Solbad Hall during the Nazi Era, 1938–1945 | Account by Franz Egger (1879–1958)

Solbad Hall, 1938–1945: A Contemporary Source

Introduction

´​Hall in Tirol Town Hall in 2024. Source: K. Walder Private Archive, Hall in Tirol.

On 30 August 1945, only a few months after the end of National Socialist rule, Hall’s town chronicler, Prof. Dr Franz Egger, wrote an account of conditions in Solbad Hall between 1938 and 1945. His record describes the political and social upheaval following the “Anschluss” of Austria, the persecution of political opponents, the suppression of Church institutions, and the devastating air raids of the final months of the war.
Egger’s account is a valuable contemporary source on the history of the town. It documents how Nazi rule was perceived and interpreted in retrospect immediately after the end of the war. At the same time, like every historical source, the report must be read in the context of the circumstances in which it was written, the author’s personal perspective, and the information available to him at the time.
The following article presents key passages and themes from the typewritten report and places them alongside photographs and other testimonies held in private and ecclesiastical archives. In this way, it provides a local perspective on the years of dictatorship, war, and destruction in Hall in Tyrol.

Historical Context

Hall under National Socialist Rule

Following the “Anschluss” of Austria to the National Socialist German Reich in March 1938, Solbad Hall was incorporated into the political, administrative, and social structures of the Nazi regime. Opponents of National Socialism were arrested, persecuted, or removed from public office. Political parties, associations, and Catholic organisations lost their independence or were dissolved. Schools and public institutions were brought into line with National Socialist ideology.
The regime’s claim to absolute control was particularly evident in its treatment of the Catholic Church. Religious orders and Church communities faced restrictions on their activities, institutions were closed, and buildings were confiscated. The Franciscans and other religious communities in the town were among those affected. The Franciscan Church was temporarily used as a storage facility by the Nazi Gau leadership. At the same time, parish communities and personal religious ties remained important sources of solidarity and cohesion for many people.
During the final months of the war, Hall became a target of Allied air raids because of its transport infrastructure and proximity to the railway. The raid of 16 February 1945 was particularly devastating. Buildings at Kugelanger and in other parts of the town were destroyed or severely damaged; numerous people were killed, and many lost their homes. Although the historic town centre remained largely intact, the human and material consequences of the war affected the town for many years.
Franz Egger’s account, written on 30 August 1945, thus emerged during an immediate period of transition: Nazi rule had ended, the damage caused by the war remained visible everywhere, and the political and social reorganisation of the country had only just begun. This proximity to the events gives the document its particular value as a historical source.

Source-Critical Note

Prof. Dr Franz Egger’s account was written only a few months after the end of the Second World War. Its close temporal proximity to the events makes it an important record of local memory. Nevertheless, it does not constitute a complete or entirely objective account of the years between 1938 and 1945.
Egger’s selection of events, language, and assessments were shaped by his personal perspective and by the circumstances of 1945. Wherever possible, individual statements should therefore be compared with administrative records, parish and religious-order archives, personal papers, photographs, and other contemporary sources. This article treats the report not only as an account of historical events but also as a document of Hall’s early engagement with its National Socialist past.

read more: 

🇬🇧 Hall- in- Tyrol-History-National-Socialism -and-Resistance

Solbad Hall 1938–1945: A City Between Nazi Terror and the Bombing War

"Have you heard? Schuschnigg has resigned—the Nazis are taking over!"
On the morning of March 12, 1938, this news spread like wildfire through the streets of Hall. Many feared the worst—and they would be proven right.
In the years that followed, the city witnessed how the Nazi regime shut down monasteries, deported resistance fighters to Dachau concentration camp, and ultimately, Allied bombs reduced the train station district to rubble. Yet Hall resisted in its own way: The parish became a secret hub of solidarity, while the Franciscan friars, despite their expulsion, never abandoned their faith.
This original 1945 report by city historian Prof. Egger documents a period that changed Hall forever—now retold for today.

Bavarian troops marching into Hall in Tyrol on 13 March 1938, photographed at the Unterer Stadtplatz (Lower Town Square). Source: Rudolf Federspiel Private Archive, Absam.

• "This image captures the arrival of Bavarian infantry units in Hall’s Lower Town Square, one day after the Anschluss. The staged military parade aimed to demonstrate Nazi control over Austria, even in smaller towns like Hall."
  
• "Note the mixed reactions of spectators—some cheering, others standing in silence—reflecting the tense atmosphere of forced annexation."​
  

1938: The Anschluss and the First Repressions

"The goat scratches itself until it can no longer lie down."
With this old saying, Prof. Egger described the mood in Hall after the Anschluss. While some cheered for the Nazis, many already sensed it would not end well.
• Arrests: Within weeks, regime-critical citizens of Hall were detained—some disappeared for years in Dachau.
• Nazification of Schools: The school prayer was replaced by the Hitler salute, and Hitler Youth drills dominated lessons.
• Attack on the Church: The Catholic journeymen's association was seized, and charitable organizations like the St. Vincent de Paul Society were dissolved.
"The children cried when the teaching nuns had to leave—after 90 years of education in Hall."
(From oral testimonies, 1946)

1940–1943: The Expulsion of the Religious Orders

The Nazis sought to "de-Catholicize" Hall—but the city resisted in silence.

The Franciscan Church in Hall in Tirol during its use as a storage facility by the Nazi Gau administration. Historical black-and-white photograph. Source: Archive of the Franciscan Province of Tyrol, Hall in Tyrol.

"This image shows Hall’s Franciscan Church during its forced conversion into a textile storage facility for the Nazi regional administration (Gauleitung). The seizure of sacred spaces for logistical use—seen here in 1940—was part of broader efforts to dismantle Catholic influence in Tyrol."
Source: Provincial Archives of the Tyrolean Franciscans, Hall

The End of the Monasteries

• Franciscan friars were expelled from the high school, and their church was closed in 1940, repurposed as a storage facility for the Gauleiter.
• Father Gaudenz Conzi, a beloved pastor, was arrested—for giving alms to a beggar (allegedly a "deserter").
• In 1941, the St. Joseph’s Missionaries were targeted: their property was seized, and the sisters were expelled.

"My mother risked everything—when she saw the exiled Franciscans by the roadside, she secretly slipped a banknote to one of the priests. ‘For the journey,’ she whispered, while SA men stood just meters away."
— Johanna R. (2011), eyewitness account

Yet the Parish Stood United

Under Dean Heinrich Heidegger (from 1942), St. Nicholas' Church became a sanctuary of silent resistance:
·       Sermons became acts of defiance—whispers of hope that drew ever-larger crowds, even as Nazi intimidation grew.
·       The people of Hall practiced "double giving"—publicly donating to Nazi collections while secretly slipping coins into church alms boxes.
·       Confessionals turned into meeting places where news and warnings were exchanged under the cover of sacrament.

• Former Socialist Party members refused to leave the Catholic Church
• Despite Nazi pressure, they deliberately remained within the church community – their continued presence becoming both an act of defiance and a quiet statement of opposition to the regime.

"We didn't carry banners or shout slogans," recalled one parishioner. "Our rebellion was in the creak of pews filling when they wanted them empty, in the echo of 'Amen' when they demanded silence."
​
"The daughter of a Hall resistance member, recalls her father's defiance: 'When the Party ordered socialists to abandon religion, Dad dug in his heels. Our pew at St. Nicholas became revolutionary territory - where a shared look between comrades could convey what no illegal leaflet dared print.'"  — Maria T. (2023), eyewitness account

1944–1945: The Bombs That Shattered Solbad Hall

"For years, the war had passed overhead - until the skies turned deadly."

Buildings destroyed at Kugelanger following the air raid of 16 February 1945. Historical black-and-white photograph. Source: Reinhard Federspiel Private Archive, Absam.

The railway station district and Kugelanger area in Hall in Tyrol following the Allied air raid of 16 February 1945. Source: Rudolf Federspiel Private Archive, Absam.

"These rare images document the immediate aftermath of Hall's most devastating air attack. The first photograph shows the destroyed Bahnhofsviertel (train station district), while the second captures the complete leveling of Kugelanger - where 102 civilians perished. The Federspiel collection preserves crucial visual evidence of this dark day."

Three Strikes That Changed Everything

November 16, 1944
The first bomb fell silent near Thurnfeld Monastery - a dud that spared lives but shattered illusions of safety.
Christmas 1944
Eight bombs transformed the train district into a landscape of twisted metal, their explosions drowning out carols in the refugee shelters.
February 16, 1945 - The Day Hall Burned

• Kugelanger vanished in firestorm winds
• The Scheidenstein Pilgrimage Church crumbled, taking its miracle-working Madonna to dust
• By dusk: 102 names added to death rolls, 1,500 souls wandering their own ruined streets

"Professor Egger's final sentence still chills readers today: 'When citizens dream, dictators wake.' His 1945 manuscript ends with this stark reminder that Hall's survival came at the cost of vigilance.

​"Prof. Egger’s first-hand account—written amid the ruins of 1945—reveals how Hall’s citizens navigated impossible choices. His warning about democracy’s fragility ('When citizens sleep, dictators wake') remains chillingly relevant."

Summary

The account written by Hall’s town chronicler, Prof. Dr Franz Egger, on 30 August 1945 provides a near-contemporary insight into the history of Solbad Hall under National Socialist rule. It addresses the political changes that followed March 1938, political persecution and enforced conformity, measures directed against Church institutions, and the destruction caused by the air raids of 1944 and 1945.
The document is particularly significant because it was written so soon after the end of the war. Egger’s account records how the years of dictatorship, persecution, and war were perceived shortly after 1945. Together with photographs and supplementary archival sources, it helps make visible the effects of National Socialism on the social, religious, and everyday life of Hall in Tyrol.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who was Prof. Dr Franz Egger?

Prof. Dr Franz Egger was the town chronicler of Hall in Tyrol. On 30 August 1945, he wrote a typewritten account of conditions in Solbad Hall between 1938 and 1945.

Why was Hall in Tyrol called Solbad Hall at the time?

The town officially bore the name “Solbad Hall” from 1938 until 1974. Franz Egger therefore also used this designation in his contemporary account.

When was the account of Solbad Hall written?

Franz Egger wrote the account on 30 August 1945, only a few months after the collapse of National Socialist rule and the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Which subjects does Franz Egger’s account address?

The account describes, among other subjects, the National Socialist seizure of power, political repression, interference in Church life, the closure and confiscation of religious institutions, the air raids on Hall, and the situation at the end of the war.

Is Franz Egger’s text an eyewitness account?

The text is a contemporary source dating from 1945. Franz Egger lived in Hall during the Nazi era, but this does not necessarily mean that he personally witnessed every event he described. It is therefore more precise to refer to the document as a “contemporary account” or a “local historical account.”

How did Nazi rule affect the Catholic Church in Hall?

Church associations and religious communities were restricted, dissolved, or expelled from their institutions. Buildings were confiscated and repurposed. The Franciscan Church was temporarily used as a storage facility by the Nazi Gau leadership.

When was Hall in Tyrol bombed?

Hall was struck by several air raids during the final months of the Second World War. The attack of 16 February 1945 was particularly devastating, destroying numerous buildings, killing many people, and leaving others without homes.

Where is the historical source preserved today?

The typewritten account is preserved in the Hall in Tyrol Municipal Archives among the records relating to Dr Ernst von Verdross-Drossberg.