Dr. med. Ludwig Hörbst (1903–1981): A Career Between Political Persecution and Academic Leadership

Portrait of Dr. Ludwig Hörbst. (Source: Wopfner, Helmut (ed.): Unsere Sternkorona Hall in Tirol. Mitgliederverzeichnis 1888–1998. Thaur 1998, p.115.)

The life of Dr. Ludwig Hörbst is more than just an academic career; it is a powerful testament to the political upheavals of the 20th century and an example of a professional resurrection after the Nazi dictatorship.
Born on October 5, 1903, in Kleinstockach-Berwang (District of Reutte), Hörbst attended the Franziskaner Gymnasium in Hall before studying medicine at the University of Innsbruck. After earning his doctorate in 1930, he worked at the Institute of Pathological Anatomy and moved to the ENT Clinic in Innsbruck as an assistant in 1934 – the promising start of an academic career.

The Anschluss as a Caesura: Dismissal and Persecution

With the "Anschluss" (annexation) of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938, Hörbst's world, like that of many others, fell apart. Just weeks after the German troops marched in, the Nazi rector of the university, Raimund von Steinacker, informed him on April 26, 1938, that he was suspended "with immediate effect." Hörbst was one of 32 academics at the University of Innsbruck who were purged in an initial wave of persecution for political and "racial" reasons, being either dismissed or forced into retirement without pay. Shortly after, he was even taken into so-called "protective custody" – a euphemism for political imprisonment by the Nazi regime.

Between Military Service and Renewed Ostracism

In 1939, the trained physician was nevertheless conscripted into the Wehrmacht and served as a military doctor. Yet, political persecution remained a constant companion: On September 15, 1944, he was finally discharged from the army. His habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) had long been suspended by the University of Innsbruck. He was subsequently sent to Poland, where he worked as a health insurance doctor.

A New Beginning and Leadership Roles in the Second Austrian Republic

After the end of World War II, Hörbst returned to Tyrol and was able to resume his career. In a remarkable new beginning, he was appointed director of the ENT Clinic in Innsbruck. The university not only rehabilitated him, but he also achieved its highest academic honors: From 1953 to 1955, he served as Dean of the Medical Faculty and was finally elected Rector of the University of Innsbruck for the term 1964/65 – a clear signal of democratic renewal and a late vindication for the injustices he had suffered.
The life of Ludwig Hörbst thus represents the loss of freedom and justice under Nazi rule, but also the possibility of restitution and a deserved rise to prominence in the democratic Republic of Austria.