The Frankfurt Section During the National Socialist Dictatorship

Forced personnel changes within the Alpine Club--the new party-loyal leadership had already been appointed by Reichssportführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten in spring 1933--also had an impact on the Frankfurt section. In the April 1933 newsletter, under the heading "From the life of the section", the following is reported: "Die gewaltige Erhebung unseres deutschen Vaterlandes, die eine Wende der Geschichte hervorgerufen hat, wird auch auf den D. u. Oe. A.V. nicht ohne Einwirkung bleiben." (The tremendous uprising of our German fatherland, which has brought about a turning point in history, will also have an impact on the German and Austrian Alpine Club.) Only a short time later, on July 17, 1933, the Frankfurt club members met for an extraordinary general meeting to elect a new section committee. The current committee had resigned, citing the new political situation. Three men stood for election: the patent attorney and previous first chairman Max Moritz Wirth, the district court judge Dr. Ernst Wildberger and the trainee teacher Walter Baecker. The members voted for Wirth with 89 out of 191 votes, but he did not remain in office for long. As early as September, the 33-year-old Dr. Wildberger, who had hardly made an appearance in the section up to that point, declared himself the new "section leader"--he had received the second most votes in July 1933. The actual reasons for this change in leadership are unknown.

The September 1933 Nachrichten-Blatt only states that Wirth did not accept the election for personal reasons--however, he accepted the appointment as Wildberger's deputy. In the same place, Wildberger affirmed the planned orientation of the section towards the "national, ethnic and people-oriented idea(s) of the National Socialist state." He was also able to credibly represent this content through his memberships: Wildberger had been a member of the NSDAP since May 1933 as well as a Scharführer in the SA (Sturmabteilung). Just under a year later, he was succeeded as section leader by Dr. Rudolf Seng, who was to remain the leading functionary in Frankfurt on the Main until the end of the war. Seng was no stranger to the section: He had held the offices of Führerreferent (advisor for guides) and Referent for Hütten- und Wegebau (advisor for hut and trail construction) since 1926, so he was very familiar with the internal structures.

Under Wildberger and Seng, the exclusion of members persecuted as Jewish from the section was implemented. The legal basis for the restructuring of the section was provided by the so-called "Arierparagraf" (Aryan paragraph), which provided for the systematic exclusion of Jews from public life--including from sports clubs. The letter from July 1933 to the club members reports on a vote on the "Aryan paragraph" at a general meeting, with the result that non-Aryans would no longer be allowed to become members in future. The necessary amendment to the statutes was not officially adopted until February 1934, again at an extraordinary general meeting. However, the active exclusion of section members persecuted as Jewish was not prescribed and does not appear to have been fully implemented by the Frankfurt on the Main section. Individual Jewish members who were already active in the Section before 1914 can still be traced as section members years after 1933. Complete lists of those affected are not known, but the persecution probably affected more than 120 members of the Frankfurt on the Main section who were designated as Jewish, including the board member Dr. Arthur Kutz, who was no longer available for election to the new committee in 1933, ostensibly for professional reasons, or Ernst Meissinger, who was excluded by Seng because of his Jewish mother, even though he was Protestant. From 1934, the "Führerprinzip" (Fuehrer principle) also applied: the section leader decided on all matters alone or in consultation with the advisory board, which he appointed himself.

In view of Seng's party-loyal leadership, the election of Dr. Kurt Blaum as speaker for the lecture system is all the more astonishing and therefore worth mentioning. The National Socialists had dismissed Blaum as Lord Mayor of the city of Hanau because he had resisted their ideology. Blaum remained Head of Lectures from 1935 to 1945, until he was appointed Lord Mayor of Frankfurt on the Main by the Americans after the end of the war--but only short-time.

The section implemented the ideological and personnel guidelines faithfully. There are no direct reports of resistance to the restructuring of the board, but Seng's warning in the March 1934 newsletter "daß nunmehr wieder Ruhe und Disziplin bei den Mitgliedern einkehren" (that calm and discipline should now return to the members) at least points to disagreements. A generational change is also noteworthy: many long-serving advisors no longer stood for election to the board or withdrew from active association life.

It was not only within the section that structures changed. In 1934, the Frankfurt on the Main section and the entire Alpine Club were affiliated to the "Deutschen Bergsteiger- und Wanderverband (Fachamt Bergsteigen)" (German Mountaineering and Hiking Association [Mountaineering Department]), and from 1938 to the "Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen" (NSRL; National Socialist Reich Association for Physical Exercise), which was directly subordinate to the NSDAP. With this membership, the now named "Frankfurt branch", which belonged to Bergsteigergau XII, not only had to adopt new uniform statutes, but also put the Nazi emblem on its newsletters.

The Nazi takeover not only brought with it the organizational and structural changes described above. The section also struggled with negative effects on membership numbers. On the one hand, as noted in the annual report for 1933, "der Austritt einer Anzahl nichtarischer Mitglieder" (the resignation of a number of non-Aryan members) led to a decline. The economic hardships caused by the global economic crisis also played their part. The youth group in particular lost almost two thirds of its members over the course of 1933, as the boys and girls were increasingly forced to join the "Hitlerjugend" (Hitler Youth) and the "Bund deutscher Mädel" (League of German Girls).

The decline in membership can also be explained by the so-called "Grenzsperre" (border barrier). For political reasons, the German Reich government had issued the "Law on Restrictions on Travel to the Republic of Austria", which only allowed entry to Austria against payment of 1000 Reichsmark. For sections with huts on Austrian territory, as was the case in Frankfurt on the Main, this meant a significant loss of income. Trips to the mountains also became increasingly difficult, so that the Frankfurt members concentrated on the nearby Odenwald and the Taunus. It was not until 1936 that the lifting of the strictest restrictions brought relief.

The National Socialist transformation and militarization of German society also made itself felt in the Frankfurt section: "Marching exercises" now took place alongside hikes and night hikes became "night marching exercises". However, participation was initially rather low. For example, the nachrichten-Blatt No. 2 of February 1934 generalized with regard to a night march on November 4, 1933: "Die Beteiligung bei diesen Wehrsport-Übungen muss besser werden." (Participation in these military sports exercises must improve.) In the report on the 1933 club year, it was explicitly noted that the "bei der Jungmannschaft die aktive Teilnahme vieler Mitglieder bei SS, SA und Stahlhelm" (active participation of many members in the SS, SA and Stahlhelm) was particularly noticeable among the young members. This is proof that section members were involved in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship at a local level as part of the terror of the SA and SS.

The First World War also moved more into the focus of lecture activities, not only concentrating on the war in the Alpine region. In March 1935, for example, Karl Wißwässer reported on the war in the former German colony of Kiautschou (Qingdao, China) at a lecture evening for the young men. Shooting practice and competitions were also added to the section's program. From January 1934, there were shooting evenings for the young team and the mountaineering group at "Waffen-Plett" (Weapon shop Plett) in Neue Mainzerstraße 77. After the fortnightly shooting evenings started, it was necessary to expressly ask for active participation.

Prize shoots were also organized, for example on October 11, 1936 on the shooting range at the Alpenvereinheim Oberreifenberg: "Die besten Schützen wurden mit einer von Kamerad Flach gemalten Ehrenscheibe belohnt" (The best shooters were rewarded with an honorary target painted by comrade Flach) (see Nachrichten-Blatt No. 5 of November 1936). In November 1937, the Nachrichten-Blatt advertised for the first time for volunteers to enlist in the Wehrmacht, specifically for the Mountain Pioneer Battalion 54 in Mittenwald. This was followed in December of the same year by an advertisement for voluntary service in the Gebirgsjägerregiment 98 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The Alpine Club took note of the so-called "Anschluss" of Austria to Nazi Germany in March 1938 with great enthusiasm and subsequently changed its name from "Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein" (German and Austrian Alpine Club) to "Deutscher Alpenverein" (German Alpine Club). The April 1938 Nachrichten-Blatt stated that the association had now "reached the goal of national unification". "Mit heißem Dank an den Führer (steht man) einsatzbereit zu weiterem Wirken mit eisernem Willen nach Bergsteigerart" (With heartfelt thanks to the Führer, we are ready to continue our work with an iron will in mountaineering style) (see Nachrichten-Blatt No. 4, April 1938, p. 33). The annexation of Austria also brought economic benefits to the Alpine Club and soon the club was flourishing again.

The Reich Pogrom Night in November 1938, which also led to the deportation of thousands of Jewish men in Frankfurt on the Main to concentration camps, did not, as far as we know, have any repercussions in the Frankfurt section. However, there is evidence that men who had been section members at least until 1933 were also victims of the orchestrated excesses of violence. You can find the results of our research from November 2024 here.

Despite the start of the Second World War, the Frankfurt section initially continued to operate surprisingly steadily during the war. There was even a brisk increase in membership in the early 1940s. Young men and teenagers in particular flocked to the section in such large numbers that it was necessary to regulate admissions by pointing out that there were too few youth group leaders. This new enthusiasm was probably linked to the National Socialist cult of the body as well as the new popularity of mountain and skiing sports--membership in the association also brought benefits. However, this trend did not last long: The World War 2 took its toll. In spring 1944, only one mountain guide was still available, all other mountain guides and mountain wardens had been drafted into the Wehrmacht.

Membership of the NS-Reichsbund für Leibesübungen (NSRL) also forced the adoption of new uniform statutes in the 1940s, which the Frankfurt section adopted in May 1943 without any changes. Among other things, it stipulated that "Angehörige des Zweiges […] nur Personen deutschen oder artverwandten Blutes sein [können]" (members of the branch [...] may only be persons of German or related blood) (see Unity Statutes of May 7, 1943, Section 4 [3])--this was the most stringent formulation of the "Aryan paragraph" to date.

The fact that the section was still quorate in 1943 shows how long it was possible to ensure reasonably regular operations. This was finally brought to an end by two air raids in January and March 1944, during which a large part of the city of Frankfurt was destroyed, including the section's office. Despite all the adversity, efforts were made to maintain contact with members and the section's activities, but this was now only possible to a very limited extent.

On April 7, 1946, the section met for the first time in three years for a general meeting to sort itself out and elect new leaders. As the branch leader Dr. Rudolf Seng had died, Dr. Max Moritz Wirth chaired the meeting on a provisional basis. Wirth's denial of the Aryan paragraph is particularly noteworthy:

"Der Alpenverein ist ein unpolitischer Verein und duldet keinerlei, irgendwelche [sic] Politik in seinen Reihen, soweit das offizielle Arbeiten des Alpenvereins in Frage kommt. Wir haben auch die Rassengeschichte nicht mitgemacht. Weder haben wir dem Arierparagraphen seinerzeit zugestimmt, noch haben wir Mitglieder aus rassischen Gründen entfernt. Das war keine politische Einstellung, sondern es war der reine Anstand" (Protokoll der 74. Hauptversammlung, 7. April 1946, S. 12).

(The Alpine Club is a non-political association and does not tolerate any [sic] politics in its ranks, as far as the official work of the Alpine Club is concerned. We have also not participated in racial history. We neither agreed to the Aryan paragraph at the time, nor did we remove members on racial grounds. That was not a political stance, it was pure decency.) (see Minutes of the 74th Annual General Meeting, April 7, 1946, p. 12)

These were Wirth's words in his speech to the members. At this meeting, the section declared all previous unified statutes invalid and returned to its old statutes from 1929--as well as the old name "Alpenverein Frankfurt am Main". Coming to terms with the Nazi era was not wanted in the post-war period.

By the time it was incorporated into the NSRL at the latest, Frankfurt section, just like the club as a whole, represented the ideological line of the NSDAP. This was initially reflected in the increasingly inflammatory and aggressive-military wording of the Nachrichten-Blatt. In June 1939, for example, the newsletter celebrated the occupation of "Bohemia and Moravia" with "high spirits of emotion" and "mit dem Herzen an der Seite des Führers mit nach Prag geeilt, wobei Bergsteiger in der ersten Linie standen" (rushed to Prague with our hearts at the Führer's side, with mountaineers in the front line). The annexation of Austria had already triggered feelings of Greater Germany, whereby the Alpine Club not only followed National Socialist ideas, but also benefited greatly from them organizationally and economically.

In particular, the ideological connection between the image of the fearless soldier and the strong, intrepid mountaineer lent itself to the association. The physical strength of the members was celebrated in conjunction with their mountaineering skills, which qualified them for the mountain troops in particular. These were regarded as an elite unit and were later deployed in Italy and Greece. Accordingly, in the annual report of 1939/1940, the entire association emphasized its pride in being able to make a contribution "im Dienste der Wehrhaftmachung aller Deutschen leisten zu dürfen" (in the service of making all Germans fit for military service). In his Christmas greeting of 1940, branch leader Rudolf Seng also celebrated the sacrifice and loyalty of the mountaineers, who mobilized all their strength to help "Deutschland sich den Platz an der Sonne erkämpft, den es verdient" (Germany fight for the place under the sun that it deserves).

In addition to all the war rhetoric, military drill had in fact long been part of the training, especially for the young crews, and was always closely intertwined with National Socialist ideology. In 1940, the Gepatschhaus also had to be made available for military exercises; regular hut operations had long since ceased anyway.

And finally, the Alpine Club also adopted the anti-Semitic agitation of the National Socialists. The Frankfurt on the Main section in particular had long kept its distance from these anti-Semitic tendencies, which had already manifested themselves in the entire association in the 1920s, for example in the form of the so-called Donauland Affair. An "Aryan paragraph" was introduced in 1933/1934, later than in other sections. Until the beginning of 1933, Dr. Arthur Kutz, a Jewish member, was active on the section's board. From 1933, the orientation of the Frankfurt section changed and it adapted to National Socialist ideas. The standard statutes, which were repeatedly tightened and applied equally to all sections, brought the entire association into line. The "Pflege des Volksbewusstseins im Geiste des nationalsozialistischen Staats" (cultivation of the people's consciousness in the spirit of the National Socialist state) was enshrined in paragraph 2 of the uniform statutes in 1938.

The statutes offered the association little room for maneuver when dealing with members designated as Jewish. In February 1940, Dr. Arthur Seyß-Inquart, Reich Governor of Ostmark (Austria) from March 1938 to May 1939 and leader of the German Alpine Club, explained in a confidential letter to the branches how to deal with so-called "Jewish Mischling", i.e. people with one Jewish parent or grandparent:

"Ich halte die Neuaufnahme von Mischlingen jeden Grades in den DAV für untragbar, da sie die Geschlossenheit und den kameradschaftlichen Zusammenhalt innerhalb der einzelnen Zweige und der Zweige untereinander stören würde. Aufnahmeanträge von Mischlingen in den DAV sind daher grundsätzlich abzulehnen […] Mischlinge, die schon Mitglieder sind, können wegen ihrer Eigenschaft als Mischlinge allein nicht ausgeschlossen werden."

(I consider the admission of Mischlinge [mixed breeds] of any degree to the German Alpine Club (DAV) to be unacceptable, as it would disrupt the unity and comradely cohesion within the individual branches and between the branches themselves. Applications for admission of aMischling to the DAV must therefore be rejected as a matter of principle [...] Mischlinge who are already members cannot be excluded on the basis of their status as Mischling alone.)

It is not always possible to reconstruct beyond doubt how the Frankfurt on the Main section implemented these guidelines and whether members persecuted as Jewish remained part of the section. However, the expulsion of Ernst Meissinger, whose Jewish mother made him a "Mischling" according to National Socialist terminology, makes it clear that Rudolf Seng actively took action against section members with a Jewish background even without a legal basis. Just as the Frankfurt section was open and liberal until 1933, it was already explicitly National Socialist in 1935. However, it does not appear to have necessarily excluded Jewish members who had joined the Section before 1914 until the second half of the 1930s, as can be seen in the case of the lawyer Dr. Alfred Carlebach and the physician Dr. Arthur Marum: Both received the silver edelweiss in 1937 for their 25-year membership of the German and Austrian Alpine Club and were listed by name among the distinguished members in the section's Nachrichten-Blatt.