Alois Heinrich Damborsky

Alois Heinrich Damborsky was born in Vienna as the legitimate son of the small trader Anton Damborsky and Viktoria, née Svoboda. After primary and secondary school, he attended commercial college for two years before working as a clerk in various company administrations. In 1913 he enlisted in the k.u.k. He took part in the First World War from 1914. He was deployed on various fronts, injured and eventually became visually impaired in one eye and severely short-sighted in the other. In 1917, he married Klara Bayerl and subsequently became the father of two daughters.

Between 1918 and 1925, Alois Damborsky was a member of the socialist trade union, then unemployed and joined the Vienna Heimatschutz in 1929. In the 1920s, he often attended meetings of the Kaisertreuen Volkspartei (Wolff-Verband), founded by Colonel Gustav Wolff. In 1934, he joined the Vaterländische Front. In the meantime, he found work at the Siemens-Stuckert company.

On March 12, 1938, Alois Damborsky witnessed the demise of a free and independent Austria with the invasion of the German Wehrmacht. In 1939, Leopold Eichinger, whom Alois Damborsky knew from meetings of the Kaisertreuen Volkspartei, approached him and asked if he would like to join the Illegal Austrian Imperial Loyal Front (IÖKF). Alois Damborsky confirms this. He subsequently took part in meetings and paid his membership fee.

When the group was exposed, Alois Damborsky was arrested by the Gestapo on November 2, 1942 and sentenced to eight months in prison for 'preparation for high treason'. He was released on June 4, 1943.

On February 1, 1945, Alois Damborsky decided to go into hiding as a submarine with relatives and acquaintances, probably to avoid being drafted into the Volkssturm.

In April and May 1945, Alois Damborsky witnessed the liberation of Austria and the re-establishment of the Republic. He joins the newly founded Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the ÖVP-Kameradschaft der politisch Verfolgten und Bekenner für Österreich. In the new Austria, he worked as a merchant and in his old profession.