Dean Bernhard Praxmarer: A Profile of Resistance

Photo: Praxmarer, Bernhard. in: Helmut Wopfner (Hrsg.), Unsere Sternkorona Hall in Tirol. Mitgliederverzeichnis 1888 – 1998, Thaur 1998, S.255.

Dean Bernhard Praxmarer (1912 - 2001)

Bernhard Praxmarer was a Catholic priest who faced repeated persecution for his resistance during the Nazi period in Austria.
His conflicts with the regime began in 1939 in the Tyrolean municipality of Götzens, where he was banned from teaching. He was subsequently arrested for "sedition" after he publicly denounced this ban in a sermon at the local church.
In 1940, he was issued a "Gauverweis" (expulsion from the Nazi Gau, or region, of Tyrol-Vorarlberg) and was forced to relocate to Lienz in East Tyrol. There, he served as a curate from 1941 until 1942. His work in youth ministry led to his rearrest on March 19, 1942; he was detained until early June. Following this imprisonment, he was once again expelled from the region and transferred to Carinthia.
For the remainder of the war, from 1943 to 1945, Praxmarer served as a military hospital chaplain in Gablitz, Lower Austria.
After the collapse of the Nazi regime, his steadfastness was recognized. He was later appointed Dean of Solbad Hall (now known as Hall in Tirol), a position that reflected his moral standing in the post-war Austrian church.

Historical Context

The reprisals faced by Bernhard Praxmarer—teaching bans, arrests, regional expulsions, and forced transfers—were common tactics used by the Nazi regime to silence clergy who opposed its ideology. The Nazis sought to severely limit the influence of the churches, viewing any independent public statement or youth work as a direct challenge to their authority. Praxmarer's post-war promotion to Dean was part of a broader pattern in Austria and Germany, where clergy who had resisted Nazi persecution were often elevated to leadership roles during the reconstruction of church and society.