ÖBB employee

Johann Josef Pilliater

Johann Josef Pilliater was born in Vienna as the legitimate son of Johann Pilliater, a magazine servant, and Karoline, née Schubert. His father was a staunch Social Democrat and a member of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) [today: SPÖ]. After elementary school, he attended the Sophien-Gymnasium [today: Bundesgymnasium Zirkusgasse] in Vienna's 2nd district, but dropped out of school in the 5th grade. He was then unemployed for a long time.

Although he initially sympathized with Marxism and social democracy, he turned away from this ideology around 1930 and turned to Austrian patriotism. In 1935, Johann Pilliater joined the Vaterländische Front.

On March 12, 1938, Johann Pilliater witnessed the demise of a free and independent Austria with the invasion of the German Wehrmacht. In October 1938, the employment office places him with the Reichsbahn.

From secondary school, Johann Pilliater knows Wilhelm Zemljak, with whom he meets at regular intervals from spring 1939 to discuss the political situation. Johann Swoboda joins them from late summer 1939. While these meetings initially focused on their shared contempt for the National Socialist regime, the idea of founding a resistance group increasingly emerged. With the exception of the Communists, the idea was to found a cross-party group. This was to be called the Austrian People's Front. The aim is to create an independent and democratic Austria in the event of the collapse of the National Socialist regime. If necessary, they would like to actively support a coup. The economic program is more socialist in orientation.

Johann Pilliater and the other members of the Austrian People's Front produce flyers, which are no longer distributed.

The group, which has now grown to five members, acts carelessly and attracts the attention of the Gestapo. On November 9, 1939, Johann Pilliater is arrested together with the other members, Wilhelm Zemljak, Franz Dietrich, Karl Wolf and Johann Svoboda were arrested by the Gestapo. It was not until July 15, 1944 that the People's Court sentenced him to 3 years in prison for "preparation for high treason", taking into account his pre-trial detention.

Johann Pilliater was released from prison on August 14, 1944 and witnessed the liberation of Austria and the re-establishment of the Republic in April and May 1945. In July 1946, he was rehabilitated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and reinstated. In 1948, he married Gertraud Schiffl.