XOE_CPNWS0036gabl Guide to the Franz X. Gabl papers 1917-2000 Gabl (Franz X.) papers Finding aid created by Jason Viers Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Building 808 25th St Bellingham, WA 98225-9123 Phone: 360 650 7534 Email: cpnws@wwu.edu
© October 2004 Finding aid encoded by Jason Viers October 2004 Finding aid written in English. Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Building 808 25th St Bellingham, WA 98225-9123 Phone: 360 650 7534 Email: cpnws@wwu.edu
XOE_CPNWS0036gabl Gabl, Franz X. Franz X. Gabl papers 1917-2000 0.5 Linear Ft. The collection documents Olympic medalist Franz X. Gabl’s career and interests as a professional skier and ski instructor in Europe, Canada and the Pacific Northwest from his early youth to 2000. Gabl’s achievements and involvement in winter sports are represented including his work for the annual Ski to Sea race from Mt. Baker to Bellingham Bay in Washington State. Gabl’s experiences in the German army during World War II, where he served on the Russian Front from 1941-1945, are also included in the collection. Collection materials are in English and German.

Franz X. Gabl was born in Austria in 1921. He was an avid downhill skier and mountain climber who found great satisfaction in racing and competition. After Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938 Gabl found himself drafted into the army and sent to the Russian Front from 1941 to 1945. After becoming a prisoner of war in a Russian-controlled camp Gabl escaped and made his way back to his hometown of St. Anton in 1945.

Having survived the harrowing experience of World War II, Gabl went on to win a Silver Medal for Downhill Skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. After competing for a number of years he found a job in British Columbia as a ski instructor. Gabl then went on to become the head coach of the Canadian Olympic Ladies Ski Team in 1952 and the Men's Ski Team in 1956. After settling in Washington State, Gabl became instrumental in initiating Whatcom County's annual Ski-to-Sea race in 1973. Upon retirement Franz X. Gabl settled in Bellingham, Washington.

The collection documents Olympic medalist Franz X. Gabl’s career and interests as a professional skier and ski instructor in Europe, Canada and the Pacific Northwest. The collection contains photographs, newspaper clippings, certificates, and correspondence reflecting Gabl’s achievements and involvement in winter sports from the 1940s through the 1980s. Also included are materials relating to his involvement in the annual Ski to Sea race from Mt. Baker to Bellingham Bay in Washington State.

The collection also contains photographs documenting Gabl’s experiences in the German army during World War II, where he served on the Russian Front from 1941-45. A copy of his autobiography is also included in the collection.

The Franz X. Gabl papers are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:

Series I - World War II Materials, 1917-1945 Series II - Skiing Activities, 1926-2000 Series III - Ski to Sea, approximately 1960s-1991 Series IV - Autobiographical Materials, 2000

The collection is open to the public.

Franz X. Gabl papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

Franz X. Gabl donated the materials to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in May of 2002.

Gabl, Franz X., <emph render="italic">Franzl II: From 4 Years on the Russian Front, 1941-45, To Standing On The Olympic Podium in 1948 </emph>( Missoula : Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc., 2000).

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Gabl, Franz X.--Archives. World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Eastern Front -- History -- Sources. World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Russia -- History -- Sources. World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Russian -- History -- Sources. Winter Olympics (5th : 1948 : St. Moritz, Switzerland) -- History -- Sources. Skis and skiing -- Washington (State) -- Baker, Mount -- History -- Sources. Skis and skiing -- Europe -- History -- Sources. Washington (State) Maps Photographs Military Sports and Recreation Franzl II: From 4 Years on the Russian Front, 1941-45, To Standing On The Olympic Podium in 1948

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series I World War II Materials 1917-1945 1/1 Photographs (Austria and Russia) 1917 approximately 1941-1945 1/2 Map for military mission on Russian Front 1941-1942 Series II Skiing Activities 1926-2000 1/3 Photographs - Austria and Europe approximately 1926-1949 approximately 1980s 1/4 Photographs - Canada and United States approximately 1952-2000 1/5 German Language Newspaper Clippings approximately 1940s 1/6 Newspaper Clippings approximately 1950s-1960s 1982 1/7 Certificates 1973-1974 1996 Series III Ski to Sea approximately 1960s-1991 1/8 Correspondence 1978 undated 1/9 Photographs and Postcards approximately 1960s-1970s 1/10 Newspaper Clippings 1968 1978 1/11 Brochures 1978 1993 1/12 Participants List 1991 Series IV Autobiographical Materials 2000 1/13 Autobiography: Franz X. Gabl, Franzl II: From 4 Years on the Russian Front, 1941-45, to standing on the Olympic Podium in 1948 2000