Leopold Figl was Austria’s first democratically elected chancellor after the Second World War. The devout Catholic had previously survived several concentration camps, including Dachau – and despite years of torture never lost hope or confidence. About an indomitable.
His head is shaved, the blue and white striped prisoner’s uniform hangs from his body. 35-year-old Leopold Figl, prisoner number 13897, is standing on the roll-call square of the Dachau concentration camp. Shortly after their deportation on April 1, 1938, a Sunday, he and other Austrian “protective prisoners” had to line up there in rank and file. They are forced to watch the terror of Dachau. In front of them, the SS men tie up a fellow inmate, a “delinquent”, on a wooden frame. The torturers take a bullwhip, a whip made of plaited ox sinew that has been soaked in water beforehand. They hit with all their might. After each blow, the tortured person has to count up to 25. Deep flesh wounds develop. Those who are whipped often faint during this torture. In this case, the Nazis pour a bucket of cold water over the prisoner and wait for him to regain consciousness. Every hit should hurt. Each blow is intended to illustrate the cruel feeling of being at the mercy.