Hakenkreuz am Hahnenkamm

Kitzbühel developed into an Eldorado of alpine skiing in the 1930s with the Hahnenkamm cable car, glamorous balls, rustic entertainments, and a gaming casino. Politically, the town was a tumultuous place; personal grievances and the consequences of the economic crisis hindered the municipal council. In 1931/32, National Socialism made its way in, initially followed by respected citizens who gave it a respectable facade. After the ban on all Nazi organizations, illegal groups terrorized the town. The community enthusiastically welcomed the "Anschluss," while a few suffered persecution. From 1938 to 1945, the Nazi regime dominated every aspect of life, hunting down dissenters, murdering "life unworthy of life," "Aryanizing" property, limiting the power of the Catholic Church, and seizing monastery assets. Kitzbühel provided a stage for major sporting events. The Luftwaffe and police established themselves there. Prisoners of war and forced laborers replaced men conscripted into the Wehrmacht. From 1943, schools from the bomb-threatened German Reich, hospitals, and displaced persons occupied the beds in tourism establishments. Nazi celebrities like Leni Riefenstahl settled in the area. In the early days of May 1945, the US Army liberated the town from the Nazi regime; amidst scandals, a democratic administration began to take shape. For a long time, the process of the inadequately conducted denazification dominated; lies and excuses accompanied society and politics, into which former members returned in 1950.