Plunging into the depths
In the heart of the Eastern Alps, a group of deserters from the Wehrmacht found refuge on the remote Tiefentalalm, a secluded alpine hut, during the latter years of World War II. Among them were Anton Neururer, Eugen Schmid, and Anton Walser, who, like many others, chose to escape the horrors of war.
Anton Neururer, a farmer's son from St. Leonhard, was initially deemed unfit for service due to his low weight. However, he was later trained in rifle, grenade, and pistol use and was sent to the Mountain Jäger Regiment 144 on the southern Eastern Front. In July 1944, he was wounded and later contracted jaundice in the hospital. After recovering, he was sent back to the Mountain Jäger Regiment 144, returning to the retreating battles against Soviet troops. However, in August 1944, Neururer sustained a second injury to his right leg and was hospitalized, avoiding further frontline deployment.
Eugen Schmid, another deserter from St. Leonhard in the Pitztal, was drafted at the age of 17 and assigned to the Reich Labor Service in Salzburg-Maxglan. On January 8, 1945, he deserted from a troop train in Salzburg and made his way back to his family in the remote Pitztal.
Anton Walser, a 37-year-old farmer, did not return to the barracks after a vacation in his hometown in the winter of 1944/45 and instead sought refuge in his father's house.
The families of these deserters, as well as other mountain farmers, provided necessary provisions for the deserters, including potatoes, corn, and lard. The provisions were stored in the pilgrimage church of Maria am Bichele, which the deserters collected at night. Alfons Rauch, a local, played a crucial role in ensuring the deserters' survival, once digging an exit for them after a large avalanche and breaking a path through the snow during winter.
Deserting the Wehrmacht was still highly valued politically in the post-war years. The silence about the deserters' escape remained in place, but Eugen Schmid shared details with his son. In September 1946, the Tyrolean Institute for Spatial Research attempted to determine the number of deserters, those living in hiding, and the escaped. The mayor of St. Leonhard replied with a number of 50.
It is important to note that deserters at the Tiefentalalm were not the only Pitztal residents who left the Wehrmacht prematurely or avoided military service through self-inflicted injuries. The other deserters from the Pitztal who belonged to the deserters at Tiefentalalm in spring 1945, besides Eugen Schmid, Anton Neururer, and Anton Walser, are not explicitly named in the provided search results.
The alpine hut remained largely undamaged due to its construction and location under a rock, and was buried by avalanches every winter. A significant number of those who had been hiding on the alps and mountains returned and reported to the American command in May 1945.
The story of these deserters serves as a reminder of the courage and resilience shown by individuals during times of war and the lengths they would go to protect themselves and their loved ones. Their story, once shrouded in silence, is now a testament to the human spirit in the face of adversity.
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