Dietrich OPraem Dominikus (Josef Ferdinand) (1871 – 1951)

Photo Dietrich OPraem. Dominiks. Online unter, {https://oecv.at/Biolex/Detail/12100697}, (Stand 29.9.2025)

Father Dominikus Dietrich: A Premonstratensian from Wilten in Resistance Against the Nazi Regime

During the darkest years of Austrian history, there were courageous individuals who followed their conscience and stood up for their convictions. One of them was Father Dominikus Dietrich from Wilten Abbey, whose life is an impressive testament to steadfastness and unshakable faith during the era of National Socialism.

From Tyrolean Boy to Abbey Priest

He was born on December 30, 1871, in Hall in Tyrol, as Josef Ferdinand Dietrich. After graduating from high school in 1889, he entered the Premonstratensian Abbey of Wilten and upon his profession received the religious name Dominikus. After studying theology in Innsbruck, he was ordained a priest in 1894. For over six decades, he devoted himself to monastic life and pastoral care, until he assumed the position of parish priest of Wilten in 1930 – a role he held until his death.

Confrontation with the Nazi Terror

With the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich in 1938, a time of persecution began for the monasteries. Father Dominikus quickly came under the scrutiny of the authorities. An initial conflict ignited over a church bulletin board that featured a Gospel quote. The Nazi Gauleiter Franz Hoferinterpreted this as a direct attack on the NSDAP and warned the fearless Father.
The situation escalated on August 26, 1939, when Wilten Abbey was forcibly dissolved and confiscated by the Nazis. Father Dominikus was expelled from his monastic home and had to move to the old regional court building in Innsbruck. But he did not give up.

The Letter to Hitler and the Consequences

In an unprecedented act of courage, Father Dominikus Dietrich wrote a letter to Adolf Hitler's private chancellery. To bypass strict censorship, he had it smuggled to Munich, from where it was forwarded to Berlin. In the letter, he requested the repeal of the confiscation, citing the 800-year history and merits of the abbey.
This plea became his downfall. The letter was sent back to Gauleiter Hofer, who immediately ordered the priest's arrest. The accusation: he had "lied to the Führer," as there was allegedly a valid sales contract for the monastery.

Imprisonment and Harassment

From September 16 to 24, 1939, Father Dominikus was imprisoned in the notorious Gestapo prison at the Hotel Sonne in Innsbruck. But this was only the beginning of his ordeal. For holding a simple rosary procession, he was arrested again just two weeks later and this time locked up for eight days in his own, desecrated abbey church, which was then being used as a furniture warehouse.
In the summer of 1940, another arrest followed due to a "youth appeal." It was only due to his advanced age that he was not deported to the Dachau concentration camp. Instead, mediated by the courageous Provicar Carl Lampert, he was given a "Gauverweis" (expulsion from the region) and banished from Tyrol for half a year.
His last major conflict with the regime occurred in 1944. After a severe bombing raid on June 13, 1944, which destroyed Wilten Abbey, leaving only the tower standing, Hofer planned to tear down this tower as well. Father Dominikus vehemently opposed this – and for this, he was imprisoned by the Gestapo for three months and sentenced to a heavy fine.

The Legacy of an Unbending Man

Despite all the tribulations, Father Dominikus Dietrich returned to the ruins of the abbey after the war and devoted himself until his death on October 26, 1951, to its reconstruction and his congregation.
His memory as a courageous witness of faith and steadfast defender of Wilten Abbey is still held in high esteem in Tyrol today. The Father-Dominikus-Dietrich-Saal (Hall) in the Leopoldenhaus and the Father-Dominikus-Dietrich-Keller (Cellar) in the Leuthaus in Wilten serve as reminders of the legacy of this extraordinary man who never allowed himself to be broken by terror and arbitrariness.