"Nationalsozialismus in Hall in Tirol: NS-Widerstand, Verfolgung und Schicksale"
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    • Widerstands-Guppen >
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    • Verfolgte und Opfer >
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​"Unbroken Courage: Priests Pfeifauf and Blassnig's Stand Against Nazi Tyranny"
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Koop. Dr. Nikolaus Pfeifauf (1910-1971) und Kaplan Dr. Hermann Blassnig (1911-1985)

5/22/2025

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Dr. Nikolaus Pfeifauf (1910-1971) and Kaplan Dr. Hermann Blassnig (1911-1985)

Brave Priests in Solbad Hall During the Dark Era of National Socialism

In the dark era of National Socialism, there were courageous priests in Solbad Hall who fearlessly stood up for humanity and freedom of expression. Despite the threat posed by the Nazi regime and its persecution of dissenters and minorities, these two men dared to raise their voices and advocate for the rights and dignity of every individual. With their unwavering faith and deep understanding of the importance of freedom and equality, they set an example for all who resist tyranny and oppression. May we never forget their brave actions and let their courage and determination inspire us to work for a just and free world.

read more:

(EN) Young Catholics against the Nazis

(EN) Dr._ Walter _Krajnc

(EN) Michael und Peter Zwetkoff

Picture
Picture
"Photo: top left Dr. Nikolaus Pfeifauf and top right Dr. Hermann Blassnig". In: Parish Archive Hall in Tyrol and Diocesan Archive of Innsbruck.

Dr. Nikolaus Pfeifauf and Dr. Hermann Blassnig in Hall in Tyrol

On July 29, 1934, Dr. Nikolaus Pfeifauf, son of Professor Alois Pfeifauf from Hall, celebrated his first Mass (Primiz) in Absam. From April 1938 to 1946, he served as a curate (Kooperator) in Solbad Hall. Chaplain Dr. Hermann Blassnig worked in Solbad Hall from September 1939 until September 1945.
Dr. Blassnig and Dr. Pfeifauf conducted secret singing and prayer gatherings with Catholic youth in Solbad Hall. During these meetings, they shared sermons by the well-known Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen.

Arrest and Interrogation by the Gestapo

These activities were deemed illegal by the National Socialist authorities and led to the arrest of Dr. Blassnig and Dr. Pfeifauf by the Gestapo on October 26, 1941. They were transported to the police prison in Innsbruck and interrogated personally by the head of the Gestapo. After three days of intensive questioning, they were released under strict conditions and placed under close surveillance by the Gestapo in Solbad Hall.

read more:

Blog (EN) Heinrich Andergassen (Part I)

Blog (ENI) Dr. Josef Mair

The Influence of Bishop von Galen – The "Lion of Münster"

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Bishop Clemens August von Galen, known as the “Lion of Münster,” publicly denounced the Nazi euthanasia program as mass murder. He composed secret sermons that were distributed by the two priests in Hall. In recognition of his actions, Bishop von Galen was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Theology at the University of Innsbruck. As a result, the university was closed by the Nazi authorities—becoming the only university in the German-speaking world to suffer such a fate.

read more:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemens_August_Graf_von_Galen

The T4 and Euthanasia Program

The Nazi T4 program was a secret campaign during World War II in which people with disabilities and mental illnesses were killed because the Nazis considered them “unworthy of life.” Thousands of innocent people became victims of this euthanasia program. Bishop Clemens August von Galen strongly protested against these actions in his sermons in 1941. He openly criticized the killings and defended the value of every human life, which made him one of the most important church opponents of the Nazi regime.

read more:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartheim_killing_centre

(EN) Paula _Niederwolfsgruber

Blog (EN) FR Frater Massäus Stemeseder

Memorial (EN) Genoveva Herzenberger

Memorial Site of the Mental Hospital in Hall in Tirol

The memorial site at the former mental hospital in Hall in Tirol remembers the victims of the Nazi euthanasia program. During World War II, many patients from the hospital were deported to Hartheim Castle in Upper Austria, where they were murdered as part of the Nazi T4 program. Today, the memorial honors these victims and reminds visitors of the importance of human dignity, remembrance, and responsibility against injustice.

read more:

www.gedenkort-hall.at/page.php?id=40

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    Author
    Elisabeth Walder
    ​BA MA MA

    female historian-female ethnologist 

    Archives

    ​Diocesan Archive of Innsbruck

    Parish Archive Hall in Tirol
    The Year 1938/39. In: Parish Chronicle of Hall 1893–1945, pp. 44–45.

    Federal Archive of Germany
    Sources: R 9361, Heinrich Andergassen

    Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW)
    Tschol, Helmut / Reiter, Johann: List of Arrested Priests and Members of Religious Orders. In: Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (ed.): Resistance and Persecution in Tyrol 1934–1945. A Documentation (Vol. 2). Vienna/Munich 1984, p. 342.
    Tschol, Helmut: The Catholic Church. General Persecution Measures, p. 118.
    Pro Memoria of the Apostolic Administration Innsbruck concerning the Prohibition of Religious Services in the Chapel of the Psychiatric Hospital in Hall, 19 Oct. 1942. DAI. XIII, 2024.

    Historical Archive of the Tyrolean State Police Directorate
    File Heinrich Andergassen, Presidium III 1233/46. In: Historical Archive of the Tyrolean State Police Directorate.

    ​Online Sources
    Introduction of Civil Registry Offices in the “Ostmark”.
    Available at: {https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Standesämter} (Accessed: 23 Feb. 2024)
    Introduction of Church Tax on 1 May 1939.
    Available at: {https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/oesterreich/369638_Eine-Schikane-der-Nazis-wurde-zur-Dauereinrichtung.html} (Accessed: 2 Mar. 2024)
    Josef Lambichler.
    Available at: {https://www.pfarre-hall.at/at/glaube/Lambichler.php} (Accessed: 2 Mar. 2024)

    ​Publications
    Innerhofer, Joachim / Mayr, Sabine (eds.): Murderous Homeland. Repressed Life Stories of Jewish Families in Bolzano and Merano. Bolzano 2015, p. 101.
    Giacomozzi, Carla: In the Memory of Things. Eyewitness Accounts from the Camps. Bolzano 2008–2009, p. 170.
    Steinacher, Gerald: Roderick Hall Hanged in the Cell in Bolzano. Roderick Hall as the Only One-Man Operation of the American Secret War Service in South Tyrol. Nebraska/Lincoln 1999, Faculty Publications, Department of History, Paper 118.
    Available at: {https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1118&context=historyfacpub}(Accessed: 1 Mar. 2024)
    Steinacher, Gerald: “Hanged in the Cell in Bolzano ...” Roderick Hall – The Only One-Man Operation of the American Secret War Service in South Tyrol. Innsbruck 1999.

    May 2025

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