Karl Knittel

Karl Knittel was born in Holzgau in Tyrol, the son of teacher Franz Joseph Knittel and his wife Rosa Maria, née Weißenbach. After school, he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest on June 30, 1915. He then became a cooperator (chaplain) in Neustift im Stubaital, Pfunds, Flirsch, Tarrenz and St. Nikolai in Innsbruck. In 1928, he founded a vacation home for children suffering from TB in Haiming am Achensee and became a school benefactor in Absam. He also became diocesan president of the Young Tyrolean League. The vacation home in Achensee subsequently develops into a general recreation home for Tyrolean and Viennese young people. During this time, he became a member of the student fraternity Austria Innsbruck.

In these roles, he witnessed the downfall of Austria with the invasion of the German Wehrmacht in March 1938. Immediately afterwards, he was arrested by the Gestapo for a short time. In 1940, he became pastor of Trins.

On April 7, 1941, he was arrested again by the Gestapo in Innsbruck. Unfortunately, it is not clear from the documents why, but since the Gestapo arrested him, a political background can be assumed. After his release from prison on April 26, 1941, he was under constant supervision by the Gestapo.