Dr. Eduard Mayller

Eduard Mayller was born the son of a career officer who had once been a member of Austria Wien and, after graduating from high school, began studying at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Vienna (Dr. iur. 1928). In 1925 he joined the student fraternity Austria Wien. After completing his year in court, he entered the service of the financial administration and ultimately worked in the Ministry of Finance. Eduard Mayller was involved in the ÖCV as well as the Christian-German Gymnastics Federation (now the Sports Union).

Eduard Mayller was dismissed from the Ministry of Finance after the Anschluss. On March 15, 1938, at his suggestion, Gottfried Lerch founded a resistance group called the "Secret Group Dr. Lerch". One of its aims was to accommodate Nazi persecutees in companies, to help persecutees, to listen to foreign radio stations and to disseminate their news. Numerous ÖC members belong to it, including Ferdinand Habl, Julius Kallus, August Maria Knoll, Otto Kranzlmayr and Josef Kresse. However, these activities do not remain hidden from the Gestapo. Lerch was arrested on November 4, 1938, but released from police custody on May 8, 1939 due to a lack of evidence.