The Mitteldorf case

Searching for clues in the Nazi era in Vorarlberg

Shameful legacy: the town of Dornbirn was a stronghold of the National Socialists

(Bild: commons.wikimedia.org)

It sounds like the investigation of a criminal case: Johannes Spies has reconstructed the life story of nurse Selma Mitteldorf and uncovered a fate that reflects the cruelty and tragedy of the Nazi era.

Johannes Spies had not expected this - what began with a simple death notice in a youth non-fiction book ended with the uncovering of the previously unknown life story of a woman who had a significant impact on healthcare in Vorarlberg: The history teacher, employee of erinnern.at and chairman of the Johann August Malin Society has traced the life of Selma Mitteldorf, a nurse of Jewish origin, right up to her suicide at the beginning of the Nazi era through intensive research.