About Heinrich Harrer
Heinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer, explorer, writer, sportsman, geographer, and an SS sergeant. He was a member of the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, the "last problem" of the Alps, in July 1938. Harrer and the team flew the Nazi flag atop the mountain. Harrer had joined the Nazi Party shortly after the annexation of Austria in March 1938, and was personally received by Hitler after the climb. A year later in 1939, he and the climbing team went on an expedition to the Indian Himalayas, where they were arrested by British colonial authorities due to the outbreak of World War II. He eventually escaped to Tibet, staying there until 1951. He is the author of two autobiographical books, Seven Years in Tibet (1952) and The White Spider (1959). In 1937, Harrer won the downhill event at the World Student Championships at Zell am See. Harrer became a member of the traditional student corporation ATV Graz. Knowing an extraordinary feat of climbing could win him a place on a Himalayan expedition, Harrer and a friend, Fritz Kasparek, resolved to be the first to climb the North Face of the Eiger (3,967 m, 13,025 ft) in Switzerland.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.