Andreas Hörtnagl
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Andreas Hörtnagl (* 28th November, 1942 in Matrei am Brenner) is an Austrian politician.
Andreas Hörtnagl was mayor from 1980 to 1992 of Gries am Brenner.
He became famous because of the conflict with his predecessor Jakob Strickner, who had praised himself in a German magazine called Bunte, that he had helped Josef Mengele to escape to Italy over the so called Rat-Line. Mayor Hörtnagl was ashamed for the behaviour of his predecessor and he regretted the manner of his precursor to the holocaust survivors.
Strickner sued him because of offence of his honour; however he had no success before the court.
At Bishop Rainhold Stecher’s suggestion, mayor Hörtnagl arranged the first L’Arche community for handicapped persons and able-bodied in 1991 in Austria. This happened in Rainhold Stecher commune in Gries at the Brenner. After he also caused this, Gries am Brenner was the first community in Austria, who accepted 20 Romanian asylum seekers, he wasn’t re-elected as a mayor in 1992. However the University Innsbruck and the Bishopric Innsbruck presented him high honours for his dedication.
In 1992 he and Andreas Maislinger arranged the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service and gave young Austrian the possibility to work in foreign holocaust memorial places. Since 2000 he is assistant chairman of the Austrian Association for Service Abroad.
