Josef GÖLS, born on January 1, 1894 in Weiten near Pöggstall (district of Melk), was a Jehovah’s Witness, a painter by profession, and married to Maria, the sister of Anton RAFETSEDER.
The married couples GÖLS and RAFETSEDER shared the apartment in the house at Römergasse 17.
Under the Nazi regime, the husbands refused military service for religious reasons. Josef GÖLS was arrested on January 10, 1940, deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp on February 9, 1940, from there to Neuengamme concentration camp, and on August 1, 1942 to Dachau concentration camp.
There he was murdered at the age of 51 on February 19, 1945. His wife Maria had received a letter from her husband as late as January 1945, in which the words are written:
[…] And on January 8, I received from your tireless hand with the greatest joy a food package with contents: half a loaf of bread, a can of fine canned food, two cheeses, four rolls of sweetener and a small cookie sheet. It tasted excellent. […]
Now we also want to greet each other on our five-year separation with even deeper heartfelt kisses than before, because we are only truthful to God the Alm. [Almighty] our perseverance and thus in his blessed future will be fulfilled in the near future. The Lord be with you.
Many greetings to all.
Your Peppi.
Sources
- Archive of the Diocese of St. Pölten (registry records)
- Salzburg City and State Archives (registration records, local records, victim welfare)
- Arolsen Archives
- Archive of Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Resistance and Persecution in Salzburg 1934-1945, Volume 2, Vienna 1991, pp. 323-351, 610-612
Translation: DeepL
Stumbling Stone
Laid 22.06.2009 at Salzburg, Römergasse 17
Photo: Gert Kerschbaumer