Hans Burtscher Papers

Collection

Identifier: M2143

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Collection contains translations and copies of Burtscher's 1985 memoir: "A Report from the other side: an historical document of WWII, describing the combat history of the German 4th High Mountain Battalion and its engagement with the 10th Mountain Division, U.S. Army, in Italy, February 1945" by Hans Burtscher (translated by Robert L. Capelle); pamphlet with the following articles: "A Report from the other side" by Hans Burtscher and "The Mittenwald Battalion" by Hans Tengelmann (translated by Robert L. Capelle).

Dates

September 1, 1992

Creator

Burtscher, Hans,1923- (Person)
Excelsior School and Club Association (Denver, Colo.) (Person)

Language of Materials

Material is in English unless otherwise noted.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The imply Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Biographical / Historical

Hans Burtscher was born on January 13, 1923 in Innsbruck, Austria. Because of his refusal to join the Hitler Youth, he was denied admission to an institution of advanced technical education. From 1938 until he entered military service in 1941, he and his friends were active in the Underground against the newly-established Nazi Regime which, in turn, gave him the classification of “Politically Unreliable.” This stigma also became part of his military record. Hans kept a meticulous diary and later wrote and published a book titled, Politically Unreliable, which describes his WWII combat experience in various campaigns. On February 20, 1945, the day he was taken prisoner by soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division’s Company C of the 86th Regiment on Mt. Serresiccia, he was finally promoted to Sergeant but only learned of the promotion after the war. Burtscher and three comrades escaped in early April 1946 from a U.S. Army POW stockade in Italy. For the next 30 years he was a prominent figure in the Austrian Railroad Workers Union.