In 1939, Franz Hasel, a 40-year-old pacifist, received a draft summons, leading him to serve as a Private in the Pioneer Company 699 of the German army. Despite donning the uniform, he opposed the Nazi regime and risked his life to warn villagers of impending danger from SS death squads. In a daring move, he even informed his sergeant that Hitler wouldn’t win the war during the advance into Russia. These actions amounted to treason, punishable by death, yet Hasel survived. His story unfolds as a testament to his defiance against societal norms and his belief in a higher law amidst the chaos of war.
