The St. George Scouts in Hall in Tirol: Persecution and Civil Courage, 1938-1945

Summary

Founded in 1930, the St. George Scouts in Hall in Tirol formed an important part of the town’s Catholic youth movement. Following the National Socialist takeover, the organisation was forcibly dissolved in 1938, and its meeting place at Schmiedgasse 24 was taken over by the Hitler Youth. Johann and Maria Schuster and their daughter Traudl nevertheless remained committed to the Scout community and their Christian convictions. Secret meetings and the continuation of some youth activities represented forms of religious and social self-assertion. Traudl Schuster demonstrated particular civil courage in 1939 when she publicly refused to remove her cross or join the League of German Girls.

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Catholic Youth Work, Persecution and Civil Courage, 1930–1945

The history of the St. George Scouts in Hall in Tirol spans the growth of a Catholic youth movement during the interwar period, its forced dissolution by the Nazi regime and the discreet continuation of some of its activities after 1938.
At the centre of this story are Johann “Hans” Schuster (1885–1954), his wife Maria Schuster (1877–1942) and their daughter Gertraud, known as Traudl Schuster (born 1920). The family played a formative role in the Scout movement in Hall.
After the National Socialist takeover in March 1938, the St. George Scouts were dissolved and their meeting place was confiscated. Nevertheless, former members maintained personal contacts and continued some of their activities in private. Traudl Schuster’s refusal to remove the cross she wore and to join the League of German Girls provides a particularly striking example of individual civil courage under the Nazi dictatorship.

The Scout fleur-de-lis—the international symbol of the Scouting movement. The stylized fleur-de-lis is combined with a knotted rope.

The founding of the Scout group in Hall

There are indications of Scout activities in and around Hall as early as the 1920s. The St. George Scout group itself was established in 1930.
On Easter Monday, 21 April 1930, the Hall-born Franciscan Father Clemens Röbl OFM visited the town together with Scouts from Villach and promoted the creation of a local group. Röbl was one of the leading founders of the Austrian St. George Scout Corps in Tyrol and served as its provincial chaplain from 1930 to 1933.
The first group in Hall was formally constituted at a parents’ meeting on 7 May 1930. Its earliest meetings were held in the home of Maria and Johann Schuster. The group also received support from lawyer Dr Arthur von Reisinger and secondary-school teacher Sebastian Hackl.
The first patrol was named the “Hall Lions”. Because it initially consisted of seven members, it was also known as the “Band of Seven Upright Men”. Maria Schuster served as Akela, the traditional title given to the leader of a Cub Scout pack, and supervised boys between the ages of seven and eleven.
On 18 December 1930, the Austrian St. George Scout Corps in Tyrol, with its headquarters in Hall, received official approval.

Slideshow of the St. George Scouts in Hall in Tyrol. Photographs from the Archives of the St. George Scouts in Hall in Tyrol.

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Growth and social involvement

The Scout movement in Hall grew rapidly during the following years. Its activities included weekly meetings, hikes, camps, religious ceremonies, community events and voluntary assistance. Additional patrols and Cub Scout groups were formed as membership increased.
From 1933 onward, the Scouts had their own meeting place at Schmiedgasse 24. Johann Schuster and numerous young members renovated the vaulted basement through voluntary labour. Until the organisation was dissolved in 1938, the building remained the centre of Scout life in Hall.
The St. George Scouts were firmly rooted in the Catholic social environment of interwar Austria. They also participated in events organised by the authoritarian Austrian Corporate State and the Fatherland Front. This political involvement must be distinguished from the later conduct of individual Scouts under National Socialism. Opposition to Nazi rule did not necessarily imply support for parliamentary democracy.

Dissolution and confiscation in 1938

Following the entry of German troops and the National Socialist seizure of power in March 1938, Catholic youth organisations were dissolved or forced into liquidation. The St. George Scouts were among the organisations affected.
Their meeting place at Schmiedgasse 24 was confiscated and subsequently used by the Hitler Youth. By taking control of meeting rooms, property and equipment, the Nazi authorities sought to make independent Catholic youth work impossible. Some members nevertheless managed to hide flags and pieces of equipment from the National Socialist organisations.
The dissolution formed part of the Nazi regime’s attempt to bring all youth work under its control. Children and adolescents were no longer to participate in independent or denominational associations but were to be educated and indoctrinated through the organisations of the Nazi state.

Scout activities continued in secret

The official ban did not completely sever the personal bonds among the Scouts in Hall. Surviving reports indicate that former members continued to meet privately.
In the summer of 1938, Maria Schuster reportedly took her Cub Scouts—boys between seven and eleven years of age—to a summer camp. Johann, Maria and Traudl Schuster continued their work with young people. Photographs from a tent camp supervised by Father Clemens Röbl in 1940 document the survival of this community after the organisation had been banned.
These activities did not constitute an openly organised political resistance group. Under the conditions of the Nazi dictatorship, however, deliberately maintaining a prohibited Catholic youth community represented a form of religious and social self-assertion. It challenged the regime’s claim to exercise complete control over young people.

Traudl Schuster’s public refusal

A particularly remarkable act of individual civil courage was recorded by Hall town chronicler Professor Franz Egger.
On 5 May 1939, a youth gathering was held on the Milser Heide. Young people who did not belong to a National Socialist organisation were separated from the others. Local Nazi Party district leader Primbs pressured them to join either the Hitler Youth or the League of German Girls.
Traudl Schuster was wearing a large cross visibly around her neck. Primbs ordered her to remove it, but she refused. She also rejected his demand that she join the League of German Girls.
Her refusal took place in public and in direct confrontation with a senior local Nazi Party official. It should therefore be regarded as a notable act of personal civil courage. Traudl placed her Christian faith and her own convictions above the demands of the Nazi regime.
To protect their daughter from possible further reprisals, Johann and Maria Schuster arranged for her to attend a music school in Regensburg, enabling her to leave Solbad Hall.

Maria, Johann and Traudl Schuster

Maria Schuster died in 1942. Through her work with the Cub Scouts and her commitment to the Catholic youth community, she had played a decisive role in the development of the Scout movement in Hall.
After the end of Nazi rule, Johann Schuster resumed Scout and youth work in the town. In doing so, he re-established a community that had been forcibly dissolved in 1938.
After the war, Traudl Schuster chose a religious vocation. She joined a missionary order and worked for many years as a missionary sister in South America.

Traudl Schuster (born 1920) with her mother, Maria Schuster (1877–1942), around 1940. Both women are looking at the camera; Traudl smiles warmly. Black-and-white photograph. Source: St. George Scouts Archive, Hall in Tyrol.

Left: Drawn portrait of Johann Schuster. Source: Tyrolean Scout Archive, Bernhard Linhofer, Innsbruck.
Right: Johann (Hans) Schuster wearing a Scout hat and neckerchief, undated. Behind him, another man without headgear looks at the camera. Black-and-white photograph.

Historical assessment

The history of the St. George Scouts in Hall illustrates several forms of conduct under dictatorship: preserving a prohibited community, maintaining religious values, refusing to join National Socialist youth organisations and rebuilding independent youth work after 1945.
A historical assessment should distinguish between organised political resistance, religious self-assertion, oppositional conduct and individual civil courage. There is currently insufficient evidence to describe the entire Scout group in Hall as an organised political resistance organisation. Nevertheless, its secret meetings and, above all, Traudl Schuster’s public refusal contradicted the totalitarian demands of the Nazi regime and involved a genuine personal risk.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When were the St. George Scouts founded in Hall?

The first group in Hall was formally constituted on 7 May 1930. Official approval for the Austrian St. George Scout Corps in Tyrol, based in Hall, was granted on 18 December 1930.

Who led the Scout movement in Hall?

Its principal figures included Father Clemens Röbl OFM, Johann “Hans” Schuster, Maria Schuster, Dr Arthur von Reisinger and secondary-school teacher Sebastian Hackl.

Why were the Scouts banned in 1938?

The Nazi regime sought to place children and adolescents exclusively under the control of its own organisations. Independent and denominational youth associations were therefore dissolved, dispossessed or forced into liquidation.

What happened to the Scout meeting place?

The meeting place at Schmiedgasse 24 was confiscated in 1938 and subsequently used by the Hitler Youth.

Did the Scouts in Hall engage in resistance?

Some former members continued the prohibited Catholic community in private. This may be understood as religious and social self-assertion or oppositional conduct. There is currently insufficient evidence to classify the group as an organised political resistance organisation.

Why is Traudl Schuster’s conduct considered an act of civil courage?

In 1939, she publicly refused a Nazi Party district leader’s orders to remove her cross and join the League of German Girls. Her refusal exposed her to the risk of reprisals by the Nazi authorities.

What happened after 1945?

Johann Schuster resumed Scout activities in Hall. Traudl Schuster later joined a missionary order and worked for many years in South America.

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