Location: St. Lorenzen ob Eibiswald
During the interwar period, the boundary stone inscribed with “Oe XVI/1 St. Germain 10. Sept. 1919” became a popular destination for German-national revisionists. These individuals, often with a strong nationalist or irredentist sentiment, were advocating for the reunification of the former Untersteiermark (Lower Styria).
The “State of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes” (SHS), founded during the final days of World War I, severed ties with the still formally existing Habsburg monarchy and claimed the entire Lower Styria region as part of its territory. A day after the founding of the state, the Slovenian People’s Council declared the district heads of Lower Styria to be dismissed. On November 6, 1918, 20 representatives from the Social Democrats, Christian Socials, and German nationalists convened to establish the Provisional State Assembly of Styria, where the delegates agreed that “the consolidated German settlement area of the former Kornland (Duchy of Styria)” should belong to the new state of German-Austria. The issue of borders with linguistic islands such as Cilli (Celje) was to be reserved for a later international settlement.
However, the Austrian proposal proved to be a pipe dream. Disillusionment set in when the first draft of a post-war settlement on Lower Styria, which was made public on June 2, 1919, included Marburg (Maribor) and Radkersburg in the SHS state (Radkersburg was later divided). There was no plebiscite on Lower Styria, unlike in Carinthia. With the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain on September 10, 1919, the separation of Lower Styria was sealed. Initially marked with posts, and later with boundary stones in 1921, the border ran through St. Lorenzen ob Eibiswald at the Radlpass. The boundary stone inscribed with “Oe XVI/1 St. Germain 10. Sept. 1919” became a popular destination for German-national revisionists.
The image shows members of the Deutsch-völkischen Turnverein Deutschlandsberg (German National Gymnastics Club of Deutschlandsberg) with gymnastics leader Hans Reinisch (in the picture, behind the boundary stone), whose life will be examined here. Reinisch was born on July 31, 1896, in Deutschlandsberg, the son of master tailor Johann Reinisch and his wife Maria (née Faulend). In 1911, he joined the Deutsche Turnerschaft Deutschlandsberg, founded in 1903, and remained a member throughout his life (though under different names and with interruptions). On April 15, 1915, Reinisch enlisted in the imperial army, serving in the Mountain Artillery Regiment No. 14 in Trento. Over the following years, aside from his work as a tailor, he dedicated as much time as possible to the gymnastics club, eventually becoming its chief trainer in 1922.
In 1926, the club purchased a larger piece of land, which was transformed into a gymnasium after a year of “tireless work.” In 1927, during the Summer Solstice celebration, the German gymnastics society organized a public gymnastics event followed by apparatus and pommel horse exercises. Participation in events organized by other German-national gymnastics clubs, such as in Eibiswald in 1924 or in Mureck in September 1927, as well as organizing various outings, including one to the boundary stone at St. Lorenzen ob Eibiswald, is documented. Reinisch’s strong German-national orientation was undeniable. In November 1930, he is credited with leading a “Anschluss rally” in Deutschlandsberg, where all local “ethnic-national organizations” marched under the leadership of the gymnastics club, with Reinisch himself leading the procession with a torchlight parade.
After the Austrian NSAP was banned, the German-national gymnastics club in Deutschlandsberg functioned as a Nazi front organization. According to the Bezirkshauptmannschaft (District Authority) of Deutschlandsberg, “at least 90%” of its members were “National Socialist-minded.” In March 1934, Reinisch joined the SA (Sturmabteilung) and participated in the failed July Putsch as an SA troop leader. When the coup failed and he did not flee, he was quickly sentenced to 6 years of heavy prison by the military court in Vienna on August 7, 1934, for “incitement.”
During the Nazi era, Reinisch rose to the position of “Kreissportführer” (District Sports Leader) of Deutschlandsberg, and on January 31, 1940, he received one of the highest honors of the NSDAP, the so-called Blutorden (Blood Order). In September 1941, he was appointed the new “Bahnführer” (region leader) of the Bann 552 (Deutschlandsberg).
Today, the boundary is mostly dismantled in terms of its visibility and accessibility. However, some old boundary stones and designations such as the Grenzlandhalle (Borderland Hall) still serve as reminders of the past presence of this boundary in everyday life.
Text: Markus Rieger-Roschitz / Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on War Consequences
