Tyrol revokes honours awarded to eight people with Nazi ties

Tyrol’s state government has revoked 10 regional honours awarded to eight people, all now deceased, after historical research confirmed their varying involvement with the Nazi regime, ORF reported. The awards include several crosses of merit, a medal of merit, an honorary decoration and the Tyrolean state sports honour.

The decisions rely on new historical findings and documented evidence from the Tyrolean State Archives. The eight people are Anton Bossi-Fedrigotti, Karl Kastner, Klaus Mahnert, Hermann Pepeunig, Hermann Reisch, Robert Steiner, Josef Tanzer and Walter Waizer. Authorities had previously discussed 25 cases in which revocation might be possible.

Archival records say Klaus Mahnert held senior positions in the Nazi state, including district leader and deputy regional leader. Born in 1913, he was among the founders of the Freedom Party of Austria in 1956 and later served on Innsbruck’s city council and in the National Council.

Josef Tanzer held a senior political role in the Nazi Party and was its highest-ranking music official in the Tyrol-Vorarlberg region. In 1940, he conducted music at a meeting between Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler at the Brenner Pass. He later worked for ORF Tirol and was celebrated for his influence on local brass-band music.

Walter Waizer held leading roles in the Nazi Party before and after 1938 and was convicted of high treason. After the war, he became managing director of Tyrolit and contributed to the development of Schwaz’s economy. A foundation he established continues to support people in need, older people and people with disabilities.

Hermann Reisch was a Nazi before the party became legal in Austria and later served as a political leader at district level. He was mayor of Kitzbühel from 1959 to 1974. Hermann Pepeunig held a leading role in the Hitler Youth, serving as a Bannführer, according to the State Archives. He later became the first managing director of the youth organisation Aufbauwerk der Jugend.

Historical records say Anton Bossi-Fedrigotti served in the Austrian Legion from 1933 to 1938, supporting Nazi efforts to take power in Austria, and later produced propaganda during the war. He subsequently worked as a diplomat, writer and journalist, publishing several novels that glorified war.

Karl Kastner was a committed Nazi during the period when the party was illegal, the records say. During the war, he denounced a man who was then convicted and imprisoned. Kastner was later charged before a people’s court but acquitted. He managed the Tyrolean branch of the construction company that built the Lueg Bridge on the Brenner motorway.

Robert Steiner led the energy company Tiwag for 10 years. Before that, he was a Nazi and a senior energy manager involved in shaping Austria’s and Tyrol’s electricity sector. The historical findings say his work substantially served the interests of the Nazi Party and the German Reich.

The revocations are based on Tyrol’s 2025 state honours law. It allows honours to be withdrawn if someone held a leading role in Nazi organisations or the Nazi regime, participated in Nazi crimes, or if facts later emerge that would have prevented the honour from being granted. Since all eight recipients have died, their heirs or legatees must return the honours and certificates. The decisions are to be published in the Bote für Tirol.