Tyrolean resistance movement

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The Tyrolean Resistance Movement is the name under which a collaboration between various Tyrolean resistance groups appeared during the National Socialist era after April 13, 1945.

history

Along with Vienna in the Ostmark, Tyrol was the center of resistance. Its geographical location with elongated mountain ranges and a very Catholic rural population, who opposed the anti-religious attitude of the National Socialists, helped to form a strong political subculture. Ever since the annexation , more and more smaller resistance groups emerged in Tyrol. The geographical isolation in the individual valleys also led to a fragmentation and prevented an agreement for a long time.

From 1943 onwards there was a little more networking, especially at the instigation of Friedrich Würthle. So there were more and more meetings of different groups in or near Innsbruck. Karl Gruber , who was only visiting Tyrol, otherwise worked in Berlin and was active in the Blumengarten resistance group , also took part in one of these meetings . In the winter of 1944/45 he was transferred from Berlin to Innsbruck. There he began to bring the local groups together into a central movement. On April 13, 1945, the leaders of the most important groups elected him head of a Tyrolean command post and Würthle as his deputy. In this function he was able to coordinate the resistance movement successfully.

Mid-April 1945 came Otto Molden , together with the OSS -Verbindungsoffizier Joseph Franckenstein and the radio operator Ludwig Totzenberger insure over the Italian border to Innsbruck to the cooperation of the local resistance in the expected battle for Tirol. Otto and Fritz Molden also created a link to the O5 group . The organization was now getting better and better, there was regular radio contact with the approaching Americans, there were group members in the post office and telegraph office, members of the military and even a group of the police were infiltrated. The aim of the Tyrolean resistance movement was now to liberate Tyrol and Innsbruck from National Socialist rule before the first US troops approached.

After the surrender of Army Group Southwest ( Operation Sunrise ), which came into force on May 2, the military liberation action of the cooperating resistance groups began on that day. Barracks, police stations and radio stations were occupied by them. In addition, the Innsbruck police chief and the Wehrmacht commander of Tyrol were captured. On May 3, the Innsbruck police headquarters could be taken in the morning, at noon Gauleiter Franz Hofer left the country house, which was occupied by the resistance group around 2 p.m. and where the red-white group - not least due to the clever actions of OSS agent Fred Mayer -red flag was hoisted. The message was broadcast over the radio:

"Austrian! Tyrolean! Innsbrucker! The hour of your liberation has come. The entire southern front has capitulated. The allied troops stand in front of Innsbruck. Any further resistance would not only be pointless, but a crime against the people and the state. Anyone who continues to wield their weapons, even remotely promoting the resistance, will be punished as a criminal. Seven years of bitter bondage and oppression are completely over. The allies come as our liberators and saviors. Our thanks go to you in this historic hour of the rebirth of our Tyrol and a free Austria. But we also want to commemorate those who worked, suffered and died for the cause of Austria and our closer homeland despite all the dangers in all the years of servitude. Raise the flags of every house! It shouldn't be white, but red-white-red or red-white, the colors of our beloved Austria, our Tyrol. Long live freedom! Long live Tyrol! Long live Austria! "

- Tyrolean resistance movement via the captured Aldrans station :

Although the news of the surrender was a ruse, it had an effect: Hundreds of Innsbruckers flocked to the streets to support the resistance group and some were given weapons. There were isolated shootings, but for the most part the last SS units also withdrew. When the first US troops arrived on the evening of May 3, 1945, they found a city of Innsbruck liberated from National Socialist rule.

Karl Gruber later became the first governor in liberated Tyrol.

reception

This liberation action is considered to be one of the most important achievements of the Austrian resistance. After the war, however, the narrative of Tyrol's “self-liberation” developed, which , according to the historian Peter Pirker , represents a one-sided and very male-dominated interpretation. In the stories told, the achievements of men in the resistance were mainly emphasized, while the support of women and the great contribution of Jewish actors were often neglected.

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Luža p. 277.
  2. ↑ See Luža p. 197, 281.
  3. ↑ See Luža p. 281.
  4. ↑ See Luža p. 282.
  5. ↑ a b Horst Schreiber : Innsbruck 1938–1945. An introduction. In: horstschreiber.at. 2003, accessed August 23, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Gerald Heidegger: 1945/2020: "Inglourious Basterds" and the liberated Tyrol. In: orf.at . May 3, 2020, accessed May 3, 2020.