Franz Josef Gfrerer

Franz Josef Gfrerer was born in Unternberg in Salzburg as the legitimate son of the farmer Ferdinand Gfrerer and Katharina, née Wieland. Nothing has been preserved about his childhood and youth.

In 1932, the staunch Austrian patriot began working for the Salzburg regional government in the district administration of St. Johann im Pongau. In 1935, Franz Gfrerer moved to Vienna as an employee of the Federation of Austrian Tradesmen [today: Austrian Chamber of Commerce]. In Vienna, he must have been vehemently opposed to National Socialism, as he was arrested by the Gestapo on March 14, 1938, two days after the invasion of the German Wehrmacht and the occupation of Austria. The exact reason for his arrest has not been preserved.

While in custody, Franz Gfrerer fell so seriously ill that he was released on April 26, 1938 due to incapacity and immediately sought medical treatment in a hospital. There he is repeatedly taken out of his sickbed to wash crosses off the street.

After Franz Gfrerer has halfway recovered, he is arrested again on June 15, 1938 and held in custody until July 15, 1938. He is released on September 30, 1938. He finds work at the company A. Fross-Büssing as an accountant and held this position until May 31, 1945.

After the liberation of Austria and the re-establishment of the Republic