7th May 1938
Lustenau

Lustenau

Lustenau is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg in the district of Dornbirn. It lies on the river Rhine, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlberg's fourth largest town.

The name Lustenau derives from a document from 24th January 887, signed by the Carolingian king Charles the Fat, with the title 'Lustenauua curti regali', meaning 'Royal Court of Lustenau'. In 1395 the Counts of Werdenberg pledged the Zwingenstein fortress and Lustenau to the Knights of Ems, and in 1526 the pledge was converted into a final purchase. After the male line of the Hohenems family died out in 1759, a decade-long dispute over ownership of Lustenau developed between Maria Theresa of Austria on the one hand and the Hohenems heiress Maria Rebekka on the other. Until 1830, Lustenau was an independent county ruled over by the Counts of Waldburg-Zeil-Lustenau-Hohenems. After 1830 it became part of Austria. During the German Reich, there is no evidence of any organised resistance against National Socialism in Lustenau. However, a large number of cases of individual opposition are documented, which were punished with arrests, with the delivery to a concentration camp or even with the death penalty. After the Second World War, local embroidery industry gave Lustenau an economic boom.

Source: Wikipedia

The exhibition is being developed under the aegis of the Historical Archive of the Market Town Lustenau and will be displayed in the municipal gallery Hollenstein. Following the 'Anschluss' of Austria to the German Reich in March 1938 the Nazis also assumed power in Lustenau. In addition to the hope for a better future fomented by the Nazis, soon the fear of persecution, Nazi propaganda and the bitterness of World War II dominated daily life. The exhibition demonstrates the effects of the Nazi dictatorship on the development of the municipality and the lives of the residents of Lustenau, while also trying to document the injustices that took place at that time. Individuals’ experiences of this period will be made accessible using audio recordings of eyewitnesses, among other things. A comprehensive accompanying program with four public lectures and guided tours through the exhibition are planned.

Source: https://www.nationalfonds.org/detail-view/4181 (2018)

Stephanie Hollenstein

Stephanie Hollenstein (1886 in Lustenau – 1944 in Vienna) was an Austrian Expressionist landscape and still-life painter. A member of the Nazi Party, Hollenstein was lesbian and tried to defend fellow-artists against charges of degeneracy, though usually without success. She was nicknamed Die Schiefmalerin, meaning the Crooked Lady Painter.

In the 1930s, she was attracted to the 'Männlichkeitskult' (Masculinity Cult) and the military ideals promoted by the Fascists. She became a secret member of the Nazi Party (when it was still officially banned in Austria), then rejoined openly after the Anschluss. From that time until 1943, she was chairperson of the 'Vereinigung Bildender Künstlerinnen der Reichsgaue der Ostmark' (Association of Women Artists of the Reichsgau of Austria). During her tenure, she defended the sculptor, Albert Bechtold, and others against charges that their art was 'Degenerate'; unsuccessfully for the most part. She remained openly lesbian and her own same-sex desire was tolerated as long as it did not cause a public sensation. An application for the title of 'Professor' was denied on the grounds that she was a strictly local artist whose work often did not set a good example.

She resigned her position for health reasons. The following year, she suffered a heart attack and died shortly after. Her remains were returned to Lustenau for burial. A municipal art gallery named in her honour was opened in 1971, which houses most of her extant work.

Source: Wikipedia

LUSTENAU cancellation as featured in the Bochmann catalogues (1952)

Note: This is the only special cancel used in Lustenau during the Third Reich period and can be seen cover during 1938 and 1939. Bochmann prices the cancel as if lesser seen but it can now be found at a modest price (under £10). Bochmann adds the following footnote in his catalogue, 'This former Austrian advertising stamp continued to be used after Austria's incorporation into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.'

Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page