Heinrich Harrer | |
|---|---|
 Harrer in 1997 | |
| Born | Heinrich Josef Harrer 6 July 1912 |
| Died | 7 January 2006 (aged 93) Friesach, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Alma mater | University of Graz |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | Seven Years in Tibet (1952) The White Spider (1959) |
| Spouses | Charlotte Wegener
(m. 1938; div. 1943)Margarethe Truxa
(m. 1953; div. 1958)Katharina Haarhaus (m. 1962) |
| Relatives | Alfred Wegener (father-in-law) |
| Website | www.harrerportfolio.com |
Heinrich Harrer (German: [ˈhaɪnʁɪç ˈhaʁɐ]; 6 July 1912 – 7 January 2006) was an Austrian SS sergeant, mountaineer, explorer, writer, sportsman, and geographer. He was a member of the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, the "last problem" of the Alps, in July 1938. Harrer and the team flew the Nazi flag atop the mountain.[1] Harrer had joined the Nazi Party shortly after the annexation of Austria in March 1938, and was personally received by Hitler after the climb.[2] A year later in 1939, he and the climbing team went on an expedition to the Indian Himalayas, where they were arrested by British forces because of the outbreak of World War II. He eventually escaped to Tibet, staying there until 1951 and never seeing active combat from that point onwards. He wrote the books Seven Years in Tibet (1952) and The White Spider (1959).[3]
- ^ Chalupa, Cynthia (2010). "Race for the Magic Mountain: Mountaineering and the National Socialist Agenda in Europe" (PDF). The International Journal of Sport and Society. 1 (3): 222.
- ^ Yanshi, Ren. "Nazi Authors Seven Years in Tibet". Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the State of Israel. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (10 January 2006). "Heinrich Harrer, 93, Explorer of Tibet, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2012.