The Socialist-Communist Resistance in Solbad Hall: Underground Struggle Against Fascism (1934-1945)

Banned in 1934 under Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß’s authoritarian regime, Austria’s socialist-communist resistance had already mastered clandestine operations by the time the Nazis seized power in 1938. Their tactics—distributing leaflets, painting hammer-and-sickle symbols, and relentless propaganda—laid the groundwork for a seamless transition into anti-Nazi activism. Though their numbers remain undocumented (except for those who later joined Hall’s post-war council), these fighters bridged ideological divides, collaborating with monarchists like Dr. Viktor Schumacher and Anton Haller to overthrow the Nazi local government.
A pivotal alliance formed in 1941, when socialist metalworkers Viktor Wachter, Josef Terrabona, and Heinz Ehrenreich Thöni—employees of the Deutsche Reichsbahn—joined Haller’s resistance circle. With couriers like Johanna Wagner and ties to the Zwetkoff brothers, they engaged in sabotage, weapon smuggling, and intelligence-sharing. Terrabona’s close coordination with Schumacher epitomized the movement’s daring: a united front against tyranny, where even railroad workers became revolutionaries.
(Key details drawn from blog entries on Wagner and the Zwetkoffs.)

Photo Josef Terrabona. Held in: 
City Archive / Picture Archive Hall in Tirol, 14_2-2, Vice Mayor Josef Terrabona, Pensioner (BB Pension Fund).

The Socialist-Communist Resistance in Solbad Hall: Origins and Covert Operations

Following its ban in 1934 by the government of Chancellor Dr. Engelbert Dollfuß (1892 - 1934), the socialist-communist resistance movement became accustomed to operating underground. Their activities included distributing leaflets and painting hammer-and-sickle symbols on house walls to signal their presence. Their primary work consisted of propaganda efforts, both oral and written. Thanks to this clandestine work prior to 1938, individual cells were able to seamlessly continue their socialist-communist agitation and actively contribute to the regime's removal once the Nazis seized power.
Unfortunately, no written records or evidence exist to determine the exact number of individuals involved in the socialist-communist resistance movement, aside from those who formed the municipal council on May 13, 1945, and were known as resistance fighters. These individuals collaborated across party lines, working actively with members of the resistance group around Dr. Viktor Schumacher and Anton Haller to overthrow the Nazi-led municipal government under Mayor Haller.

Blog (EN) Dr. Engelbert Dollfuß (1892 - 1934)

Blog (EN) Dipl. Ing. Dr. Karl Gruber (1909-1995)

Unification and Key Figures of the Resistance

In 1940/41, the socialist and communist members of this group joined the resistance circle around Anton Haller to fight collectively against the Nazis. Among its members were Viktor Wachter (1890–1960), Josef Terrabona (1898–1986), and Heinz Ehrenreich Thöni (1894–1971), all employed as metalworkers for the German Reichsbahn. This group was in contact with Johanna Wagner and the group around Michael and Peter Zwetkoff. Johanna Wagner played a crucial role as a courier for the group members Viktor Wachter, Josef Terrabona, and Ehrenreich Thöni.
Viktor Wachter, Josef Terrabona, and Heinz Ehrenreich Thöni were integrated into the combat circle of the Hall resistance. Josef Terrabona, in particular, worked closely with Dr. Viktor Schumacher, who kept him informed of all dangerous actions planned and undertaken by the Hall resistance group. The socialist resistance group itself played a significant role in numerous acts of defiance, such as procuring weapons for the uprising, carrying out sabotage actions, and relaying vital information.

Betrayal, Escape, and Recognition

Due to the betrayal of the Hall resistance group, Ehrenreich Thöni was forced to flee to Tulfes on the night of May 2–3, 1945. Nevertheless, he returned to Hall later on May 3 and managed to transport Anton Haller from Gnadenwald to Solbad Hall on his motorcycle. Mayor Dr. Viktor Schumacher, elected by the entire resistance group around Anton Haller, publicly thanked Ehrenreich Thöni during the constituent city council meeting on May 13, 1945, for his perilous groundwork in combating and overthrowing National Socialism in Solbad Hall.

Composition of the Socialist Resistance Circle and Post-War Role

Members of the socialist resistance circle included:

• Franz Bucher (1899–1975), Reichsbahn worker
• Nikolaus Laimgruber (1893–1980), Reichsbahn employee
• Josef Schaidreiter (1904–1948), worker
• Ing. Hubert Schittelkopf (1909–1968), postal official
• Stefan Schwaiger (*1893), Reichsbahn signal master
• Josef Terrabona (1898–1986), Ö.B.B. master mechanic
• Heinz Ehrenreich Thöni (1894–1971), Reichsbahn metalworker
• Viktor Wachter (1890–1960), Reichsbahn mechanic
• Felix Ragonig (*1897), civil servant
• Josef Wappitsch (*1901), bricklayer
• Josef Weigand (*1899)
• Florian Wirtenberger (?), farmer
• Nikolaus Holzhammer (*1898), saltworks official

These socialist resistance fighters, together with twelve resistance fighters from the Austrian People's Party, formed the first municipal council in Solbad Hall on May 13, 1945.

Regional Network and Leadership: Connection to Innsbruck
Franz Rudolf Hüttenberger (1884 - 1966)

The social democratic resistance group of Solbad Hall was in contact with the social democratic resistance group around Franz Rudolf Hüttenberger (1884–1966) in Innsbruck. A leader of the Social Democratic Party in Tyrol even before 1934, Hüttenberger was arrested by the Dollfuß government in February 1934 during the February Revolt in Vienna. After the ban of the Social Democratic Workers' Party and during Nazi rule, he became the leading figure of the workers' resistance movement in Tyrol. Following the Nazi takeover in 1938, he was imprisoned multiple times, with his third arrest occurring on August 22, 1944, leading to his detention in the Reichenau concentration camp until November 1944. Tortured and weakened by the inhumane conditions, he was released seriously ill in November 1944. Despite this, he continued to work on the uprising against Nazi rule alongside Dr. Karl Gruber (1909-1995) and officially assumed leadership of the Social Democratic Workers' Party in Tyrol on May 3, 1945. From that point on, he served as Deputy Governor in the Tyrolean state government of the Second Republic.

Photo: Tomb of Heinz Ehrenreich-Thöni in the municipal cemetery of Hall in Tirol. From the private collection Walder, Hall in Tirol.

Communists in the Resistance

In his daily domestic situation report to the Reich Commissioner for the Reunification of Austria with the German Reich on December 4, 1939, the Inspector of the Security Police and SD in Vienna reported that although communist activity had subsided somewhat, it was still noticeable. The activities of the communists included distributing and posting leaflets, as well as defacing advertising columns and posters. In connection with an opposition leaflet campaign, 20 people were arrested in Tyrol.
Johann Bauer (1892–1977) was a known resistance fighter of the Communist Party in Solbad Hall and worked as a Reichsbahn official. He joined the socialist-communist resistance group in Solbad Hall.
On June 19, 1940, he was arrested by the Gestapo and sentenced under the Heimtücke-Gesetz(Treachery Act). He subsequently spent four months in prison.
On October 5, 1945, he was sworn in as a member of the municipal council by Mayor Dr. Viktor Schumacher:

Report of the Mayor

“The Mayor opened the meeting by noting that the new city administration had already been in operation for five months and that the good cooperation between the parties had succeeded in overcoming the most difficult period. He welcomed Hans Bauer as a representative of the Communist Party.”
“Dr. Viktor Schumacher then thanked all collaborators for their assistance, especially Deputy Mayor Thöni, the members of the housing committee, and the civil service.”
“Motion to review Nazi employees by Hubert Schittelkopf.”