Venerable Franz Zagermann

Franz Zagermann (born July 28, 1882, in Zagern near Schillgehnen, Braunsberg district, Warmia; died February 26, 1945, in Glockstein (now Unikowo), Rößel district, now Bartoszyce district, Warmia) was a German-Polish Roman Catholic priest. Like many residents of Warmia at the time, Zagermann grew up bilingual in German and Polish. Zagermann studied at the Lyceum Hosianum in Braunsberg and at the universities of Fribourg in Switzerland and Albertus University in Königsberg. During this time, he was a member of the Catholic student fraternities KDStV Teutonia Fribourg and AV Tuisconia Königsberg within the Cartellverband. Zagermann was ordained a priest on June 23, 1907. He served as pastor of the Glockstein parish from September 7, 1928, and became vice-dean of the Rößel deanery in 1936. Known as a highly dedicated priest, he attempted to organize Polish-language masses for Polish forced laborers who arrived in the Rößel district after the outbreak of World War II, but German authorities firmly rejected the idea. Toward the end of the war, as the Red Army occupied the Rößel district in January 1945, his parishioners feared the approaching forces, and many sought refuge at a remote farmstead known as the Kolonie, located about 1.5 km from the church. After celebrating his final mass on January 29, 1945, Zagermann joined them at the farm, which belonged to the Kroschewski family. While living there, he continued to minister to his congregation, including leading them in prayer. On the morning of February 25, 1945, the Kroschewski farm was raided by three Soviet soldiers. Upon discovering liturgical vessels and confirming he was a priest, one of the soldiers shot and grazed his head. They subsequently tortured him brutally. According to witnesses, his agony lasted 33 hours.