Dr. Ernst Joseph Görlich

Ernst Joseph Görlich was born in as the son of an accountant from Moravia. After graduating from Landstraßer Gymnasium in 1924 - his graduating class included the future Vice-Chancellor Bruno Pittermann - he studied history, geography and German language and literature at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Vienna (Dr. phil.

In 1932, Ernst Joseph Görlich was offered a position at the teacher training college of the Daughters of the Divine Savior in Steinberg, now Steinberg-Dörfl (Hungarian Répcekohalom-Dérföld, Croatian Štamperak-Drfelj), in the district of Oberpullendorf. He moves there with his family and quickly integrates into the still young province of Burgenland. As a devout Catholic, Ernst Joseph Görlich was a staunch opponent of National Socialism and the Anschluss, which he fought against until the end. His speech immediately before the Anschluss is legendary, where he said: "We are not fighting for Moscow, we are not fighting for Berlin. We are fighting for a free and independent Austria!"

After the Anschluss, Ernst Joseph Görlich was dismissed and found work as a teacher in the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia. In 1943, he was drafted into the German Wehrmacht and, after a serious illness, was deployed as an interpreter in Italy.

After the war, Ernst Joseph Görlich found a job at the Technologisches Gewerbemuseum in Vienna (TGM, Berufsbildende Höhere Schule) and moved to Vienna with his family.