The Styrian Max Aufischer was one of them and wore the community service number 01. Despite initial insults and stigmatization, he never regretted his decision – on the contrary: “It was a school for life”, and it had a decisive impact on his career as an art teacher and later also cultural broker, he said in conversation.
- Read too: Should women be committed to military service?
In the past, often referred to as the “Dumplan”, the civil servants are welcome today in many places, be it in hospitals, disabilities or kindergartens. So far, around 440,000 young men have done the military replacement service in Austria, which currently lasts nine months. At the time, Aufisch was eight months – as long as military service in 1975 – was used as a civil servant at the Red Cross in Styria. His badge with number one can be seen today as a permanent loan in the city museum in Graz: “Being first was not necessarily new for me: it went to Alphabet, as well as at school.” He had never become the first in sports, but at community service he wore the historical number one today.
“Has shaped my attitude”
His motives at the time were in a personal experience that he had had after a serious traffic accident: “I was in a hospital room with around 20 others and several people died there,” he recalled. This shaped him in such a way that he gave up his original wish to become a professional soldier. Once he already denied military service, after which the law came into force for the possibility of community service and it was clear to him that he wanted to complete it. “I learned a lot there, technical and social issues. That shaped my life and attitude. I got to know the social diversity,” he said.
“}”>
Image: (Ansüssün/Universal Museum Joanneum)
Source: Nachrichten
