Jehovah’s Witnesses in Tyrol: Persecution Before and During the Nazi Era – The Case of Karl Killinger (1901–1940)

Even before the “Anschluss” – Austria’s annexation by Nazi Germany – the religious life of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Tyrol was fraught with major difficulties. On February 6, 1936, an official ban on their community was enacted by the government under Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg. Despite these restrictions, members continued to hold their Bible meetings in secret. During this period, the Austrian authorities limited their actions to house searches, the confiscation of religious literature, and the imposition of short-term arrests.
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With the rise to power of the National Socialists, the situation worsened dramatically. Jehovah’s Witnesses – at that time still often referred to as “Bible Students” – became a target of Nazi terror. For religious reasons, they refused to give the Hitler salute, swear an oath to the “Führer,” or perform military service. Their loyalty belonged solely to “Jehovah,” their God. This unwavering faith became their downfall: those who did not recant faced imprisonment, torture, or deportation to a concentration camp. Many paid for their steadfastness with their lives.

One example of this uncompromising religious conviction is Karl Killinger, born on July 2, 1901, in Pabneukirchen/Rechberg (Upper Austria). In 1931, he moved to Hall in Tyrol, where he worked as a blacksmith. On May 15, 1938, he married Hedwig Arnold in Innsbruck. The couple lived together at Ritter-Waldauf-Straße 6 in Hall and had a son, Karl Killinger, who was born there.
Karl Killinger openly professed his faith as a Jehovah’s Witness. After the “Anschluss,” he increasingly became a victim of repression. Like many of his fellow believers, he was arrested for his convictions. His life path is emblematic of the fate of many Jehovah’s Witnesses under the Nazi regime – individuals who, even in the face of violence and death, remained true to their conscience.

🕯️ Memorial Portrait: Karl Killinger (1901–1940)

Born: July 2, 1901, Pabneukirchen/Rechberg (Upper Austria)
Residence: Hall in Tyrol
Occupation: Blacksmith
Marital Status: Married, one son
Religious Affiliation: Jehovah’s Witnesses (Bible Students)
Arrested: February 16, 1939
Places of Detention: Police prison → Dachau concentration camp (from March 24, 1939) → Gusen concentration camp (from September 1939)
Date of Death: January 19, 1940
Cause of Death: Pneumonia resulting from forced labor and severe malnutrition
Karl Killinger was a committed Jehovah’s Witness who remained faithful to his beliefs despite severe persecution by the Nazi regime. After his arrest, he was deported to Dachau concentration camp and later transferred to the particularly brutal subcamp of Gusen. There, he died under inhumane conditions – exhausted, malnourished, and yet unwavering in his faith.
His life and death stand as a powerful example of the silent resistance of religious minorities against the Nazi dictatorship.

Anton Bodenwinkler (1911–1940)

A Victim of Religious Persecution in Hall in Tyrol
Anton Bodenwinkler worked as an agricultural laborer in Solbad Hall and belonged to the religious community of Jehovah’s Witnesses—then also known as Bible Students. Because of his faith, he was persecuted by the National Socialists. On February 22, 1939, he was arrested and taken to the Innsbruck police prison, where he was held for over three months.
On June 2, 1939, the authorities deported him to Dachau concentration camp, where he received the prisoner number 33636. On September 24, 1939, he was transferred together with Karl Killinger to Mauthausen concentration camp. There, his health deteriorated steadily due to systematic malnutrition, forced labor, and inhumane conditions.
On February 11, 1940, Anton Bodenwinkler died in Mauthausen concentration camp from exhaustion and malnutrition.
He was the second Jehovah’s Witness in Hall in Tyrol to be arrested during the Nazi persecution and ultimately killed in a concentration camp. Like many of his fellow believers, he refused military service and the oath to the “Führer” on religious grounds—and paid for it with his life.

🕯️ Memorial Portrait: Anton Bodenwinkler (1911–1940)

Born: 1911
Residence: Solbad Hall, Tyrol
Occupation: Agricultural laborer
Religious Affiliation: Jehovah’s Witnesses (Bible Students)
Arrested: February 22, 1939, Innsbruck
Places of Detention: Innsbruck police prison → Dachau concentration camp (from June 2, 1939, prisoner number 33636) → Mauthausen concentration camp (from September 24, 1939)
Date of Death: February 11, 1940
Cause of Death: Malnutrition in Mauthausen concentration camp
Anton Bodenwinkler was a simple agricultural laborer whose deep faith brought him into a deadly confrontation with the Nazi regime. As a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he refused, on religious grounds, to participate in the cult of the Führer, give the Hitler salute, or perform military service.
For this steadfastness, he was persecuted, imprisoned, and ultimately deported. After months of detention in the Innsbruck police prison, he was transferred to Dachau concentration camp and later, together with Karl Killinger, brought to Mauthausen. There, he died of exhaustion caused by hunger, cold, and forced labor.

• Anton Bodenwinkler was the second Jehovah’s Witness from Hall in Tyrol to die under Nazi rule. His fate stands for the quiet, nonviolent resistance of religious minorities against a totalitarian regime—and for the courage to remain true to one’s conscience.