Women's Uprising in Tumpen 2 - Standing Firm Against a Rescue Attempt
In the heart of the Austrian Alps, a group of deserters formed a resistance movement, according to the records of the Umhausen gendarmerie. This covert group, numbering around 80 men, took refuge in the Alpmooserschrofen area in 1944.
One of the key figures in this resistance was Alfons Auderer, who went underground in September 1944 after his UK posting ended. He hid on the Gehsteigalm, a remote and secluded location.
The local gendarmes, surprisingly, tolerated the deserters and refrained from thorough investigations. This leniency allowed the deserters to build two log cabins in the inaccessible terrain of the Alpmooserschrofen area.
Meeting the group's meat needs was a challenge, but passionate hunters Georg Mair and Johann Maurer, cousins and brothers, regularly went hunting to provide the necessary sustenance.
The families of the deserters played a crucial role in their survival. They hid food for the deserters in barns and delivered them at night. Elisabeth Mair, managing her family's household, reduced food deliveries to the NS state and started a black market trade.
The women, mainly the wives, provided food for the deserters, often from their agricultural produce. Elisabeth Frischmann, now 83 years old, supports the publication of the story of the deserters and their helpers.
The deserters met the challenges of water supply by obtaining it from a stream near their cabin. In an unexpected encounter, Georg Mair even pointed his weapon at a forester, causing him to flee.
Georg Mair also communicated with a friend in the village using Morse code. Despite massive intimidation and threats of violence, house searches in Tumpen remained fruitless.
In 1944, the group was formed by Georg Mair, Otto Maurer, Johann Maurer, Alfons Auderer, and Hildegard Frischmann (Auderer's daughter). At the end of the war, the deserter group secured the place, collected weapons from members of the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe, and took eight officers and soldiers of the Waffen-SS prisoner.
It's important to note that the deserters did not refer to themselves as "partisans". They used the phrase that they were "in hiding" or "in the mountains".
Elisabeth Mair described a larger house search at the beginning of February 1945. Despite the search, the deserters managed to evade capture until the end of the war.
The story of these deserters and their helpers is a testament to the resilience and courage of ordinary people during extraordinary times. Their actions, though hidden for decades, are now being brought to light, serving as a reminder of the power of unity and resistance in the face of adversity.
