Josef Ladurner Gasteiger

Josef Ladurner Gasteiger (* 23 May 1915 in Marling; † 30 May 2013 ibidem) was a chairman of the South Tyrolean Farmers’ Union.

Life

Gasteiger was born as the first of six children. He attended the Italian elementary school and in 1931/32 the agricultural school in Dietenheim near Bruneck. In 1939 he was drafted into the Italian infantry.

In October 1939, after the option for Germany, he returned home briefly. In January 1940, he enlisted in the German paratroopers. After participating in the mission to Crete, he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. He was wounded before Moscow, and from November 1942 he fought in Tunisia against the invasion of the Americans and the English, and in 1943 was taken prisoner by them for three years. In September 1946 he returned and managed his father’s farm. In 1948 he married Anna Mair from Schenna. Five children were born of this marriage

From 1965 to 1988 he was chairman of the South Tyrolean Farmers’ Union. There he supported the later provincial governor Luis Durnwalder. One of his successes was the founding of the South Tyrolean Peasant Youth.