Pursued Liberation

In the tumultuous final years of World War II, two deserters, Jakob Domig and Tobias Studer, found themselves on the run from the authorities. Their story, set against the picturesque backdrop of the Austrian Alps, is one of escape, survival, and ultimately, tragedy.

Jakob Domig, conscripted into the Wehrmacht at the age of 18 in October 1942, deserted from his unit in September 1944. After his leave ended on the 16th of that month, he was supposed to report to a replacement unit in Leoben. Instead, he fled, finding refuge in the huts of the Domig family in Buchboden.

Tobias Studer, a fugitive from a shootout at a barn, joined Domig in Buchboden after being warned by an anonymous letter. The two men hid together until November 1944.

In early summer 1944, Domig suffered a gunshot wound to his thigh and was admitted to Reserve Lazaret II in Feldkirch for treatment.

The turning point in their story came in March 1945, when Katharina Studer, Ida Dobler, Josef Dobler, Gottlieb Burtscher, Hedwig Domig, Anna Domig, Franz Josef Domig, Arnold Domig were arrested for aiding deserters.

The events that unfolded at the barn on an unspecified date in 1945 are still shrouded in controversy. According to reports from the Bludenz gendarmerie, Domig was found dead in the barn with a gunshot wound to the heart. He did not fire during the shootout and was fatally shot by the gendarmes.

Studer, however, managed to escape before the Wehrmacht soldiers and the home guard arrived. He hid under the roots of a fallen tree and covered himself with moss until the search for him was called off. In an interview, Studer claimed that his rifle jammed during the shootout, and he only fired one shot at the gendarmes.

An eyewitness told relatives of Domig that the gendarmes had fired first during the shootout. The body of Domig was later exhumed and buried outside the cemetery in Blons, but without adding his name to the cross of the family grave in Buchboden.

The story does not end there. The Gratzer family in St. Gerold supported Studer and Domig during their illegal escape in 1945. Jakob Domig and Tobias Studer stayed at Studer's parental home in St. Gerold multiple times in early 1945.

Despite the tragic end for Jakob Domig, his story serves as a poignant reminder of the choices and consequences faced by many during the dark days of World War II. The tale of Jakob Domig and Tobias Studer, two deserters on the run, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.