Rudolf Schwarzgruber

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Rudolf Schwarzgruber (born March 12, 1900 in Salzburg , Austria-Hungary , † March 12, 1943 in the Caucasus ) was an Austrian mountaineer and expedition leader .

Life

Rudolf Schwarzgruber studied gymnastics and geography in Vienna . After successfully passing the teaching examination, taught at a grammar school in Vienna- Währing . As a geographer, he specialized in glaciology , but his scientific work remained unpublished.

From 1934 to 1942 he was the first vice president of the Austrian Alpine Club . As an excellent mountaineer, Schwarzgruber proved himself particularly in the combined rock-ice terrain, which led to his taking part in the Austrian Caucasus Expedition in 1936.

In 1938 he led the Garhwal Himalayan tour of the Austrian sections of the German and Austrian Alpine Association (DuÖAV). During the three-month expedition in the Uttarakhand region in northern India , the first ascent of Bhagirathi II (the northern summit of Bhagirathi, 6512 m), Chandra Parbat (6728 m) and Sri Kailash (6932 m) in the Gangotri region on the upper reaches of the corridor . Attempts to reach the summit of Satopanth (7062 m) or Kedarnath (6940 m) failed. Since Schwarzgruber was an enthusiastic National Socialist - he already joined the NSDAP in October 1931 - he planned to leave for the expedition in such a way that he could take part in the annexation of Austria to the German Reich on March 12, 1938. It was also important to him that the expedition was a German , not an Austrian company. Arthur Seyß-Inquart , who was appointed Chancellor two days before the annexation of Austria to the German Reich under pressure from the National Socialists, was one of the expedition's financiers.

In 1939 Schwarzgruber began planning an expedition to the Hindu Kush , which was no longer possible due to the outbreak of World War II .

When Adolf Hitler was planning to advance across the Caucasus in the direction of the Baku oil fields as part of the " Edelweiss Company " , Schwarzgruber volunteered for a mountain troop unit at the age of 42 . He fell on March 12, 1943 near Chernoyerkovskaya in the Krasnodar Territory .

Rudolf Schwarzgruber had been married to Mathilde Wettstein von Westersheim since 1935, with whom he had two children. In 1956 the Blindengasse in Vienna- Favoriten was renamed Schwarzgrubergasse after him.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Menschen & Mächte: “Summiteers and Desert Foxes” TV documentary by ORF .
  2. ^ Biography of Rudolf Schwarzgruber (PDF; 39 kB) in the Austrian Biographical Lexicon.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schwarzgruber, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German mountaineer and expedition leader
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Salzburg
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1943
Place of death Chernoyerkovskaya, Caucasus