The smugglers of Ischgl

In the 1930s, most people in Ischgl lived off what the land provided. Money was scarce, and even those working for wealthy farmers or hoteliers were often paid in goods rather than cash. Livestock like goats, pigs, and chickens helped families scrape by. But when World War II reached the region, conditions worsened dramatically. Jobs were scarce, and many men did not return from the front. Those who survived struggled to provide for their families, leading to a resurgence in smuggling.

Smuggling had actually started long before the war, back in 1768, when Emperor Maximilian revoked Ischgl's customs exemptions. Locals secretly carried goods like butter and hides to Samnaun, exchanging them for essentials such as coffee and flour. During the war, stricter border controls nearly halted smuggling, but once the war ended, it resumed out of sheer necessity.

The route over the Alp Trida saddle was especially popular. Smugglers had to avoid six or seven customs officers, who were often not locals and unfamiliar with the terrain. The smugglers mockingly called them "grass sliders" because they struggled to navigate the alpine paths and weren’t good skiers. The smugglers, on the other hand, were in their element: carrying backpacks weighing 40 to 50 kilograms, they crossed the mountains under cover of bad weather to avoid detection.

The goods collected from Samnaun were varied: coffee, rice, tobacco, flour, and saccharin, a prized sweetener used in the malt coffee that was mixed with “American coffee” to offset its high import taxes. Saccharin was also much lighter than sugar, making it easier to smuggle. American nylon stockings were another valuable item, unavailable in Ischgl at the time.

A round trip from Ischgl to Samnaun took about ten hours, six to seven of which were spent walking. The smugglers carried no food, but in Samnaun they were always well-fed, as the traders hoped to maintain future business relations. “Everyone in the village smuggled, with few exceptions,” recalled Emil Zangerl, a former hut owner, mountain guide, and smuggler. For him, smuggling was not just a means of survival but a lucrative trade.

The first ski lift in Ischgl, built in 1952 in the Brand area, stands as a testament to the smuggling trade. Profits from smuggled goods helped finance the tourism industry, marking the beginning of a new era of prosperity. With the rise of tourism in the late 1950s and early 1960s, more locals found legitimate employment, and smuggling gradually faded into history.