Historical Context: Foundation of the Women's Collegiate Foundation in Hall in Tyrol, 1567

This date marks the establishment of the original religious institution (Damenstift) whose buildings were later used by the "Daughters of the Heart of Jesus" from 1912 onwards, and where Sister Marie Wilhelmine wrote her diary during the Second World War.

Photo: Archduchess Magdalena of Austria. Princess-Abbess of the Women's Collegiate Foundation in Hall in Tyrol. Available at: By Francesco Terzio - Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Image Database. Public Domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4766851 (Access: 10.12.2025)

Historical Context: The Women's Collegiate Foundation (Damenstift) in Hall in Tyrol

The Women's Collegiate Foundation (Damenstift) was founded in 1567 by the Archduchesses of Austria from the House of Habsburg: Magdalena (1532–1590), Helena (1543–1574), and Margarethe (1536–1567). It was established as a secular convent for noblewomen, with Archduchess Magdalena serving as its first Princess-Abbess.
This institution was dissolved in 1783 by Emperor Joseph II (1765–1790) as part of his wide-ranging ecclesiastical reforms, which suppressed contemplative monastic orders. Following its dissolution, the former collegiate building was converted into residential housing, and its church was secularized.
In 1845, the site took on a new public function when the city hospital (Stadtspital) was established within the former stift's premises.

Connection to Your Research on Sister Marie Wilhelmine

This history is directly relevant to your study of the diary of Sister Superior Marie Wilhelmine (1938-1945):

• A Building's Changing Purpose: The same building that housed a noble women's foundation (1567-1783) and later a city hospital (1845-1911) was repurposed again in the 20th century.
• The 1912 Transition: In 1912, the Belgian religious order "Société des Filles du Sacré-Cœur" (Daughters of the Heart of Jesus) moved into the vacant complex, reopening it as a convent and school. This is the community Sister Marie Wilhelmine belonged to.
• Full Historical Arc: Therefore, the site's history progresses from: Habsburg noble women's foundation (1567) → Secular use & City Hospital (1783-1911) → Convent of the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus (1912 onwards) → Setting for the WWII-era diary.

This continuity means Sister Marie Wilhelmine's writings from the Nazi era originated in a building with over 450 years of significant local and regional history.

"Societe des Filles du Sacre Coeur - the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus"

Photo: Inner courtyard of the monastery in the year 1912. In: Archive of the Religious Community "Societe des Filles du Sacre Coeur" in Hall in Tyrol.

It was only in 1912 that the former collegiate building and church were returned to their original sacred purpose, thanks to the efforts of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Habsburg-Lothringen (1868–1915). The Belgian order "Societe des Filles du Sacre Coeur - the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus" received permission to use the premises. The cloistered "Daughters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus" dedicated themselves there to daily Eucharistic adoration.
The religious habit consists of a white robe with a cincture (belt) and a scapular (an overgarment worn over the habit). Embroidered on the scapular are the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary, both encircled by a crown of thorns.
The sisters are adoration sisters of the Holy Eucharist. In the Sacred Heart Basilica (Herz Jesu Basilika) in Hall, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration throughout the entire day. The spiritual foundation of the congregation is found in the teaching of the Holy Apostle Paul on the communal union in Christ through baptism.

Photo: Founder of the Women's Collegiate Foundation / Religious Community

"Memories of Some Details from the Wartime Period" The Diary of Sister Superior Marie Wilhelmine (1938 - 1945)

The Diary and Its Author

Sister Superior Marie Wilhelmine (Theodora Kocken, 1894-1975), a native of the Netherlands, kept a diary in French during these dark times titled "Memories of Some Details from the Wartime Period." In her records, she reports that when the National Socialists seized power in Hall, the convent was inspected by the Gestapo and Wehrmacht officers with the intention of converting it into a military hospital (Lazarett) or barracks for soldiers. The structural condition of the building was catastrophic—there was no running water, no sanitary facilities, no heating, and the plaster was crumbling from the walls.

Hardship and Deprivation

The sisters had no income and were dependent on the generosity of the local population. As a religious community, they communicated in French, a language they were forbidden to use during the National Socialist era. They maintained a small garden where they grew some vegetables and had a few fruit trees. However, space was limited, which meant they could not grow potatoes.

Constant Fear and Surveillance

Occasionally, the sisters took walks in the garden near the wall behind the convent and conversed in their mother tongue, French. On one such occasion, they were overheard chatting in French by the Tertiary Sisters located outside the convent grounds. The Tertiary Sisters warned them that their conversations could be heard from outside. This caused shock and concern among the sisters when they realized they had been listened to from behind the wall. From then on, they were extremely cautious and confined their conversations to the interior of the convent to ensure they could not be overheard.
Despite the fact that the sisters were actually forbidden to leave the convent, during these years they were forced to go out in pairs with a handcart to beg for food throughout the town. Unfortunately, they often returned empty-handed, as the residents of Hall also had little left to give. The only salvation from starvation was the ration coupons provided by the Nazi authorities. Nevertheless, the Gestapo carried out numerous house searches of the sisters' premises.

Gestapo Searches and Acts of Defiance

One noon, while the sisters were eating, such a search began. The Gestapo officers were visibly shocked by the modest food on the sisters' plates and broke off their operation. They even gave the sisters some of their own packed lunch.
In another situation, the entire house was searched from the attic to the cellar. An elderly sister guarded the meager winter reserves in the cellar room. There was a trapdoor leading to a secret room beneath the cellar where the sisters kept their forbidden French books and the few personal items they hid from the Nazis. The elderly sister camouflaged the trapdoor by placing a rug over it. She pretended to the Gestapo officers that she no longer knew who she was, so they had to assume the elderly sister was not in her right mind. The Gestapo officers ultimately had to concede that there was nothing to be found in the cellar. The Gestapo searches appear to have been a harassing measure by the Gestapo officials, as the desolate state of the convent was an obvious indication of the community's poverty.

Support from Other Religious Communities

The sisters received support and help from the Sisters of the Visitation of Mary, the Salesian Sisters of Thurnfeld, and the Tertiary Sisters, who provided them with vegetables and food. Particularly helpful was Tertiary Sister Johanna, who worked in the kitchen of the Franciscan monastery. As long as the Franciscan monastery still existed, she could pass on cooked meals and food to the sisters, which was of immeasurable value to them.

The South Tyrol Option and its Consequences

In June 1939, NSDAP members announced the plans for the "Option" to the population in Meran. The Option was a choice for German-speaking South Tyroleans: they could either emigrate or stay in Italy without minority protection and by giving up their mother tongue. The emigrants, called Optanten, were to be resettled in Poland. The announcement of the Option led to great unrest within the South Tyrolean population, particularly between those who wanted to emigrate and those who wanted to stay in Italy.

Photo: "Heim ins Reich" (Home to the Reich). Propaganda for the South Tyrol Option. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: { By Zintosch7 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=102993015}, (Access: 10.12. 2025)

When the South Tyrol Option began in 1939, Optanten were accommodated in the attic of the convent. They were extremely needy families who lived under the roof without electricity, water, or sanitary facilities. These families apparently did not belong to the NSDAP, as special settlements with new apartments for South Tyrolean Optanten were built in Hall, but these families lived in the convent's attic until the end of Nazi rule.

A Terrible Day in Hall in Tyrol

The sisters in the Hall convent were gripped with fear and terror one afternoon when a notorious gray bus stopped in front of the monastery. Gestapo men got out and patrolled the square in front of the convent. Word spread among the people of Hall in whispers that this bus always came when one or more people were to be arrested and taken away. It boded no good.
The sisters prayed and hoped to be spared. And indeed, nothing happened. The Gestapo men got back into the bus and drove away.

Another Terrible Incident

A few weeks later, another terrible incident occurred. One evening, a sister had forgotten to turn off the light in the Mother Superior's office. She had cleaned the windows and the room and had then gone to her own room. A strict blackout was in effect due to the bombing raids.
The doorbell suddenly rang frantically. The sisters were ripped from their sleep. Gestapo men stood at the door and ordered the sisters to get dressed. They would be arrested.
The Mother Superior asked what had happened. She was told that a light was burning at the rear of the house despite the blackout. The sisters were deeply affected. They immediately extinguished the light. The sister who had forgotten to turn it off threw herself on the floor in front of the Gestapo officer. She confessed that she was the guilty one and begged him to take her and spare the other sisters. This deep humiliation must have appeased the Gestapo man. He did not take any of the sisters into custody, but he issued a severe warning. From then on, the Mother Superior checked all the rooms herself.

Photo 1939/40 Nuns of the "Societe des Filles du Sacre Coeur - the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus". In: Archive of the Religious Community of the "Societe des Filles du Sacre Coeur - the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus" in Hall in Tyrol.

The System of Forced Labor

Although the convent was not dissolved, the Nazi authorities conscripted the younger sisters for labor service.
On March 25, 1942, sisters Marie Brigitte, Marie Hedwig, Marie Hildegard, Marie Eleonore, and Marie Viktoria were ordered by the National Socialists to perform labor service at the Annaheim in Hall with the Kreuzschwestern (Sisters of the Holy Cross). Sr. Marie Brigitte was assigned as a kitchen sister. Sr. Marie Hedwig and Sr. Marie Hildegard cared for the elderly ladies of the old people's home. Sr. Marie Eleonore and Sr. Marie Viktoria worked in the kitchen.
The workday began at 7:00 in the morning and often did not end until late in the evening. The sisters were physically exhausted by the hard labor. Even back in the adoration convent, they often found no rest due to exhaustion.
On April 27, 1943, five sisters from the convent "Societe des Filles du Sacre Coeur - Daughters of the Heart of Jesus" and five sisters from the convent Maria Heimsuchung in Thurnfeld were assigned to labor service at the military hospital (Lazarett) in Feldkirch. The Daughters of the Heart of Jesus sisters were assigned as follows:

• Sr. Marie Mechtild and Marie Kunigunde worked in the laundry or kitchen.
• Sr. Marie Viktoria worked only in the kitchen.
• Sr. Marie Rodriguez and Marie Hildegard worked in the hospital wards.

In July 1944, Sr. Marie Viktoria broke her arm during the heavy kitchen work. Despite having a plaster cast, she had to continue working. Sr. Marie Hildegard contracted an infectious disease in the hospital. She could only be brought back, severely ill, to the convent in Hall on February 7, 1945. Sr. Marie Rodriguez became seriously ill from exhaustion due to the heavy hospital work and did not return to the convent in Hall until April 1945.

Isolation and Resilience

The Mother Superior of the "Societe des Filles du Sacre Coeur" convent in Hall received permission from the Nazis only twice to visit her sisters in the Feldkirch hospital. On the first visit, she was accompanied by the Mother Superior of the Maria Heimsuchung convent in Thurnfeld. The second time, she was allowed to travel with a woman named Rosa Reichlie. The sisters regularly wrote letters to the Mother Superior, telling her of their worries and hardships. Despite censorship, the Mother Superior was able to offer them good counsel. Sometimes the sisters received permission from the chief physician and the matron of the Feldkirch hospital to travel to the convent in Hall for the weekend. It was especially difficult for all of them to part from each other again. The religious community was very strong and supported each other to endure this hard time of fear and heavy physical labor.

The Abrupt End of the Diary and Its Historical Significance

The diary of the Mother Superior of the Hall convent ends abruptly on February 7, 1945. No further entries are found. The reason for this could no longer be determined. The current Mother Superior of the convent, Sister Marie Theresia, telephoned a sister who knew the sisters from that time. This sister confirmed to her, for example, the incident with the black bus that stopped in front of the convent. Unfortunately, she could not provide any further information about the abrupt end of the diary entries.
The diary nevertheless provides deep insight into the dictatorial measures exercised by the Nazi authorities against convents and religious communities in Hall in Tyrol. The sisters were harassed and persecuted by the Gestapo. They had to adhere to strict regulations, for example, holding no conversation in the French language.
The diary of the Mother Superior is an important historical document. It is a testimony to the persecution of monasteries and religious communities by the Nazi dictatorship.

Photograph: The  church of  the convent outside and inside in Hall in Tyrol. Held in private archive Walder Hall in Tyrol.