Project

Project history

In 1998 I read about the Novemberpogrom 1938 in Innsbruck for the first time in the chapter “Tirol und die Juden ” by Gretl Köfler, published in the book “Tirol und der Anschluss” – publishing house Haymon, 1988. For me familiar places and quarters of Innsbruck suddenly gained unkown historical meaning.

I am born in 1967, raised catholic in the neighbourhood of the “Reitlinger Haus” in Jenbach, 36 km east of Innsbruck. Engineer Friedrich Reitlinger and his daughter Johanna commited suicide in March 1938 after they were arrested in their house by National Socialists. He was owner of the “Jenbacher Berg- und Hüttenwerke”, president of the “Federation of Tyrolean Industry”, vice president of the “Tyrolean Federal Economic Chamber” and founder of a Rotary Club in Innsbruck. In school we did not learn anything about the life of Friedrich Reitlinger, his jewish roots and the background of his death. History class at that time had hardly any regional reference.

Other factors which contributed to the emergence of this project were a lasting impression of Joshua Sobol´s play < Ghetto > in the Tiroler Landestheater in December 1998, directed by Dietrich W. Hübsch and my beginning work with the medium internet at that time. Thus, slowly the idea developed to photograph the sites of the Novemberpogrom 1938 and to describe the occurrences briefly.

In January 2000 the first version was published and has been occasionally extended since then.

Since I am not a historian this project is not intended to be scholarly. For me it is a place to remember the Jewish families and Jewish life in Innsbruck and to put familiar places in a historical context.

Due to the positive reactions especially from surviving descendants I began to integrate provided photos of the Jewish family members.

The organisation, support and financing of the homepage are entirely my responsibility.

The photos of the buildings were taken by Thomas Kleissl and will be renewed in case of need.

The translations were done by Gerhard Buzas and Johanna Dehler.

Acknowledgement

For the support of my project I would like to thank the following persons and/or institutions:

Thomas Kleissl for the photographs

Gerhard Buzas and Johanna Dehler for the translations

Dr. Esther Fritsch, Thomas Lipschütz and Hanne Mittestieler  – Jewish Community Innsbruck

Ingrid Böhler and Wolfgang Meixner – Institute for Contemporary History Innsbruck

Andreas Maislinger – Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service

Amtsrätin Josefine Justic – City Archive Innsbruck for the pictures of the Jewish Shops

Dr. Wilfried Beimrohr – Tyrolean National Archive

Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance – DOEW

My special thanks to

Ron Bower – Son of Stefan Bower (Stefan Bauer)

Inge Brüll – Daughter of Josef and Antonie Brüll

Andy and Peter Mikkelsen – Husband and son of Ilse Adler

Katarina Hohenberg Stahre

Jaquline Nestler

Valerie Neal – Daughter of Ruth Pasch

Abraham Gafni

Jochewed Hochmann-Schwarz

and to

Wolfgang Wallner

Wolfgang Feil 

who support my project with information and private photographs.

Finally I would like to thank all historians for their publications, without their work this project would never be possible.

Manfred Mühlmann Innsbruck 2000 – 2023


Literature:

Wolfram Dornik < Erinnerungskulturen im Cyberspace - Eine Bestandsaufnahme österreichischer Websites zu Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust > trafo verlag dr. wolfgang weist 2004

Gretl Köfler < Die "Reichskristallnacht" > in: Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (Hg.) – Widerstand und Verfolgung in Tirol 1934 bis 1945 – Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien 1984, Band 1, S 448-462

Wolfgang Meixner < Ing. Friedrich Reitlinger (1877 - 1938). Industrieller und Wirtschaftsfunktionär in Tirol zwischen Heimwehr und Nationalsozialismus > in: Zeitgeschichte (2002), Heft 4 (15 Seiten; erscheint Herbst 2002)

Wolfgang Meixner < Ing. Friedrich Reitlinger - Bruchstücke einer verdrängten Biographie > in: Thomas Albrich (Hrsg.), „Wir lebten wie sie…“. Jüdische Lebensgeschichten aus Tirol und Vorarlberg, Haymon-Verlag Innsbruck 1999 (2. Auflage 2000), S. 85-110

Wolfgang Meixner < "Arisierung" eines Tiroler Industriebetriebes - die Jenbacher Berg- und Hüttenwerke Th. & J. Reutlinger > in: Geschichte und Region/Storia e regione 8. Jahrgang, 1999 – anno VIII, 1999, Jahrbuch der Arbeitsgruppe Regionalgeschichte Bozen, Annuario del Gruppo di ricerca per la storia regionale, Bolzano, S. 143 – 198

Wolfgang Meixner < „Arisierung“ der Tiroler Industrie am Beispiel der Jenbacher Berg- und Hüttenwerke sowie des Metallwerkes Plansee, >in: Österreich in Geschichte und Literatur mit Geographie 45 (2001) Heft 5/6, S. 313-329

Horst Schreiber < Das Schicksal der Schwager Juden > in: Alexander / Schreiber (Hrsg.): “Schwaz. Der Weg einer Stadt, 1999” – http://www.horstschreiber.at/texte/texte_das-schicksal-der-schwazer-juden

Reference:

Wikipedia – Friedrich Reitlinger

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