Olsinger Hilde

Olsinger, Hilde Hilde Olsinger, a devout Catholic, was born in Vienna in 1898. She served in the Austrian police, but after the Nazi takeover in 1938, was transferred to a job at the post office because she was not considered politically trustworthy enough for police work. During the war, Olsinger’s husband was drafted into the army. In the summer of 1943, Prof. Hofbauer, a Catholic priest and spiritual leader of Olsinger’s church, told his congregation that he was looking for people who would be willing to hide Jews so they would not be deported by the Nazis. Most of the congregants were afraid to step forward. Olsinger said she would like to help, but felt that it would be impossible to hide Jews in her small apartment, especially because she had two school-age children who could not be trusted to keep a secret. Prof. Hofbauer introduced Olsinger to the Jews Cornelia Storfer and her husband, and the two women became friends. At the end of August, the Storfers told Olsinger that they were going to be deported to a concentration camp the next day, and she offered them a hiding place in her apartment. The Storfers hid in Olsinger’s apartment from September 3,1943, until the end of the war. Olsinger informed her husband in the army, who approved of her actions, and warned her children not to reveal the secret. She shared her family’s food stamps with the Storfers, and limited her social interactions to lower the risk of their being seen. When Mr. Storfer became ill, Prof. Hofbauer referred Olsinger to a doctor who was willing to treat Jews in hiding. The doctor said that Storfer needed fresh air, so Olsinger, despite the risk, accompanied him for walks two or three times a week in a nearby park. When Vienna was under aerial bombardment she did not go down to the shelter, but stayed with the Storfers, saying that the Creator who had sent them to her would not let the apartment be destroyed. One day, the Gestapo arrived at Olsinger’s door, responding to a rumorthat Olsinger was hiding Jews in her apartment, but Olsinger explained that she had guests, and the Gestapo agents left the apartment. Olsinger endangered herself by hiding Jews in her home, a crime that could have led to deportation to a concentration camp, and eventually to death. The danger was made even greater by the fact that her small children could have revealed the secret at any time, and because Olsinger needed to walk outside with Mr. Storfer because of his ill heath. Even as rumors began to circulate about her activities, Olsinger was steadfast in her support of the Jews she sheltered. She received no compensation for her activities and in fact shared her own food with the Jewish fugitives during the entire period. After the war, the Storfers moved to England. On December 22, 1977, Yad Vashem recognized Hilde Olsinger as Righteous Among the Nations.