An ORF III production about resistance in Upper Styria. The Styrian Iron Road region around Leoben and the Erzberg was a key center of resistance against National Socialism, rooted in a long tradition of workers’ rights struggles. Courageous freedom fighters, including figures from the workers’ movement such as Sepp Filz and Max Muchitsch, formed the Austrian Freedom Front Leoben-Donawitz and risked their lives opposing the Nazi dictatorship. They fought for a free, democratic Austria as the regime led the country toward destruction. The film recounts daring acts of sabotage against the wartime economy, deadly clashes with Nazi troops in the Eisenerz mountains, and brave women such as Mathilde Auferbauer and Christine Berger, who were deported to Ravensbrück for supporting the partisans. After the war, Filz and his comrades saved the Donawitz steelworks from Nazi destruction and helped rebuild democracy in Upper Styria.
Directed by Fritz Aigner
