Gunther Ficht, in his own words.
I was born on March 19th, 1930 at 11:00 pm in Innsbruck, Austria and baptized in a Lutheran church. My mother (1) was brought up Catholic, my father was a Lutheran. He was a young physician (2) who just started to practice as an ENT in his own office (3). My mother used to help him before I was born and it was pretty tough for him alone.
Life was pretty hard then in Austria, a lot of people were out of work and the government was not able to do much about it. There also was a lot of unrest and demonstrations which were put down hard. In 1933, when Hitler became the leader of Germany, the conditions worsened because the people in Austria could see how their neighbor in the north pulled himself out of the depression and nothing was done in Austria.
My mother and I always went to see my Aunt Herta (4) in Bad Gastein in the summer and we had a good time there. She was a very successful dental surgeon then and became even more famous later on. My Dad never did go to Bad Gastein. I was told it was because of the political beliefs of my Aunt Herta.
Footnotes:
1. Erna Ficht (born Salcher), 1910-1976. One of 5 children (Artur, Hubert, Hilde, Herta).
2. Dr. univ. med. Fritz Ficht, 1910-1943. Doctor of Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat doctor). He was an only child.
4. Professor Doktor Herta Wagenbichler (born Salcher) was a very well-known dental surgeon in Bad Gastein, Austria. She had Hermann Goering and the Emir of Qatar as patients. She was a Nazi and met Hitler through Goering. Her mother Emelia was the first woman dentist in Austria.