Contemporary witnesses report

Home children: “They said we were bad!”

The Martinsbühel girls' home near Zirl was a place of horror for many children.(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

Girls and boys once had to endure unbelievable suffering in church homes in Tyrol. Many of those affected came together in Innsbruck on Monday evening to talk about their experiences. Some of the details they described took the listeners' breath away. 

A woman stands at the podium and fights back tears. The delicate voice suggests a fragile being. But in reality, an incredibly strong personality is standing here. A "survivor", as she is described elsewhere on this extraordinary evening at the Tiroler Landhaus. The woman tells her story. Whispering, she has to pause again and again.