Commemorative year 2025

A manhunt in the Mühlviertel 80 years ago

Anna Hackl, contemporary witness of the "Mühlviertel Hare Hunt" and lifesaver; the photo showing her was taken a few days after the end of the war in May 1945.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

She is one of the last contemporary witnesses: Anna Hackl from Schwertberg, Upper Austria, experienced the "Mühlviertel Hare Hunt" at first hand in February 1945 - her family hid escaped concentration camp prisoners at great risk to their lives. The 94-year-old recalls the event, which was filmed by Andreas Gruber, for the "Krone" newspaper. The newly digitized film is being shown in cinemas and will be broadcast on TV.

Fields, forest, a few houses: it's idyllic in Winden near Schwertberg. A farmhouse, in the parlor a Herrgottswinkel and many photos that Anna Hackl (94) has in front of her. Yes, she spent her life here on the farm. She will never forget one event: the "Mühlviertel hare hunt".