Friedrich Punt (1898 - 1969) A Lawyer in the Resistance

Photo Dr. jur. Friedrich Punt. Held in: private archive Walder Hall in Tyrol.

Courage and Conviction: The Confrontation with the Heimwehr

Friedrich Punt was more than just a lawyer – he was a person of unwavering principle and courage. This was evident as early as the politically charged 1930s in Austria. Together with his colleague Rudolf Leitgeb, he was involved in a brawl with members of the Heimwehr (Home Guard) outside Café Central in Innsbruck. The reason? The two jurists had deliberately responded to the greeting "Heil Starhemberg" with "Grüß Gott" (a common Austrian greeting meaning "God bless you"), a clear provocation directed at the Austrofascist camp. The affair escalated to the point where a delegation from the Heimwehr was forced to issue an official apology to Punt – which they strategically did on a Saturday afternoon when only the cleaning lady was present in the office.

Lawyer for the Persecuted: A Law Office as a Sanctuary

Friedrich Punt's law practice became an important sanctuary for people persecuted by various political factions. True to his belief in law and justice, he defended and supported individuals threatened by the regime. His clients included, among others, Dr. Leopold Markl, who was persecuted as an "illegal" before 1938, and Dr. Karl Kunst, a socialist who became a target of the Nazis after the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria in 1938. Punt placed his legal expertise at the service of those who had no voice.

Under Pressure: The Accusation of Being "Paul Pasquill"

The Nazi threat became a direct reality for Friedrich Punt immediately after the Anschluss in 1938. A Gestapo officer appeared at his office and accused him of being the author of the satirical poems published under the pseudonym Paul Pasquill in the magazine "Der Sumpf," which were critical of Hitler and the NSDAP. The officer also pointed to Punt's own political writings, which were classified as "pro-Russian," suggesting they were also problematic. Punt was given an ultimatum: within three days, he was to either confess to being the author or name the real person responsible.
Punt, who had not written the poems, faced an existential threat. He immediately notified his friends, including the Leitgeb brothers, Dallago, and Sailer. After three anxious days of uncertainty, nothing happened. The Gestapo brought no further charges. Only after the war did Punt learn the reason: his friend Sailer had intervened with the father of the former Gauleiter Edmund Christoph, leading to the investigation being suppressed.

A Testament to Resistance

This episode, commented on by Christine Riccabona and Anton Unterkircher in the publication "Zuflucht im Wortgehäuse 1941-1943" (Brenner-Archiv, 2001), is exemplary of Friedrich Punt's character. It shows a man who stood up for his convictions, helped those in danger, and kept his composure even in the face of grave peril. His work represents a significant chapter of legal resistance against National Socialism in Tyrol.

In the Eye of the Storm: Friedrich Punt and the Resistance in the Wehrmacht Reporting Office

The Trauma of the Anschluss – A Collective "Political Insanity"

Friedrich Punt described the events of 1938 as profoundly shocking: "Those who did not experience the year 1938 cannot imagine its effects on the emotional life of a man with a vivid imagination." For him and many like-minded individuals, the "Anschluss" of Austria was a natural disaster, a spreading "political madness." Society split into those who were depressive and sensed the impending downfall, and those who were manic, excited supporters of the regime. Punt observed that even convinced opponents of National Socialism were "swimming with the current against their own will." Faced with the overwhelming power of the state, which only "fanatics and the incautious" would sacrifice themselves to, he formed a plan: to resist as soon as a realistic opportunity presented itself.
This stance of inner resistance and waiting for a favorable opportunity stands in a difficult-to-interpret contrast to his concurrent biographical decisions: As early as May 1, 1938, just weeks after the "Anschluss," Friedrich Punt joined the NSDAP (membership number 6,357,647) and was admitted to practice as a lawyer within the Nazi regime from 1940 onward. His own descriptions of a divided society and "swimming with the current against one's own will" raise the question of to what extent these steps were dictated by conviction, opportunism, or the will to survive in an overwhelming system.

An Unlikely Resistance Cell: The Wehrmacht Reporting Office in Innsbruck

Conscripted into the Wehrmacht in 1939, the war-injured Punt was fortunately able to serve as a sergeant major at the Wehrmacht Reporting Office in Innsbruck. This seemingly regime-conforming position proved to be perfect camouflage. There he met kindred spirits such as Leo Praxmarer, Oswald Peterlunger, Raimund Salchner, Engelbert Trager, and Anton Walder. Together they formed a secret cell of convinced regime opponents.
Their apparent adaptation to the system was, in some cases, extreme and served as a camouflage. While Punt himself was a member of the NSDAP, the example of his co-conspirator, Engelbert Trager, illustrates the ambivalent strategies of survival and resistance: Trager, who lived at Innsbruckerstraße 50 in Solbad Hall (Hall in Tirol) and identified as a member of the "Anton Haller" resistance group, even applied to join the NSDAP on January 1, 1939. However, his status remained that of an "Anwärter" (party candidate) until the end of the war. In contrast to full members, candidates, while accepted into the process, were never formally admitted to the NSDAP, often due to doubts about their political reliability or other concerns raised by the party. Trager's case suggests that his application was a tactical move to allay suspicion, but the party itself distrusted him and kept him at a distance.
This perfect camouflage within the heart of the military administration allowed the group, under the protective facade of the Wehrmacht reporting office, to equip persecuted individuals with forged documents and thus protect them from the Gestapo. The group received a crucial influx of support with the transfer of the journalist and writer Friedrich (Fritz) Würthle from Salzburg to Innsbruck in 1940. As early as June 12, 1942, Fritz Würthle held a meeting in his apartment with Baldauf, Ronczay, and Buzas to discuss a merger of resistance groups. Würthle, who in 1945 became the deputy leader of the Tyrolean resistance movement under Dr. Karl Gruber, was instrumental in driving the merger and coordination of the many small resistance cells in Tyrol.

Resistance with the Weapon of Words: The Poems of Friedrich Punt

From 1941 to 1943, Friedrich Punt composed his sharpest weapon against the regime: poems. In these texts, he processed his rejection of National Socialism, and he even courageously recited them among his trusted circle at the Reporting Office. By the summer of 1943, about 120 of these works had been created. Then, arrests of soldiers from the office by the Gestapo made the situation too dangerous; Punt hid his writings to protect them and himself.

Betrayal, Arrest, and a Last-Minute Rescue

In the spring of 1945, the resistance movement intensified its actions. The regime's response was brutal raids in which many fighters were arrested. Under torture, the radio dealer Alfred Altstätter also named Friedrich Punt as an accomplice.
On April 25, 1945, Punt was arrested by the Gestapo and severely tortured for hours. Subsequently, he was taken to the Reichenau labor camp, where his execution was scheduled for April 30, 1945, at 3:30 PM.
In desperation, his wife Anny Punt turned to Engelbert Trager from the resistance group around Anton Haller in Hall. This group knew an SS member named Jakob Strickner, who had offered his cooperation. They had initially refused him, but now saw a chance to test his alleged change of heart. Strickner procured an army motorcycle, drove to the Reichenau camp on the day of the execution, and ordered Punt to come with him. Punt believed his final hour had come. But Strickner actually brought him to safety in the mountains, where Punt was able to recover from his injuries for four weeks. The resistance movement, which had learned of the execution order through informants, had saved him at the last minute.