Johann Gruber

Austrian Roman Catholic priest

Johann Gruber

Johann Gruber (October 20, 1889 – April 7, 1944), also known as "Papa Gruber" and "The Saint of Gusen", was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest who was imprisoned in Concentration Camp Gusen I from 1940 until he was murdered by the camp commandant on Holy Friday 1944.[1] In the concentration camp, Gruber helped many others survive by raising funds from outside the camp and bribing the SS men and kapos in order to organise the delivery of food to starving inmates.[1]

## Education[edit]

Johann Gruber was born in Tegernbach near Grieskirchen, Austria.[2] When his parents died, he became a pupil at the Petrinum Linz, a catholic private school where he received his Matura. In 1910, he joined the seminary in Linz. Following his ordination he served for several years as a priest until he began to study philosophy in Vienna. He finished his studies with a PhD in 1923 and became a teacher and director of an institution for the Blind in Linz.[3][4]

## Captivity[edit]

In 1938, after the  Annexation of Austria into the German Reich, Gruber was arrested for expressing his opposition against the new  national socialist regime. While he was imprisoned, the Nazi press started a smear campaign against him, claiming that he sexually abused his pupils.[3] Witnesses were put under pressure to confirm the allegations and Gruber was convicted to spend two years in prison.[5]

When Gruber was released from prison, he was sent to Dachau concentration camp and then to Gusen concentration camp. In Gusen he participated in an archaeological project outside the camp and succeeded in contacting his friends who sent him money. This enabled Gruber to forward messages and to support his fellow prisoners with food and medication. His activities were discovered by the camp commander on April 4, 1944. Gruber was interrogated and tortured for three days.[5] The guards hanged his corpse on a tree nearby and the cause of his death was officially declared suicide.[6]

In 2016 the criminal court in Vienna reversed Grubers conviction concerning sexual abuse.[5]

## Notes and references[edit]

1. ^ a b "Gusen | Willkommen". www.gusen.org. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
2. ^ Mooshammer, Mariella, Neues Volksblatt, Freitag, 2. April 2021. "Sein Schicksal zeigt, es ist möglich, Menschlichkeit zu leben"
3. ^ a b Fattinger, Josef (1949). Kirche in Ketten. Insbruck: Verlag Felizian Rauch. pp. 95–96.
4. ^ Gruber Johann (1923), Bayern in der spanischen Erbfolgefrage und seine Kämpfe auf oberösterreichischem Boden. 1702-1704. Dissertation, Wien
5. ^ a b c Mooshammer, Mariella (20 February 2016). ""Er war der Christus in der Hölle"". Neues Volksblatt.
6. ^ Leidinger, Hannes (2012), Die Bedeutung Der Selbstauslöschung, Studien Verlag. p.256

## Further reading[edit]

* Wagner, Helmut (2000). Dr. Johann Gruber. In: Jan Mikrut (ed.): Blutzeugen des Glaubens. Martyrologium des 20. Jahrhunderts. Bd. 2.: Diözesen: Graz-Seckau, Linz. Wien: Dom Verlag, ISBN 3-85351-162-7, pp. 135–148.
* Schlager-Weidinger, Thomas (ed.) (2010). Dr. Johann Gruber, Christ und Märtyrer, Linz, ISBN 978-3-9501682-5-9
* Bandion, Wolfgang (1995), Johann Gruber: Mauthausen-Gusen 7.April 1944 mit 14 Radierungen von Alfred Hrdlicka, WUV-Universitätsverlag, Wien
* Bernadac, Christian (1969), Les Sorciers du Ciel – L´Organisation Gruber (about Dr. Johann Gruber), France Empire, Paris

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