everything to organize your time so you can spend at least 10–15 minutes to visit people". In 1934, he became the head of
Catholic Action in the
Diocese of Trent, accepting the invitation of
Pope Pius XI to broaden his lay activities. In addition to these posts that he filled, Mayr-Nusser secretly became a member of the anti-Nazi movement "Andreas Hofer Bund" in 1939. On 26 May 1942 he married Hildegard Straub (1907–1998) and his son Alberto was born in 1943. As part of Nazi conscription during
World War II he was enrolled in the SS unit in 1944 which forced him to leave his wife and newborn son for training in
Prussia; he was sent off on 7 September 1944. Sometime during the war, his father was killed on the frontlines. Franz Treibenreif (a comrade and friend) said of him on what became a fateful 4 October 1944: "Josef was pensive and worried. Unexpectedly, he raised his hand: 'Sir Major-General', he said with a strong voice, 'I cannot take an oath to Hitler in the name of
God. I cannot do it because my faith and conscience do not allow it'". Mayr-Nusser's friends attempted to convince him to recant or to cease from the explosive statement, but he eschewed their offers in order to stand up for his beliefs. Mayr-Nusser believed ardently that
National Socialism could not be reconciled in any way with the values of Christian ethics and believed that the ideology ran counter to the divine law of God. As a result of this Mayr-Nusser was jailed and later transferred to
Danzig where he was prosecuted. While he was awaiting trial, Mayer-Nusser took to chopping wood and peeling potatoes, and was given the right to
pray during his time in captivity. ==Beatification==