Memorial Plaque for Franz Rehrl

The commemorative plaque, consisting of a relief and a bust, installed in 1958 in the Salzburg Festival district at Max-Reinhardt-Platz, commemorates the former Salzburg Landeshauptmann Dr. Franz Rehrl. Franz Rehrl was born on December 4, 1890, in Salzburg, studied law in Vienna, and was already a member of the Catholic student fraternity “Austria Wien” and the Austrian Cartellverband (CV) during his studies. Highly active in the Christian Social Party, he was appointed deputy Landeshauptmann already in 1919, and in May 1922 – after an extremely antisemitic election campaign – finally became Landeshauptmann; he held the office continuously until his dismissal and arrest by the National Socialists in March 1938. Even after the Austrofascists had abolished democracy in Austria, Rehrl remained in his position; many of his social democratic colleagues were victims of persecution by the Austrofascist regime. After one year of NS imprisonment, he was acquitted in 1941. In July 1944, he was arrested again in Zell am Ziller; Rehrl was brought to Salzburg and interrogated by the Gestapo. He was then transferred to the prison camp Berlin-Moabit, followed by internment in the concentration camp Ravensbrück, from where he was transferred again to Berlin-Moabit. Only a short time later, Berlin was liberated by the Red Army. The former Landeshauptmann survived the NS period, but died on January 23, 1947, as a result of the consequences of his imprisonment and illness.