“South Tyrolean Call. The Messenger of the Bergisel-Bund of Austria,” special edition in autumn of 1964 containing an appeal for a “South Tyrolean Protest Demonstration” in Vienna.
The Bergisel-Bund began publishing the “South Tyrolean Call” in 1961 for the purpose of drawing the attention of Austria to the problems of the German-speaking populace in South Tyrol. The Bergisel-Bund was an association of about 30,000 members founded in 1954 by the University Professor for International Law Eduard Reut-Nicolussi in Innsbruck. State Secretary in the Foreign Office Franz Gschnitzer and Viktoria Stadlmayer were counted among its members.
As a result of this, the Bergisel-Bund came under strong pressure from Italy. Especially in the Italian media, its members were accused of having a “right extremist” and “neo-Nazi” background – and that despite the fact that among its members were renowned politicians in the centrist camp of the “Austrian People’s Party.” Many members of the BAS in northern Tyrol were members of the Bergisel-Bund.