New Findings on Colonel Oskar Teuber: The Connection to Concentration Camp Prisoner Dr. Ernst Verdross

Introduction

This article and the underlying research are based significantly on the extensive investigations of Bernhard Linhofer, who provided them for this project. His critical examination of the sources enabled crucial new insights that go beyond the existing historiography of the Scouting movement.
The central new discovery concerns the connection between Colonel Oskar Teuber and Dr. Ernst Verdross, a municipal official from Hall and resistance fighter. As Verdross noted in his records, it was none other than the National Socialist officer Oskar Teuber to whom his wife turned to beg for help for her husband, who was imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp. Verdross explained this desperate hope with the words:
"my last commander in the World War, who was certainly an enthusiastic Nazi, but who had always shown me genuine Austrian camaraderie."
(Source: Elisabeth Walder: KZ-Dachau Häftlingsnummer 14354, Innsbruck 2025, p. 36)
This historical connection was previously completely unknown and sheds new light on the ambivalent role of Oskar Teuber. While official Scouting historiography barely mentions or misrepresents him, Linhofer's research not only documents his central role for the Scouting movement in Tyrol but also this tragic entanglement in the Nazi persecution machinery. This research therefore corrects the previous image and reveals Teuber as a profoundly contradictory figure, torn between Nazi ideology and a soldier's concept of honor.

The Teuber-Weckersdorf Family: Between Military, Scouting, and Resistance

The Teuber family embodied the feudal upper middle class of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in turn-of-the-century Vienna. The lives of their four sons were shattered by the fractures of the 20th century: from the collapse of the monarchy, through the turmoil of the interwar period, to the Second World War, which only one of the brothers survived.
The family was deeply divided politically. While Colonel Oskar Teuber was a convinced National Socialist, his brothers Emmerich and Willy were arrested and persecuted by the very regime he supported.

The Unifying Mission: The Scouting Movement

Parallel to the political conflicts, the brothers were united by a profoundly civil mission: their dedication to the Scouts in Austria. The eldest brother, Emmerich (1877–1943), is considered one of its founding fathers. However, Oskar Teuber was also a central figure and collaborator in Tyrol, and not a marginal one as he is often portrayed.
This commitment was a family project. The women also played a leading role, foremost among them Charlotte ("Lotte") Teuber-Weckersdorf (1923–1998), who was instrumental in rebuilding the Girl Guides after 1945.
Why this is important for history: This civilian network and Oskar Teuber's respected reputation within this community are crucial to understanding the later, desperate plea from Dr. Ernst Verdross' wife. She did not turn to just any Nazi officer, but to a man who was rooted in a humanistic movement – in the hope that this spark of decency would outweigh Nazi ideology.

Oskar Teuber (1881–1943): A Biography Between Military, Scouting, and Tragedy

Origin and Early Years

Oskar Teuber was born on March 21, 1881, in Prague into a respected family of the Viennese upper middle class. His father, Oskar Wilhelm Karl Teuber (1852–1901), was an Imperial Councilor and editor-in-chief of the Wiener Zeitung; his mother, Emma Teuber-Rigol (1850–1934), was a well-known actress at the Residenztheater. Like his three brothers, he attended the Schottengymnasium in Vienna and underwent military training, which led him to the Tyrolean Imperial Rifles (Kaiserjäger).

Military Career and Marriage

Teuber joined the Imperial Rifles in 1901 and rose to the rank of captain (Hauptmann). In the First World War, he proved to be an outstanding officer—particularly as the commander of an assault company—and was decorated multiple times. In 1906, he married Maria Friederike Schlesinger (1883–1943) in Berlin. She came from a Jewish family and had converted to the Protestant faith. Few personal accounts from her survive; she remains in the shadow of her husband—and yet her origin would drive them both to their deaths.

Photo: Couple – Silver Wedding Anniversary (1931). In private collection of Bernhard Linhofer, Völs/Tyrol.*

The Interwar Period: From Officer to Scouting Pioneer

After returning from Italian captivity as a prisoner of war in 1919, Teuber worked as a repatriation officer in Tyrol and continued his career in the Federal Army, ultimately reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel (Oberstleutnant). In 1922, the couple moved to Innsbruck, to Goethestraße 15, and acquired what would later become the legendary "Teuberhäusl" in Leutasch.

Photo: Couple Teuber - Teuberhäusl in Leutasch/Seefeld in Tyrol. In: Private collection of Bernhard Linhofer, Völs/Tyrol.

Simultaneously, Teuber became passionately involved in the Scouting movement—as a regional founder, course instructor, and initiator of the "Pfadfinder Trotz Allem" (PTA / "Scouts Despite Everything") for sighted and blind youth. In 1937, he led a Tyrolean group to the World Scout Jamboree in Holland.
Yet his worldview was ambivalent: As chairman of the Austrian Army Officers' Association, he emphasized "Old Austrian camaraderie," but also praised the "pre-military training" of the Hitler Youth.

The Desperate Plea for the Return of the Persecuted: Dr. Ernst Verdross

This attitude made him the last hope for Dr. Ernst Verdross, a former wartime comrade. From inside the Dachau concentration camp, Verdross advised his wife:
"In any case, I advised my wife to turn to Colonel Teuber, my last commander in the First World War, who was certainly an enthusiastic Nazi, but who had always shown me genuine Austrian camaraderie."
— E.Walder (2025): KZ-Dachau Häftlingsnummer 14354, p. 36.
However, what Verdross did not know: Teuber could not help. He himself stood under the shadow of persecution.

1938: A Life in Fear

The "Anschluss" (annexation) of Austria in 1938 made Maria a target of persecution. She was forced to adopt the compulsory middle name "Sara," was marginalized, and threatened. Simultaneously, Oskar was struck by a series of personal tragedies:
·       His brother Willhelm Teuber-Weckersdorf (1879–1968) was arrested.
·       His niece Lotte was expelled from her university studies.
·       His brother Emmerich was imprisoned on charges of high treason.
Even General Edmund Glaise von Horstenau (1882–1946) noted that the once "nationally-minded" Teuber was "severely disappointed" with Nazi policy. (B. Linhofer (2025): Die Familie Teuber – Versuch einer Biografie, p. 38)
Maria Teuber did not have to wear the Jewish star. This exception was based on her specific situation in a so-called "privileged mixed marriage." Here is a brief explanation:
The Police Ordinance on the Identification of Jews (September 1, 1941) obligated all Jews in the German Reich from the age of six to wear the "Jewish star" visibly.
However, exempt from this requirement were:
·       Jewish partners in "non-privileged mixed marriages": They had to wear the star.
·       Jewish partners in "privileged mixed marriages": They were exempt from the requirement to wear it.
A marriage was classified as "privileged" if:
1.     The couple had children who were not being raised in the Jewish faith.
2.     The "Aryan" spouse was the primary breadwinner supporting the family.
Since Maria and Oskar Teuber remained childless, their marriage was formally a "simple" or "non-privileged mixed marriage." In practice, however, many childless couples, especially if the husband—like Oskar Teuber—was a respected (though fallen from grace) officer, were de facto treated as "privileged" marriages to avoid "public scandal" and unrest among the "Aryan" population.
In summary: While Maria Teuber was forced to use the compulsory name "Sara" on all official documents, she was most likely spared the public humiliation and stigmatization of the Jewish star. This was one of the few, bitter "advantages" of her marriage to an "Aryan," which, however, did not protect her from systematic disenfranchisement, isolation, and ultimately the deadly threat posed by the Gestapo.
 

The "Easter Action" of 1943 and the Path to Death

In April 1943, the situation escalated: Gauleiter (Nazi Regional Leader) Franz Hofer (1902–1975) declared Tyrol "free of Jews" (judenfrei). The protection for "mixed marriages" was revoked. Maria Teuber was to be deported on April 20, 1943.
All interventions—even those by his former adjutant—failed. His very advocate wrote:
"Teuber has led an impeccable life. It is no bad character reference that he did not repudiate his wife." (B. Linhofer (2025): p. 36.)
On April 19, 1943, the couple prepared for joint suicide. A neighbour recalled:
"We saw how he sealed the door. [...] She was supposed to be taken to the Reichenau camp the next day." (B. Linhofer (2025): p. 36.)

The Neighbors' Knowledge: From Discrimination to Deportation

The harassment of Maria Teuber by fellow residents at Goethestrasse 15 in Innsbruck was not an isolated case, but part of a systematic exclusion that extended all the way to an awareness of the deadly consequences. By the time of the "Easter Action" of 1943 at the latest, in which the Innsbruck Gestapo openly and deliberately arrested Jewish partners from "mixed marriages," the public could no longer overlook what was happening. The arrests were public, the target was clear, and the fate of the deportees was no secret. The neighbors' refusal to live "under one roof" with a Jewish woman was thus not merely an expression of opinion, but was done in the awareness that they were directly endangering Maria Teuber's life. This complicit knowledge undermined any possibility of innocence or ignorance and made society complicit in a system that actively pursued, or silently condoned, the annihilation of its Jewish citizens.

A Final Act of Equality: The Radical Rejection of Racial Ideology

Their joint suicide was far more than an act of desperation; it was the ultimate, radical statement against the inhuman Nazi ideology. For Oskar Teuber, the "Aryan" officer, his wife Maria's life was of absolutely equal and inviolable value. Since their marriage in 1906 and their move to Tyrol in 1922, they had led a fulfilling life as a couple, even though they had no children. Maria was highly respected and integrated into the Teuber family, as evidenced by the desperate efforts of her niece Lotte, who went to the Nazi authorities to "beg" for her aunt's life. (Linhofer (2025): p. 39-40)

The Shared Path to Death: A Final Act of Dignity

The pressure on the Teuber couple became unbearable. Shortly before their death, they summoned a family friend to hand over their household belongings – a silent announcement of what was to come. On April 19, 1943, Maria and Oskar Teuber died together in their apartment at Goethestrasse 15 in Innsbruck by coal gas.
By taking his own life together with hers, rather than surrendering her to deportation, Oskar Teuber rejected Nazi racial doctrine in the most decisive way imaginable. His act spoke a clear language: in his eyes, his wife was not a "subhuman," but his equal companion and partner, for whom he was even willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. In a time when the regime categorized the value of life and systematically destroyed marriages like theirs, Maria and Oskar Teuber set a profoundly human sign of unconditional equality, loyalty, and love, which was more powerful than any ideology of hate.
Their shared decision was the final statement of two people who refused to obey Nazi racial logic. To the very end, they remained true to themselves and their convictions.

The Funeral as a Public Protest

Despite their suicide, Bishop Paulus Rusch (1903–1986) allowed a church funeral – a silent demonstration against the Nazi regime. Bishop Rusch's decision to permit the funeral was met in a remarkable way by the people of Innsbruck. The overwhelming public participation in the burial of Maria and Oskar Teuber was far more than just mourning for two beloved citizens; it was a collective statement of protest and humanity in a time of inhumanity.
By attending in hundreds, despite the ever-present fear of denunciation and reprisals from the Nazi regime, they publicly demonstrated their disapproval of the policies that had driven the couple to their deaths. This gesture required courage, as the Gestapo closely monitored such events. The participants consciously exposed themselves to the risk of being branded as dissidents.
Their presence was a final gesture of solidarity and a clear rejection of National Socialist racial ideology. It showed that while the regime had the power to destroy the Teubers' lives, it could not completely break the spirit of community and the decency of many Innsbruckers. In the silence of the Mühlau cemetery, the crowd and their sympathy spoke louder than any words could have.

Photo: Grave cross of the couple. In the Innsbruck City Museum, today in the Museum Tirol Panorama. In: private collection Bernhard Linhofer, Völs/Tyrol.

Today, the "Teuberhäusl" in Leutasch and their original grave cross in the Museum Tirol Panorama commemorate the couple whose fate mirrors the turmoil of an entire era.

Photo "The Teuberhäusl" in Leutasch/Seefeld Tyrol. Held in: private collections Bernhard Linhofer Völs, Tyrol.

General Edmund Glaise von Horstenau (1882–1946)

·       Born: February 27, 1882, in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary
·       Died: July 20, 1946, in the Langwasser camp (Nuremberg), suicide
Career and Role:
·       Officer and Historian: Glaise von Horstenau was a career officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army and later the Austrian Federal Army. He served in the First World War and also became known as a military historian.
·       Connection to National Socialism: He was a leading representative of the nationalist camp in Austria and maintained close contacts with Nazi Germany. As a minister without portfolio and later Vice-Chancellor in the Seyß-Inquart cabinets, he was one of the main protagonists of the "Anschluss" in March 1938.
·       General in the Wehrmacht: After the "Anschluss," he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and rose to the rank of General of the Infantry. During the Second World War, he was the German Plenipotentiary General in Croatia from 1941 to 1944—an extremely difficult and ambivalent position where he was caught between the interests of the Wehrmacht, the brutal Ustaša regime, and his own moral reservations. He criticized the atrocities of the Ustaša regime, which earned him enemies in Berlin.
·       Diaries: Glaise von Horstenau kept detailed diaries, which represent an extremely valuable historical source for the events in Austria between 1933 and 1938 and for the situation in Croatia.
Connection to Oskar Teuber:
Glaise von Horstenau knew the Austrian officer corps intimately. His statement that Oskar Teuber was "severely disappointed" after the Anschluss, even though he had previously been "nationally-minded," is an important contemporary, first-hand assessment. It documents the deep disillusionment of many Austrian officers who had initially welcomed the Nazi regime but were then repulsed by its methods and its treatment of Austria.
End:
In 1945, he was captured by US troops. Scheduled to be a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials, he took his own life on July 20, 1946, while in Allied captivity.
Why this assessment is so valuable for the website:
Glaise von Horstenau was not a neutral observer but an actor deeply entangled in events. His critical remark about Teuber's disappointment shows that this attitude was noticed and deemed noteworthy even in the highest circles of the Wehrmacht and among the co-conspirators of the "Anschluss." This underscores the tragedy and inner turmoil of Oskar Teuber.

Bishop DDr. Paulus Rusch (1903–1986)

·       Born: April 11, 1903, in Innsbruck, Austria
·       Died: July 2, 1986, in Innsbruck, Austria
Career and Work:
·       Priest and Scholar: Rusch was ordained a priest in 1927. He was a highly educated man with doctorates in Theology and Philosophy (hence the title "DDr."). His particular interest lay in youth ministry and Catholic Action.
·       Connection to the Scouts: This passion for youth work is the key to his connection with Oskar Teuber. Both men met through this engagement, and Rusch came to know Teuber there not just as a Nazi officer, but also as a formative personality in youth education. This explains his later intervention.
·       Youngest Bishop in Europe: In 1938, the year of the "Anschluss," the 35-year-old Rusch was appointed by Pope Pius XI as Coadjutor Bishop of Innsbruck (with the right of succession) and Titular Bishop of Gerasa. He was then considered the youngest bishop in Europe.
Role during National Socialism and Connection to the Teubers:
Rusch was opposed to Nazi ideology. Assuming his office during the Nazi era was difficult, and the church was under significant pressure.
His decision to grant Oskar and Maria Teuber a church funeral in 1943 was a clear sign of resistance and humanity, given the suicide and the political pressure.
·       The Suicide: According to the Catholic Church's canon law at the time, a church funeral was denied to someone who died by suicide.
·       The Political Pressure: This involved a Nazi officer and his wife, who was persecuted as a Jew under Nazi racial laws.
By nevertheless permitting this burial, Rusch honored the couple and sent a silent message to the population: that the regime, with its inhuman policies, had driven two respected people to their deaths. This action required great moral courage.
Later Work:
Paulus Rusch shaped the Diocese of Innsbruck for over four decades. He was an important promoter of post-war reconstruction and was considered a down-to-earth, modern bishop who implemented the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) in his diocese.