August-Gruber Street

Approximately two years after the end of World War II, the district Elisabeth-Vorstadt in Salzburg was renamed after the railway worker and trade unionist August Gruber. Gruber, born on April 13, 1894 in the Innviertel, worked as a traffic controller for the Salzburg Railway and Tramway Company. Until the banning of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) in 1934, he was a member of that party. In addition, he was active in the Republican Protective Association. Due to his political agitation, he was forcibly retired during the Austrofascist regime, but during the Nazi regime he was rehired due to personnel shortages. August Gruber was also a member of the Revolutionary Socialists of Austria (RSÖ) and was involved in setting up his own resistance cell with 17 other people. However, the Gestapo managed to dismantle this network with the help of an informant. On February 5, 1942, Gruber was arrested, and he was subsequently transferred to the prison Berlin-Plötzensee, where he was sentenced to death in January 1943 for "preparation for high treason." August Gruber was murdered on March 23, 1943.