Rudolf Weninger

Rudolf Weninger is born in Winzendorf. After leaving school, he learns the metalworking trade. In 1940, Rudolf Weninger marries Antonia Posch and has a son with her. In the same year, he joined the Reichsbahn as a locksmith.

On April 3, 1942, Rudolf Weninger was drafted into the Wehrmacht and transferred to Oppeln in Silesia as a Reichsbahn servant to salvage and repair damaged locomotives. On April 14, 1942, as he was cleaning a private revolver in his quarters, a shot was fired through careless handling and injured him in the left thigh. He was immediately interrogated by the barracks commander. The Wehrmacht interpreted this as self-mutilation and therefore as sabotage. Although he is admitted to the military hospital, he receives inadequate treatment on suspicion of self-mutilation.

Rudolf Weninger learns that the Gestapo is investigating him for self-mutilation and sabotage. Fearing reprisals, he flees from the hospital in Opole to his home town of Bad Fischau on April 25, 1942 with the help of his father.

He avoids the hospital and is treated by the local doctor. Nevertheless, he is interrogated by the Gestapo in Wiener Neustadt and severely ill-treated. As a result, his health deteriorates noticeably and he has to go to hospital on May 27, 1942. He left the hospital on July 22, 1942, was then discharged from the Reichsbahn and classified as an invalid.

The Gestapo interrogated and abused him several more times in 1944 for homicide by self-mutilation. Although the accusation could not be proven on the basis of witness statements, he was placed under political supervision. Despite his injury, he is obliged to work in Winzendorf.

In Winzendorf, Rudolf Weninger experiences the liberation of Austria. He joins the ÖVP-Kameradschaft der politisch Verfolgten und Bekenner für Österreich