Alfred Grünmandl (1883-1959)

Introduction

Alfred Grünmandl and His Family under National Socialism

Black-and-white portrait of Alfred Grünmandl. Source: Hohenems Genealogie, available online at: www.hohenemsgenealogie.at (accessed 11 August 2026).

Alfred Grünmandl (1883–1959) was a merchant who had lived in Hall in Tirol since 1907. For decades, he and his family were part of the town’s economic and social life. After the National Socialist takeover in March 1938, he was persecuted because of his Jewish origins, even though he had converted to Protestantism in 1914 and was married to Christine Katzengruber, who had been born into a Roman Catholic family.
His textile shop in Salvatorgasse was “Aryanised”, part of his property was confiscated and the family members’ passports were seized. Alfred Grünmandl was later subjected to forced labour and imprisoned for four weeks in the Reichenau Gestapo camp in 1943. His son Otto Grünmandl was also persecuted and deported to a forced labour camp. The history of the Grünmandl family illustrates how disenfranchisement, economic expropriation and racist persecution were systematically implemented in Hall in Tirol.

Disenfranchisement and Expropriation after the “Anschluss"

Following Austria’s “Anschluss” to the National Socialist German Reich in March 1938, Alfred Grünmandl was persecuted as a “full Jew” under the racist provisions of the Nuremberg Laws. His personal religious affiliation was irrelevant: the National Socialist authorities classified people according to supposed “racial ancestry”, rather than whether they belonged to the Catholic, Protestant or Jewish faith.
The persecution immediately threatened the economic livelihood of Alfred Grünmandl and his family. His business was forcibly “Aryanised” as early as March 1938, depriving him of his long-established shop in Salvatorgasse. The family was also dispossessed of private property, including the house at Oberer Stadtplatz 5. In addition, Alfred Grünmandl was compelled to pay the discriminatory so-called “Jewish Property Levy” amounting to 15,000 Reichsmarks.
The cynicism with which the violent displacement of Jewish business owners was publicly presented as a new economic beginning is illustrated by an advertisement placed by the shop’s new owner in the Haller Kreis-Anzeiger on 22 October 1938. It proclaimed that the “Grünmandl department store … had been purged of Jews”. This dehumanising wording demonstrates how openly National Socialist disenfranchisement and expropriation were promoted in the local public sphere.
Source: Tyrolean Provincial Archives, Victim Welfare File 00358, application for restitution. The documented records provide details of the financial burdens and losses of property described above.

Historical Context

Antisemitism, “Aryanisation” and Persecution in Tyrol

​The persecution of Alfred Grünmandl formed part of the systematic exclusion of the Jewish population following the so-called “Anschluss” of Austria to the German Reich in March 1938. Persecution was based not on a person’s religious beliefs but on the racist classifications established by the National Socialist Nuremberg Laws. Alfred Grünmandl’s conversion to Protestantism therefore offered him no protection against being classified as Jewish.
Jewish business owners were driven out of economic life through boycotts, official restrictions, special taxes and the forced transfer of their property. This process, known as “Aryanisation”, was not an ordinary sale but a form of state-organised expropriation. Alfred Grünmandl’s textile and haberdashery shop in Salvatorgasse in Hall was taken over in 1938. Using the inhumane language of the Nazi regime, a newspaper advertisement subsequently described the business as having been “de-Jewified”. Grünmandl was also forced to pay a so-called Jewish property levy amounting to 15,000 Reichsmarks.
Economic expropriation was accompanied by restrictions on freedom of movement, the confiscation of passports, forced labour and imprisonment. In April 1943, Alfred Grünmandl was sent to the Gestapo-run Reichenau camp near Innsbruck. After four weeks, he was released in a severely weakened condition. He had to walk back to Hall because he was not permitted to use the tram, and he was denied regular hospital treatment. Until liberation in May 1945, he depended on the support of friends and acquaintances.
His children were also affected by National Socialist persecution. Betty Grünmandl succeeded in emigrating to Great Britain in 1939. Otto Grünmandl, who had maintained contacts with a resistance group while at school, was deported to the Rositz forced labour camp in Thuringia in 1944. The family’s fate demonstrates how Nazi persecution affected every aspect of life and how conversion to Christianity, marriage to a non-Jewish spouse and decades of integration into the local community offered no reliable protection against disenfranchisement and violence.

Figures 1 and 2 relating to Alfred Grünmandl. Source: Martin Achrainer, Thomas Albrich and Niko Hofinger (eds.), Lebensgeschichten statt Opferlisten: Die biografische Datenbank zur jüdischen Bevölkerung in Tirol und Vorarlberg im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert – Forschungsbericht, Vienna 1997, p. 288.

Figures 1 and 2 relating to Alfred Grünmandl. Source: Martin Achrainer, Thomas Albrich and Niko Hofinger (eds.), Lebensgeschichten statt Opferlisten: Die biografische Datenbank zur jüdischen Bevölkerung in Tirol und Vorarlberg im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert – Forschungsbericht, Vienna 1997, p. 288.

The Grünmandl Family after the Nazi Seizure of Power

Following the annexation of Austria in 1938, Alfred Grünmandl was classified as a "full Jew" through the Nazi "Aryan certificate" process. Nazi ideology made no distinction between Catholic, Protestant, or Mosaic faiths – the racist definition was all that mattered.
The persecution hit the family economically immediately: Alfred Grünmandl's company was forcibly "Aryanized" in March 1938. The losses included the long-established store in Salvatorgasse and private assets like the house at Oberer Stadtplatz No. 5. Additionally, he was forced to pay the discriminatory "Jewish Capital Levy" of 15,000 Reichsmarks.
How cynically the dispossession was marketed as a supposed new beginning is shown by an advertisement from the new owner in the Haller Kreis-Anzeiger (22 October 1938): "Grünmandl Department Store … has been de-Jewed."
[The stated financial losses are documented in the Tyrol Regional Archive, Victim Welfare File 00358, within the application for restitution.]

The former shop of Alfred Grünmandl in Solbad Hall, now Hall in Tirol. Colour photograph, 2023. Source: K. Walder Private Archive, Hall in Tirol.

📜 Historical Context of the Grünmandl Shop

The photo is of the textile shop owned by Alfred Grünmandl, a Jewish migrant who founded the business in Hall in Tirol. In March 1938, shortly after the Nazi annexation of Austria, the shop was forcibly "Aryanized" — seized from the family and transferred to a new owner. The family's private property, including a house, was also confiscated.
After the war, the Grünmandl family successfully fought for restitution and regained ownership of their business in 1947.

Advertisement announcing the forced “Aryanisation” of the Grünmandl department store 

Advertisement announcing the forced “Aryanisation” of the Grünmandl department store in Hall in Tirol. The new proprietor, Willy Baumann, declared that the textile and haberdashery business had been “purged of Jews” (entjudet). This dehumanising expression documents how the expropriation and displacement of Alfred Grünmandl were publicly presented through National Socialist propaganda. Source: Haller Kreis-Anzeiger, 22 October 1938, p. 4.

Transcription of the Advertisement

Kaufhaus Grünmandl
Textile and haberdashery shop, Hall in Tirol
“purged of Jews”
I have acquired the company by purchase. I will manage the business professionally and will strive to satisfy my customers.
Willy Baumann
Hall in Tirol, Salvatorgasse 11
Note: The term “purged of Jews” (entjudet) is reproduced here solely as a quotation from a historical source. It belongs to the antisemitic and dehumanising language of National Socialism

Source Commentary

The advertisement is a particularly striking document of the public presentation of National Socialist “Aryanisation”. The new proprietor described the transfer as an ordinary commercial purchase. This wording concealed the political and economic coercion under which Alfred Grünmandl was deprived of his business.
The word entjudet was prominently displayed and underlined, making it the advertisement’s central message. The removal of the Jewish proprietor was therefore not concealed but publicly promoted as a supposed advantage of the business. Addressed to the local population, the advertisement signalled that customers could now shop at the former Grünmandl store in accordance with the antisemitic policies of the Nazi regime.
It is also significant that the well-established name “Kaufhaus Grünmandl” continued to be used. The commercial value and local recognition of the name were apparently retained, while the former proprietor himself was excluded and dispossessed. The source therefore reveals the interaction between economic advantage, antisemitic propaganda and the normalisation of persecution within the local community.

Historical Context

Immediately after Austria’s “Anschluss” to the National Socialist German Reich in March 1938, the systematic exclusion of Jewish business owners from economic life also began in Tyrol. Shops and companies were closed, forcibly sold or transferred under official pressure to so-called “Aryan” purchasers. Those affected were unable to dispose freely of their property and often received only a fraction of its actual value. The Nazi regime also imposed discriminatory taxes and levies upon them.
Alfred Grünmandl’s textile and haberdashery business at Salvatorgasse 11 was forcibly “Aryanised” as early as March 1938. The family also lost other private property, and Grünmandl was compelled to pay the discriminatory so-called “Jewish Property Levy” amounting to 15,000 Reichsmarks.
The advertisement published on 22 October 1938 should therefore not be understood as evidence of a voluntary business transaction. Rather, it documents the outcome of state-organised disenfranchisement and expropriation. By publicly announcing that the business had been “purged of Jews”, the economic destruction of a Jewish member of the local community was presented as an ordinary and even desirable aspect of commercial life. This makes the advertisement an important source for the history of National Socialist persecution in Hall in Tirol.

Systematic Expropriation: "Aryanization" in Tyrol

The distribution of confiscated Jewish assets followed a strict hierarchy. The various branches of the NSDAP were always given priority. Properties not claimed by party members were transferred to the State of Tyrol. The state authorities either used these buildings and plots themselves or sold them on for profit.
The forced transfer of commercial and trade enterprises—the so-called "Aryanization"—in Tyrol was managed by the "Aryanization Office Innsbruck" (Arisierungsstelle Innsbruck). Headed by the Gau Economic Advisor Duxneuner, this office organized the systematic expropriation: it terminated the rental contracts of Jewish tenants and installed "provisional administrators" (kommissarische Leiter) to take over Jewish businesses. These administrators were often later interested in purchasing the operations themselves.
Between May and October 1938 alone, the "Aryanization" of at least eighteen Innsbruck businesses was publicly announced. An example from the Innsbrucker Nachrichten shows the cynical and triumphant tone of these reports:
"Cafe Schindler was transferred on Wednesday, with the approval of the Property Transaction Office in the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, into the possession of a proven illegal party comrade and old fighter."
This announcement makes clear how the expropriation was propagated as a deserved reward for loyal National Socialists.

Economic Destruction: Boycott and Forced Sale

The boycott of Jewish businesses organized by the National Socialists quickly took effect, leading to a massive drop in sales. A particularly spectacular case was that of the Bauer & Schwarz department store on Innsbruck's Maria-Theresien-Straße. It was the largest department store in Tyrol and still had fixed and operating assets worth over one million schillings at the end of 1937. Nevertheless, the pressure from the boycott had already driven it practically into bankruptcy by May 1938. Despite fierce protests from local interested parties, the company was eventually sold at a price far below its value to a buyer from the German Reich and henceforth operated as the Kaufhaus Kraus.

Statistics of Displacement

The persecution affected entire sectors that were commonly considered "Jewish." Out of a total of 17,418 commercial businesses in Tyrol, only 54 were Jewish-owned. Yet, 24 of these businesses—primarily food and textile shops—were permanently closed and thus eliminated from economic life by 1938.

Bureaucracy of Expropriation: The 1939 Audit of Accounts

The "Aryanization" was a bureaucratically managed process. On August 1, 1939, the Donauländische Treuhand- und Organisationsgesellschaft M.B.H. conducted an audit of the financial dealings of the Aryanization Office Innsbruck. The list of all payments made to this office, created during the audit, once again reveals the fate of the Grünmandl family: The Aryanized textile shop of Alfred Grünmandl in Hall is recorded with a payment made of 1,105 Reichsmarks. These files document the systematic and profit-driven plundering.
*Source: Köfler, Gretl: Der Verfolgung der Juden. Einziehung von Vermögenswerten – Ausschaltung aus dem Berufsleben. In: Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstands (ed.): Widerstand in Tirol 1934 - 1945. Wien/München 1984, p. 430-440.*

Systematic Registration and Disenfranchisement

Immediately after the Nazi seizure of power, the Gestapo in Innsbruck began systematically registering and listing all Jewish people in Tyrol. At the same time, reprisals intensified: The district administrative authorities (Bezirkshauptmannschaften) received instructions to no longer issue passports to Jews. Passports already issued had to be confiscated. (1)
These measures were implemented swiftly and in cooperation with local NSDAP offices, as evidenced by a letter from the Solbad Hall police station in May 1938. It stated that they had "in agreement with the NSDAP local group leadership" confiscated the travel documents from all Jewish or allegedly Jewish persons residing in Hall. (2)
​
Footnotes:
[1] TLA, Geheime Staatspolizei, Schreiben Staatspolizeidienststelle Wien, an BH Ibk., am 22.3.1938, in: BH Innsbruck Abt. II. Fasz. 542.
[2] TLA, Schreiben Gendarmerieposten Kommando Hall in Tirol an die BH Ibk., am 2.4.1938, in BH Innsbruck Abt. II, Fasz. 542.

The Grünmandl Family: Disenfranchisement and Emigration

Christine Grünmandl, née Katzengruber (1892–1973). Source: Hohenems Genealogie, available online (accessed 11 August 2026).
Ludwig Grünmandl (1917–1980), son of Alfred and Christine Grünmandl. Source: Hohenems Genealogie, available online https://www.hohenemsgenealogie.at/getperson.php?personID=I2644&tree=Hohenems (accessed 11 August 2026).

Herta Grünmandl (1929–2015). Source: Hohenems Genealogy, available online at: hohenemsgenealogie.at (accessed 10 August 2026).

Betty Grünmandl (1918–2012). Black-and-white portrait photograph. Source: Hohenems Genealogy, available online at: hohenemsgenealogie.at. Online https://www.hohenemsgenealogie.at/getperson.php?personID=I2641&tree=Hohenems, (Access: August 11, 2026)

The Grünmandl family was also affected by this confiscation. The passports of Alfred Grünmandl as well as his children Ludwig and Betty were seized and sent to the Innsbruck District Administration. Alfred Grünmandl stated that his father had been Jewish, but that he himself had been baptized Protestant. His wife, who was considered "Aryan," was allowed to keep her passport.
The following period was marked by great fear. During the Pogrom Night of November 9, 1938, the family feared whether violent riots would also occur in Hall. Although the town was spared—in contrast to Innsbruck—the threat was ever-present. A glimmer of hope came in 1939: Betty Grünmandl successfully emigrated to Great Britain, thereby reaching safety. (3)

Footnote:
​[3] TLA, Zahl: II 2864/13, Schreiben, Betreff Auswanderung von Juden aus Tirol, an die Gestapo, Staatspolizeistelle Innsbruck, Innsbruck am 7.7. 1939, in: BH Ibk. 1951, Abt. II/Reg. 98, Zl 1385 (mit Zl 1804 aus 1950), Fasz. 775.

Mixed Marriages in the Focus of Nazi Persecution

Alfred Grünmandl was classified by the Nazi authorities as a "Jew in a mixed marriage" (Jude in Mischehe). The fate of the Jewish partners living in such marriages was controversial within the Nazi regime. At several so-called "Final Solution conferences" between January 1942 and October 1943, it was discussed whether and how they should be persecuted.
While radical Nazi organizations wanted to deport this group as well, the Ministry of Justice and the Propaganda Ministry refrained from doing so. They feared negative reactions from the "Aryan" population, whose spouses would have been affected, and considered special treatment politically inopportune. (4)
​Footnote:
[4] Hilberg, Vernichtung, S. 436- 447.

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🇬🇧 Blog (EN) Colonel Oskar Teuber

A Wave of Arrests in 1943: The Gestapo's "Independent Action"

Easter 1943 marked a dangerous escalation. Gauleiter Franz Hofer ordered the imprisonment of all Jews still living in the Gau of Tyrol—a move that was considered an "independent action" by the Innsbruck Gestapo, even within the Nazi system. Suddenly, the previous, precarious protection afforded by an "Aryan" spouse was nullified.
Despite attempts at secrecy, remarkable resistance formed from the population. Through courageous petitions from friends and family members, it was possible to secure the release of a large portion of those detained.

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🇬🇧 Andergassen -Heinrich -Blog (EN) -(Part I)

Alfred Grünmandl's Path of Suffering: Imprisonment and Forced Labor

Alfred Grünmandl was also affected by this wave of arrests. In April 1943, he was imprisoned for four weeks in the Gestapo camp Reichenau. His arrest was preceded by forced labor for the master mason Fröschl—a physically overwhelming form of harassment for the approximately 55 to 60-year-old merchant.
The deprivation and harsh conditions in the Reichenau camp severely drained his strength. After his release, he was sent back on foot to Solbad Hall. Further humiliations followed: he was forbidden from using the streetcar and from receiving treatment at the hospital.
His survival until May 1945 was ultimately owed to the help of friends and acquaintances who supported him while he lived in his house at Krippgasse 12 in Solbad Hall.

The House at Krippgasse 12: A Contemporary Historical Witness

During the war, the family of Anton and Josefine Walder and their daughter Ingeborg were registered in the ground floor apartment of the same house at Krippgasse 12. The following photo from 2020 shows the two windows of their apartment at that time, which were later adorned with poster slogans by Otto Grünmandl.

Alfred Grünmandl’s house at Krippgasse 12 in Hall in Tirol. Behind these windows were the living quarters of the young Walder family during the Second World War. Further information can be found in the blog posts Anton Walder I and Anton Walder II.

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🇬🇧 Walder -Anton- Blog EN)-Part 1)

🇬🇧 Walder-Anton-Blog (EN)-Part 2

Otto Grünmandl (1924 – 2000)

Left: Otto Grünmandl as a boy. Black-and-white portrait photograph. Source: Hohenems Genealogy, available online at: hohenemsgenealogie.at (accessed 10 August 2026).
Right: Otto Grünmandl in Hall in Tirol during the 1980s, with his handwritten signature. Source: Private Archive K. Walder, Hall in Tirol.

The Grünmandl Brothers: Two Different Fates

Nazi persecution also affected the sons of Alfred Grünmandl, Otto and Ludwig, but in very different ways. Their life paths reflect the contradictory and cruel realities of the Nazi era.

Otto Grünmandl: Resistance and Imprisonment

Otto Grünmandl (1924–2000) joined the resistance group around Michael and Peter Zwetkoff during his school days at the former Franciscan Gymnasium (the secondary school for boys and girls). Due to constant surveillance by the Gestapo, he was often not informed about specific actions for security reasons.
His involvement had severe consequences: From October 16, 1944, until May 19, 1945, he was interned in the Rositz forced labor camp in Thuringia. (Learn more about the resistance circle in the blog entry: Michael and Peter Zwetkoff).
​
Otto Grünmandl later became a renowned Austrian Kabarettist (satirical comedian), writer, and actor, known for his sharp wit and critical observations on society and politics in post-war Austria.

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🇬🇧 Blog (EN) Otto Grünmandl

🇬🇧 (EN) Michael und Peter Zwetkoff

Ludwig Grünmandl: Military Service and Change of Residence

His brother Ludwig Grünmandl had a different fate. He served as a soldier in the Wehrmacht from 1939 to 1940 and was stationed in France. His registered addresses reflect the turbulence of those years: Until 1939 he lived with the family in Hall, Krippgasse 12. After his military service, he was registered in Innsbruck, Burggraben 13, from 1940 to 1943, before returning to his parents' house at Krippgasse 12 in Hall until the end of the war.

Summary

Alfred Grünmandl had lived in Hall in Tirol since 1907, where he operated a textile shop. Although he had converted to Protestantism, the National Socialists persecuted him because of his Jewish origins. His business and part of his property were expropriated in 1938, his freedom of movement was restricted and he was forced to pay a substantial discriminatory levy.
After being subjected to strenuous forced labour, Grünmandl was imprisoned in the Reichenau Gestapo camp in April 1943. Following his release, he survived in his home at Krippgasse 12 with the assistance of friends and acquaintances until the end of Nazi rule. His children were also affected by flight, imprisonment and forced labour. The history of the Grünmandl family provides important evidence of National Socialist persecution and expropriation in Hall and throughout Tyrol.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who was Alfred Grünmandl?

Alfred Grünmandl was born in 1883 in Ungarisch Brod, now Uherský Brod in the Czech Republic. He came to Hall in Tirol in 1907 and opened a textile shop with his brother. He lived in Hall with his wife Christine and their children, and the family was granted municipal citizenship rights in 1919.

Why was Alfred Grünmandl persecuted by the National Socialists?

The National Socialists classified Alfred Grünmandl as Jewish because of his ancestry. His conversion to Protestantism in 1914 did not protect him because Nazi persecution was based on the racist criteria of National Socialist legislation rather than personal religious belief.

What happened to Alfred Grünmandl’s business?

His textile and haberdashery shop in Salvatorgasse was “Aryanised” in 1938. This term refers to the forced transfer of Jewish-owned property to non-Jewish buyers. The new owner subsequently advertised the confiscated business publicly as having been “de-Jewified”.

Was Alfred Grünmandl imprisoned in the Reichenau Gestapo camp?

Yes. Alfred Grünmandl was detained for four weeks in the Reichenau Gestapo camp near Innsbruck in April 1943. Before his arrest, he had been forced to perform strenuous physical labour. After his release, he had to walk back to Hall in a weakened condition.

How did Alfred Grünmandl survive the Nazi period?

His marriage to Christine Grünmandl, whom the National Socialists classified as “Aryan”, temporarily provided him with limited protection. However, this protection was neither complete nor reliable. Following his release from imprisonment, assistance from friends and acquaintances helped him survive in Hall until liberation in May 1945.

What happened to the Grünmandl children?

Betty Grünmandl succeeded in escaping to Great Britain in 1939. Otto Grünmandl was deported to the Rositz forced labour camp in Thuringia in October 1944 and was not released until May 1945. While still a student, he had maintained contacts with the resistance group associated with Michael and Peter Zwetkoff.

Why is the history of the Grünmandl family important to Hall in Tirol?

The family’s fate demonstrates that National Socialist persecution and expropriation also took place directly within Hall in Tirol. A family that had lived in the town for decades was deprived of its rights, robbed of its property and torn apart. Their story makes the local consequences of Nazi rule visible through individual lives.

Did Alfred Grünmandl receive compensation after 1945?

After the end of Nazi rule, Alfred Grünmandl submitted a claim for restitution and compensation. His victim welfare file, preserved in the Tyrolean Provincial Archives, documents the property losses he suffered and the claims he made. Such proceedings were often protracted and could never fully compensate for the injustice endured.