A tablespoon symbolizes the story of Franz Eiersebner (1911-1969), pastor in Pierbach from 1949-1969 and numerous Nazi victims. Bishop Manfred Scheuer received the special commemorative object from Eiersebner’s nephew Franz Erwin Eiersebner on April 9, 2024 for storage in the diocesan archive.
Franz Eiersebner was born on July 13, 1911 as the son of “Mindlbauer” in Roitham and was ordained a priest in 1935. In 1938 Eiersebner came into conflict with the Nazi regime for the first time. In 1944 he was arrested by the Nazis in Goisern for “anti-Nazi propaganda and undermining military strength” and was first sent to the Dachau concentration camp and then to the Straubing “penitentiary”. There is a tablespoon he kept from his imprisonment in Straubing. The end of the war in 1945 brought Eiersebner freedom and perhaps even ensured survival. He was then again in the priestly service of the Diocese of Linz in various parishes and died on January 24, 1969 as a pastor in Pierbach.
Spoon tells the story of Pastor Eiersebner
As a “souvenir” of his stay in Straubing, Franz Eiersebner took his tablespoon with him after the liberation and kept it with him. Shortly before his death, he entrusted it – together with a pocket knife from that time – to his nephew Franz Erwin Eiersebner (*1952), who was still young at the time – with the wish that he would keep it as a souvenir of him and his history. Franz E. Eiersebner, now over 70 years old himself, would now like to keep this special piece of his uncle in safe hands for the long term.
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“A lot of hunger, little bread”
Franz Eiersebner’s tablespoon from his imprisonment with the personal inscription: “367/44 Straubing (Franz Eiersebner’s prisoner number at the time of his imprisonment in 1944, note)
© KIZ / Heinz Niederleitner
During a visit to the Bishop’s Court in Linz on April 9, 2024, the nephew Franz E. Eiersebner, who lives in Salzburg, handed over the tablespoon in question to Bishop Manfred Scheuer. Eiersebner was accompanied by his cousin Klaus Eiersebner and his friend Johann Kreuzeder, retired director of Caritas Salzburg. Klaus Birngruber, head of the diocesan archives, was also present at the handover. Birngruber will then take care of the safe storage and development of the artifact.
Nephew Franz E. Eiersebner thanked him for the opportunity to hand over the items personally. “For me it is a real matter of the heart because Pastor Eiersebner was our favorite uncle,” Eiersebner explained the good relationship with his uncle. He showed Bishop Manfred Scheuer Pastor Eiersebner’s personal inscription, which can only be easily recognized on the spoon: “Straubing 367/44”, “Much hunger, little bread”. The number 367/44 is Franz Eiersebner’s prisoner number at the time of his imprisonment in 1944, Eiersebner explained. According to Eiersebner, the spoon and the pocket knife – Pastor Eiersebner vowed at the time to kill himself with the knife before the Nazis killed him – reflected the consternation of this entire time. “This symbolism is about life and death,” emphasized Eiersebner.
Franz E. Eiersebner hands over Pastor Franz Eiersebner’s memorial objects to Bishop Manfred Scheuer
© KIZ / Heinz Niederleitner
Moved by Eiersebner’s story, Bishop Manfred Scheuer emphasized the importance of a culture of remembrance and remembrance. These two objects would represent valuable objects for educational and outreach work. “It is important not only to safely store the items, but also to find other sources that will help further clarify the fate of Pastor Eiersebner,” emphasized Scheuer. Scheuer also thinks it makes sense to create a form of public commemoration for the symbolism, for example in exhibitions or by making Eiersebner’s biography visible in the Upper Austria memorial book.
2024-04-10 10:11:46
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