Despite his upbringing in relative poverty, he successfully completed a forestry degree at Vienna's University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in 1930 and the state exam for Higher Forest Service in 1933.
[2] Despite failing to pay party dues for several years, he was recognised as an illegal, or early, national socialist on the recommendation of his local chapter, which vouched for his deep commitment to the ideas of fascism.
His war memoirs, published in 2003, describe the sense of adventure and camaraderie he found during this time and his insights into the application of military thinking to forest trees.
From 1962, his company Feinmechanische Optische Gesellschaft developed and sold the relascope and other optical instruments with applications in forestry and the military.
A permanent exhibition at the Forest Discovery Centre in Füssen, Germany, shows a selection of his personal affects.