Josef Mueller, the son of a poor farmer, was born
in Steinwiesen, Germany,
in 1898. He became a lawyer in Munich and joined Abwehr soon after the outbreak of the Second World War.
Mueller, an opponent of Adolf
Hitler, was recruited to the German resistance by Hans Oster. A Catholic,
Mueller made several visits to Rome where he met Pius XII.
Mueller's attempts to get help from the Pope ended in failure.
The Gestapo grew suspicious of Mueller and he was arrested on April 5, 1943. After
enduring 200 interrogations, without revealing anything, he was sent
to Buchenwald. Later he
was moved to Dachau.
Although experiencing nearly two years of starvation rations and being
led to the gallows twice, Mueller was still alive when liberated by
the Allies in April, 1945.
After the war Mueller became minister of justice in
Bavaria. Josef Mueller died in 1979.
