This book is dedicated to the history of the Hohenstaufen Göppingen section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club from 1901 to 1945, as well as the fates of its Jewish members. Based on extensive research in archives, membership directories, and contemporary historical sources, it presents a detailed picture of a club life that changed over several political phases - from the time of the German Empire through the Weimar Republic to the years of National Socialism and World War II. The focus is on both the development of the section and the life paths of individual members, whose biographies were shaped by persecution, emigration, or death.

Dr. Jürgen Christ was a lawyer and, after various professional positions in the state service of Baden-Württemberg, served for many years as the First Mayor of the large district town of Göppingen. He was closely connected to the German Alpine Club and the Hohenstaufen Göppingen section for decades: from 1985 to 1997 as a voluntary board member of the section and from 1995 to 2006 as chairman of the DAV state association of Baden-Württemberg. His alpine interests particularly included ski touring, hiking, climbing, and mountaineering. At the center of it all was always a respectful, nature-oriented approach to the mountains.