Photograph The Franciscan Monastery in Hall in Tyrol. Held in: private collections K. Walder.

On September 9, 1939, Franciscan friar August (Eligius) Dastl was convicted by the Nazi regime for a sermon he delivered.
The Incident:
During a sermon on May 18, 1939, in the church of Gnadenwald, Father Dastl criticized the persecution of priests, stating the Nazis were coming after them "like bloodhounds." He explained that his remarks were prompted by the personal harassment he endured, including being called names and even having a dog set on him.

Photograph Fr Eligius Dastl. Held in: Archive of the Franciscan Province of Tyrol in Hall in Tyrol.

Franciscan Father Honorius Hohlbrugger (1904-1993) was a member of the monastery in Solbad Hall and became a target of Nazi persecution for speaking out from the pulpit.
Arrest and Accusation:
Father Hohlbrugger was arrested on December 10, 1939, following a sermon he gave in the parish church of Hippach. During his homily, he criticized the state's influence on youth, stating, "Today's youth is being raised like children of Satan." He warned that the removal of religion from public life could lead to churches being closed, crosses taken down, and replaced with "signs of Satan."
The Nazi authorities deemed this a direct attack. He was charged under the severe §130a of the Reich Penal Code (abuse of the pulpit) and the "Heimtücke-Gesetz" (Law Against Malicious Attacks), which criminalized any criticism of the regime or its policies.

Imprisonment and Expulsion:

• He was held in pre-trial detention at the Innsbruck Regional Court from December 10, 1939, to January 12, 1940.
• On March 30, 1940, he was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison.
• He served his full sentence from April 2 to September 11, 1940, in the Innsbruck prison.

His persecution did not end with his release. On September 30, 1940, just weeks after leaving prison, he was expelled from the Hall Franciscan convent as the Nazi authorities officially dissolved and seized the monastery.
Father Hohlbrugger's case is a stark example of the regime's ruthless efforts to silence religious dissent and eliminate any influence competing with its ideology.
 

Franciscan Father Gaudentius (Gaudenz) Conzi Vigil (1883–1973), who served as the Guardian (Superior) of the Franciscan monastery in Hall, faced severe reprisal from the Nazi regime for a simple act of human kindness.
The "Crime":
The accusation against Father Gaudentius was shockingly minor. He provided humanitarian aid to a man in need—a former prisoner named Ennemoser. His "criminal" act consisted of giving the man a shirt and a small donation of three Reichsmarks to help him survive.
Yet, in the eyes of the Nazi state, this charity was twisted into a serious political offense. He was arrested and charged with "abetting high treason" (Vorschubleistung zum Hochverrat), demonstrating the regime's paranoia and its determination to criminalize any assistance, no matter how small, given to those it persecuted.

Imprisonment and Forced Exile:
Without a trial or conviction, Father Gaudentius endured a lengthy and stressful imprisonment:

• June 26 – August 6, 1940: Held in the Police Jail in Innsbruck.
• August 6 – October 12, 1940: Transferred to the Innsbruck Regional Court prison.
• October 12 – November 7, 1940: Returned to the Police Jail in Innsbruck.

Although the charges were eventually dropped, the punishment was not. To secure his release, he was forced to leave the monastery he led and was expelled from the country, returning to his native Italy.
His case is a powerful example of how the Nazi regime used intimidation, arbitrary imprisonment, and the grotesque exaggeration of charges to break apart religious communities and silence compassion.

Franciscan Frater Konrad (Peter Paul)  Walcher (1903–1963) served as the porter at the Franciscan monastery in Hall in Tirol. His role, which involved greeting visitors and offering charity, led to his severe punishment by the Nazi regime.
The Accusation:
Frater Walcher, along with others including Capuchin Father Franz Josef Kramer from Kitzbühel, was accused of providing aid to a man named Ennemoser, who claimed to be a politically persecuted former prisoner. The assistance given—a shirt and what the court deemed an "excessive alms" of five or ten Reichsmarks—was treated not as charity, but as a serious political crime.

The Verdict and the Court's Reasoning:
On February 24, 1941, the Special Court (Sondergericht) in Innsbruck convicted Walcher and Kramer of "abetting high treason" (Vorschubleistung für Hochverrat).
The court's verdict reveals the twisted logic of the Nazi justice system. It dismissed the defendants' claim that they were simply helping a man in need, arguing instead:

• The amount of aid was "significantly beyond" what would be considered average charity.
• They believed the friars acted "primarily out of political interest" to help an " alleged opponent of the regime."
• This perceived "political intention" was explicitly cited as an aggravating factor in their sentencing.

The Sentence:
For this act of humanitarian aid, Frater Peter Paul Walcher was sentenced to two months of strict imprisonment.
This case starkly illustrates how the Nazi regime criminalized basic Christian compassion, interpreting any help given to a fugitive as a direct political act against the state.

Franciscan Frater Massäus Stemeseder (1891–1940) served his community faithfully as a cook and gardener at the Franciscan monastery in Solbad Hall.
Tragically, he became a victim of the Nazi regime's brutal "T4" Euthanasia Program. Since 1931, Frater Massäus had been receiving care for a mental illness at the State Sanatorium and Nursing Home (Landes-Heil- und Pflegeanstalt) in Solbad Hall.

On December 10, 1940, he was forcibly taken from the institution in a group transport to the Hartheim Castle extermination centre near Linz, Austria. There, he was murdered in a gas chamber.
The Franciscan order later received the devastating news of his death. His life was cruelly taken simply because he was deemed "unworthy of life" by the Nazi ideology. Frater Massäus Stemeseder is remembered as a martyr of this dark chapter, one of the countless victims of state-sanctioned murder disguised as medicine.

Photograph Fr DDDr. Johannes Kapistran Pieller. Held in: ​{biolex öcv - Google Suche} (Stand 20.8.2025)

Photograph held in: ​Helmut Wopfner, Dr. phil. Plaseller OFM P. Paskal (Fritz), in: Helmut Wopfner (ed.), Unsere Sternkorona Hall in Tirol. Mitgliederverzeichnis 1888 – 1998, Thaur 1998, p. 125.

Dr. Paskal (Fritz) Plaseller OFM (1909–1974) was an Austrian teacher, resistance fighter, and Franciscan friar from Tyrol. Dismissed from his teaching post and arrested by the Gestapo in 1938 for leading the anti-Nazi "Ostmärkische Sturmscharen," he was deeply affected by his imprisonment and subsequently joined the Franciscan Order. After five years of military service during World War II, he returned, was ordained a priest, and taught as a secondary school professor at the Franciscan Gymnasium in Hall.