Ferdinand Zdarsky

After attending the teacher training college in Vienna, Ferdinand Zdarsky began his teacher training in the subjects of gymnastics and shorthand at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Vienna, while also studying English language and literature. After graduating, he worked as a professor of gymnastics and shorthand at various secondary schools in Lower Austria from 1924. In 1934, he was appointed managing director of the Institute for Gymnastics Teacher Training at the University of Vienna. Through fellow professors working there, he came into contact with the Amelungia student fraternity and became a member in 1935. In 1936, he accepted a transfer to the Ministry of Education, where he was responsible for physical education in schools and for the Institute for Gymnastics Teacher Training until 1938.

After the Anschluss, Ferdinand Zdarsky was arrested on March 15, 1938, held in police custody for some time and dismissed from his post. After his release, he was retired with half his pension (dismissal) and then drafted into the German Wehrmacht.