Holding the Stirrup is a favorite book of my mother’s, who frequently suggested I read it. For some unknown reason, I resisted reading this book for several years as it seemed uninteresting—until I read it. Now it sits on my bookshelf among my favorites and is one that I frequently recommend to others.
Holding the Stirrup is the biography of Baroness Elisabeth von Guttenberg and spans from her idyllic childhood at a castle in Bavaria to her life as a wife and mother. We then follow her through Hitler’s rise to power, World War II, and its aftermath. One might think that there have been plenty of stories written about World War II and countless first-hand accounts; why read another? What sets Holding the Stirrup apart is Catholicism. It carries us through this story, showing us how to practice patriotism as a Catholic in an anti-Christian world and reminding us that Catholics have faced challenging social issues throughout time but are given the graces to withstand the onslaught of the evil surrounding us.
As the reader journeys through the Baroness’ life, we discover the beautiful and holy marriage between Elisabeth and her husband, Enoch. As a member of the German military, Enoch’s life and career were made even more challenging due to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the eventual rise of Nazism in Germany. With their sons’ coming of age during the beginning of World War II, they were drafted into Hitler’s army. Through the eyes of the Baroness, we are shown that not everyone in Germany subscribed to the Nazi ideologies. These God-fearing people had to wrestle with their consciences in order to maintain patriotism to their country while fighting against a political movement that contradicted their Catholic faith on every level.
As a member of the nobility in the early 1900s, Baroness von Guttenberg was in the same circles as some well-known historical figures of that time, including Emperor Karl of Austria, Kaiser Wilhelm, the stigmatist Theresa Neumann, and Claus von Stauffenberg, the man behind the Valkyrie plot. These characters all help to give us a full picture of the people we had only previously read about in history books. We come to learn the human side of these brave people and of their own struggles with the politics of their day.
My college history professor made the claim that history is not circular. While there are obvious nuances which may give the appearance of a non-circular history, I do believe we find different versions of the same human conflicts when viewing the past through the context of time. This was made very apparent to me the first time I read Holding the Stirrup. In spite of their struggles, Elisabeth and her family saw the horror surrounding them as a punishment from God for the immorality which had seeped into their homeland. They took each challenge as an opportunity to make reparation for the sins of their nation. This is a powerful lesson for Catholics today and should give us the courage to follow their example.