The incredible life journey of Walter Hamböck, a pianist who fled the Nazis and settled in Scotland, will soon be shared in his own words. Hamböck, who became a renowned organist at Strichen parish church in Aberdeenshire in 1962, escaped a concentration camp to start a new life in the peaceful countryside.
Despite his performances for high-ranking Nazi officials, Hamböck narrowly avoided death when the Third Reich turned against him. His firsthand narratives of playing for Hitler and his inner circle were thought lost until his goddaughter, Helen Duncan, unearthed them and plans to publish them.
Hamböck, originally from Vienna, had a unique copy of ‘Mein Kampf’ dedicated to him by Adolf Hitler himself. He recounted his encounters with Hitler and other Nazi leaders during his time as a pianist, which included receiving an honorary professorship from the head of state in 1938.
After risking his life by performing with a Jewish conductor in 1940, Hamböck was threatened with execution by Hitler’s private secretary and was eventually imprisoned in Dachau and later Flossenbürg. Remarkably, he escaped in an SS officer’s uniform and reunited with his wife in Scotland.
Now residing in Aberdeenshire, Hamböck’s past as a musician in Nazi Germany remains a distant memory as he quietly plays the organ at Strichen Parish Church. Despite his remarkable history, he preferred not to dwell on his past, focusing instead on teaching piano and creating a new life in Scotland.