French Military Government in Solbad Hall July 1945 - 1955

Historical Background: The Division of Austria into Zones (1945-1955)

Following World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones, managed by the Allied powers (the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France), similar to Germany. This division was formalized by the First Control Agreement of July 4, 1945.
The division of the federal states was as follows:

• American Zone:
  • Upper Austria south of the Danube
  • Salzburg
• British Zone:
  • Styria
  • Carinthia
• Soviet Zone:
  • Upper Austria north of the Danube (Mühlviertel)
  • Lower Austria
  • Burgenland
• French Zone:
  • Tyrol (including East Tyrol)
  • Vorarlberg

The Specific Situation of Hall in Tyrol

With the formal establishment of the French zone in the summer of 1945, the French military government took control of the entire province of Tyrol. The town of Hall in Tyrol (which at the time used the name "Solbad Hall") therefore fell under the administration of the French Occupation Authority for Tyrol, headquartered in Innsbruck.
This four-power occupation lasted until the Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955, which restored Austria's full sovereignty and ended the occupation.

The French Occupation in Solbad Hall from 1945 to 1955

Beginning in July 1945, French Allied forces took over the administration of Tyrol from the US troops. In Solbad Hall, the leadership was under Commandant Langzan. Cooperation with the French occupation authorities was positive from the start, as Mayor Dr. Viktor Schumacher and the municipal council consisted of former resistance fighters from the group around Anton Haller.
Initially, a strict curfew was imposed from 7:00 PM. Residents of Hall who had to be out at night for professional reasons—such as doctors, midwives, or bakers—received special passes which they had to present during checks by the French military patrol.
 

French pass for Abdon Marsoner, Traffic Office in Hall in: City Archives Hall in Tyrol, Box French police files. Abdon Marsoner was an electrician for the municipal utilities in Hall.

Nikolaus Madersbacher, priest in Absam, issued by the French administrative authority of the city of Solbad Hall, in: City Archives Hall in Tyrol, Box French police files, July/August 1945.

Challenges and Measures during the Occupation Period

The city administration and the occupying forces were confronted with pressing problems: a severe housing shortage and famine, an influx of refugees, the return of former Wehrmacht soldiers, and the implementation of denazification.
As early as July 20, 1945, the police in Solbad Hall were instructed to register all Nazis in writing. The French authorities subsequently confiscated radios, furniture, and apartments belonging to Nazis, while the homes of resistance fighters were spared. Combating the black market was also a priority, though not always with resounding success.

Daily Life and Incidents

Initially, there was a degree of mutual distrust between the population and the occupiers. This is illustrated by a police report concerning the alleged scattering of nails on the federal highway from Innsbruck to Hall. However, the investigation revealed a harmless cause: a French soldier had lost a damaged package he was transporting on his motorcycle, from which the nails had accidentally fallen.
The easing of the curfew marked a gradual return to normality: On May 3, 1946, exactly one year after the end of the war in Tyrol, it was shifted from 7 p.m. to the period between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
(Source: Document in the City Archives of Hall in Tirol, French Police Files, Solbad Hall, May 3, 1946.)

Correspondence from the City Government of Hall in Tyrol to the American Military Authority concerning the Refugee Problem in Hall, June 1945. In: City Archives Hall in Tyrol, Box Miscellanea.