The Friesenberghaus and the Nazi Era--An Interview

The "Spurensuche Nationalsozialismus" (Searching for Traces of National Socialism) section team on a hut tour: Some members of our group hiked part of the Berliner Höhenweg trail in the Zillertal valley this summer. Of course, we also stopped at the historic Friesenberghaus. This mountain hut, located at an altitude of almost 2,500 meters, plays an important role in the history of anti-Semitism in the Alpine Club and the self-assertion of Jewish mountaineers against it.

In December 1924, exactly 100 years ago, the German and Austrian Alpine Club (DuOeAV) expelled the Donauland section, which mainly consisted of members of Jewish origin—this was the sad climax of the so-called Donauland affair. The Alpine Club thus took on a pioneering role in the exclusion of Jews long before the National Socialists seized power. The expelled section did not give up at the time--it became independent as the Alpine Club Donauland, set up an extensive tour program, and ran several huts, including the Friesenberghaus from the early 1930s onwards.

Visitors to the cozy hut, which offers 60 sleeping berth, will find many reminders of the dark chapter of anti-Semitism in the Alpine Club, and above all of those who opposed it at the time. What does it mean to be the host of such a hut? How do guests react? We from the Spurensuche team spoke to Florian Schranz about this on site. He runs the Friesenberghaus together with his wife Susanne Albertini.