Elisabeth (Liesl) Geisler-Scharfetter (1905–1985)

Elisabeth (Liesl) Geisler-Scharfetter (1905–1985)
Helping Those in Need

After the end of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of Jews in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe were displaced and seeking refuge. Their goal was to reach Palestine. At the end of 1946, the British Mandate authorities persuaded their allies France and Italy to restrict the passage of Jewish refugees. When the border between Tyrol and Salzburg was largely sealed, refugees from camps in Salzburg and Saalfelden began crossing the Alps via the Krimmler Tauern Pass into Italy. During this difficult period, Liesl Geisler became known locally as the “Mother Teresa of the post-war years” (Thaler, p. 181).

Elisabeth Geisler-Scharfetter was born on 24 November 1905 in Krimml as Elisabeth Scharfetter, known as the Sandbichl farmer’s daughter (Unterwurzacher). In 1932, she married Friedrich Geisler, the innkeeper of the Krimmler Tauernhaus. Their two sons, Franz and Adolf, were born in 1933 and 1934. Together, the family built the Tauernhaus Chapel. In 1939, Friedrich Geisler died in a workplace accident, leaving his widow to manage the Tauernhaus alone throughout the war years. In 1946, she married her second husband, the mountain guide and ski instructor Rupert Scharfetter.

In 1947, Jewish aid organisations began bringing groups of refugees in convoys through the municipality of Krimml, via the Achen Valley, to the Krimmler Tauernhaus. Over the course of the summer, thousands of Jews reached Italy by this route. Geisler-Scharfetter later recalled:

“Then came 1947. The Jewish migration across the Tauern. Often 200 to 300 people arrived every day. They cooked and warmed themselves in the washhouse. They were poor people; some did not even have a backpack. There were small children carried in boxes on their parents’ backs. The house was often full. At night I cooked flour porridge for the children, and groups would continue to arrive even during the night.”

Viktor Knopf, who accompanied thousands of refugees across the mountains, remembered:

“The innkeepers there were very kind to us. We brought food supplies with us. Liesl Geisler, the landlady, was like a mother whenever there were children among the refugees. She stood in the kitchen, cooking porridge, making tea and stew so that people could have something warm to eat. As there was not enough room inside the house, some stayed on the veranda, while the most exhausted rested in the dormitory.”

In May 1948, the State of Israel was founded. Many Jewish refugees still living in Austria were then able to travel legally to Israel and no longer had to undertake the arduous journey across the Alps.

Liesl Geisler-Scharfetter managed the Tauernhaus together with her husband until 1961. She died in 1985 at the age of eighty.

For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that Liesl Geisler was a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) during the Second World War. Nevertheless, Marko Feingold, President of the Jewish Community of Salzburg, advocated naming a planned Salzburg Human Rights Award after her. The proposal failed due to political opposition. Likewise, a “Humanity Award” announced by the Province of Salzburg in 2007 and intended to bear her name was never established. One of the reasons cited was her former NSDAP membership.

For Marko Feingold, however, Geisler’s role in assisting Jewish refugees outweighed her political affiliation. In an interview with Der Standard in 2011, he emphasized that without her efforts, “5,000 fewer Jews would have reached Israel.” In his view, this contribution far surpassed the significance of her party membership.

In 2009, Liesl Geisler-Scharfetter was posthumously awarded a Certificate of Honour by the Jewish Agency for Israel in recognition of her humanitarian assistance.

Text: Angelika Gautsch

Literatur:

Albrich, Thomas (Hg.): Flucht nach Eretz Israel. Die Bricha und der jüdische Exodus aus Osteuropa nach Palästina. Österreich-Israel-Studien (Band 1). Innsbruck-Wien 1998, 196.

Thaler, Walter: Pinzgauer! Helden – Narren – Pioniere. Portraits aus der Provinz. Wien 2017, 181-184.

Neuhold, Thomas: Friedensmarsch in Krimml erinnert an den jüdischen Exodus. In: Der Standard, 30.06.2011. Online unter: https://www.derstandard.at/story/1308680105268/salzburg-friedensmarsch-in-krimml-erinnert-an-den-juedischen-exodus; [Letzter Aufruf: 04.05.2026]

Neuhold, Thomas: Marko Feingold – Zeitzeuge eines ganzen Jahrhunderts. In: Der Standard, 26.05.2013. Online unter: https://www.derstandard.at/story/1369361699139/marko-feingold-zeitzeuge-eines-ganzen-jahrhunderts; [Letzter Aufruf: 04.05.2026]